Page 5 - New England Condominium July 2019
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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


































































































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