Q: I recently moved into an 11th-floor apartment on the Upper East Side. When I was shown the apartment, I wasn’t told that it was directly below the building’s gym, which is open to tenants 24 hours a day. The sound of heavy weights slamming into the ground shakes my apartment. This noise occurs overnight and in the early morning, preventing me from sleeping. There are two other available apartments with the same rent, but management is refusing to let me move. I have asked them to limit the gym hours, but the only response is a suggestion that I soundproof my ceiling. What can I do?
A: This situation could constitute a violation of your lease, as well as the state’s warranty of habitability and the city’s noise code.
First, look up your building’s certificate of occupancy through the city’s Department of Buildings and check to see if a gym is a permitted use. If a gym is not permitted in the building, you could use it as leverage to persuade the landlord to let you rent a different apartment there. “That angle could work, and it’s powerful,” said Darryl M. Vernon, a real estate lawyer with Vernon & Ginsburg, LLP.
If a gym is allowed, it still doesn’t mean that the building owner can violate the city’s noise code, the warranty of habitability or the lease. The noise code prohibits excessive sounds that “disturb the peace, comfort or repose of a reasonable person.” Decibel measurements are included in the code, but they’re not inclusive of all instances of unreasonable noise, said Alan Fierstein, founder of Acoustilog, an acoustic consultancy in Manhattan.
Before you call a lawyer or a city noise inspector, tell the landlord that they must visit your apartment to witness the noise, as you’re legally entitled to the quiet enjoyment of your home. You can then make a case that you should be able to move, or that the building needs to effectively soundproof the gym.
Also consider recording the noise, said Mr. Fierstein. It won’t be a professional recording, but if you can document a few examples, you can then send a short, certified return receipt letter to management asking them to fix the problem or to let you move, and to reimburse you for any expenses.
Should these steps fail, call 311 to lodge a noise complaint. If a city inspector discovers a violation, the landlord must cure it.
If you don’t get results, your next move would likely be to hire an attorney experienced in noise cases to write a letter to management. This could be enough to compel your landlord to act before you take the case to housing court.
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