I'm currently renting a privately-owned villa in Broward County & need to know what my right to peace is?

Question

The Homeowner Association president lives next to my unit & is constantly blasting music (among other inconsiderate habits) from his house AND from his car. I am extremely sensitive to this as I have a hectic & inconsistent schedule & find myself being awakened in between naps. I've asked him a couple of times to turn it down & I've complained to my landlord on several occasions about his disturbing behavior with no action taken. I've researched Florida law which seems to only defend landlords with tenant problems. I was under the impression that I had a right to peace and quiet, or is that just moral code? I need legal reference so I can "encourage" my landlord to defend me!

Answer 1

Read your lease.  You should have a paragraph to "right to quiet enjoyment"....or something similar.

Answer 2

Ask your landlord if you can see a copy of the association bylaws, and see if there is anything in there about "noise pollution" or "excessive noise". If there is, you can mention the this to him next time you confront him about the issue.

There are 2 problems that I see, however. First, most issues about excessive noise will be in regard to evening/night hours when most people are sleeping. Chances are that even if there are bylaws regarding excessive noise, they will be between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am. I'm not trying to sound flip, but it's not the rest of the world's fault that you work odd hours.

The second issue is that you are not a property owner, and therefore are not a member of the association. If your landlord is willing to go to bat for you, he/she can go to the association meetings and try to get a new bylaw passed, but if he/she doesn't have a vested interest in the outcome, I doubt they will go to the trouble. You can threaten to break your lease and move, but again, it might not be enough motivation for them to make the effort on your behalf.

My husband is a nurse and used to work the night shift. We bought a Honeywell air purifier because it roars like a jet engine and drowns out almost any ambient noise, both day and night. He works the day shift now, but we still use it, as he likes to sleep later than I do, so I don't wake him up with the TV, cooking or whatever.