Page 5 - New England Condominium July 2019

NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -JULY 2019 5 I Want the Noise to Stop! Q I have written several com- plaint letters to the board and mistakenly assume that the association progress. Although the police do not nec- the manager regarding a noisy should be involved in every dispute. This essarily enforce association restrictions, neighbor. They did send a letter to the is actually not the case. homeowner about a year ago, but the problem persists. Although I continue to the expenditure of the association’s finan- write letters, nothing is being done. What cial resources, a board must genuinely Some municipal officers have a simple is my recourse? Do I have to sue the board feel that: 1) an owner is, in fact, violating piece of equipment capable of measuring for not acting on my behalf? It really af- fects quality of life, and it's been going on 2) that the association is capable of suf- for a long time. — Seeking Quiet A “Disputes between neigh- boring unit owners are trickier than disputes be- tween single-family property owners due the alleged offense(s) to the extent possi- to the existence of the third party: the as- sociation,” says Gary M. Daddario, Part- ner in the Braintree, Massachusetts law serve as a witness may help the board to firm of Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks feel that there is a case and that they can PC. “While association boards are gen- erally responsible for enforcement of the for a unit owner is to register a complaint governing documents, many people often with the local police when a violation is in “In order to justify involvement and es and virtually all will address anything the restrictions of the condominium; and the actual decibels of sound. This type of ficiently proving its legal case. If either case, since outside of an objective mea- of these components is missing, a board surement, the opinion of whether or not could reasonably conclude that the asso- ciation should decline involvement in the jective, personal opinion that differs from situation. “As a unit owner seeking assistance, it involved, any police report on the matter is recommended that you try to document could also assist the board with address- ble within the bounds of the law. Provid- ing such documentation and agreeing to offer sufficient proof of any claim. “Another appropriate course of action many municipalities have noise ordinanc- they deem to be a breach of the peace. evidence could be crucial to any “noise” something is too loud will often be a sub- one person to another. If the police are ing the issue as well.” Disclaimer: Th e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed professionals with any questions you may have regarding technical or legal issues. Legal Q A& Write to New England Condominium and we’ll pub- lish your question, along with a response from one of our attor- ney advisors. Questions may be edited for taste, length and clar- ity. Send your questions to: patgale@yrinc.com. Q&A QUESTIONS & ANSWERS