Mother, disabled daughter forced from home by noise

Mariya Nikitina was driven to publicize her story by desperation. Several years ago, a single mother raising a daughter with a disability moved into a new two-room apartment. The joy of moving in lasted until the spring of this year, when the residents in the apartment one floor above changed. In just a few months, the new neighbors literally drove Mariya and her daughter out of their own home. To sleep peacefully at night and not traumatize her autistic child, who is frightened by loud sounds, the mother had to rent other housing and move out.

Is there a legal and, most importantly, effective way to quiet noisy neighbors? Our colleagues from 72.RU publish the family«s story and, together with police and lawyers, look into how to act in such circumstances.

The situation Mariya Nikitina found herself in is certainly not unique. Many residents of apartment buildings can only dream of peace and quiet. But in this case, it is not just an inconvenience. Mariya«s daughter has autism and heightened sensitivity to sounds. The girl constantly wears headphones, and home—until recently—was the only place where she could do without them.

— Our tutor at school very quickly noticed that something was happening to my daughter. By the end of the school year, she could no longer concentrate on classes and was more anxious and irritable. All these changes began to occur due to lack of normal sleep, — the mother tells 72.RU.

Mariya notes that the apartment one floor above has been rented out many times before, but before the current tenants moved in, she had no such problems. At first, the single mother endured and tried to be understanding of the noisy behavior of the young female neighbors. She hoped the girls would celebrate their housewarming and settle down, but the nighttime gatherings and loud arguments, she says, dragged on for months and deprived her and her daughter of normal sleep.

— Two girls live there; one of them is constantly visited by her partner. They lead a nocturnal lifestyle. They sleep until noon and by evening start making noise, arguing—often until morning. My child and I stopped sleeping up to four nights a week. As soon as I could, I contacted the owner of that apartment. For a whole month I corresponded with her and asked her to influence the situation (screenshots of the correspondence are available to 72.RU. — Editor«s note). During this time, the situation did not change, — Mariya shares.

When Mariya realized that neither the tenants nor the apartment owner were responding to her requests to observe quiet hours, she began seeking help from the police. The reason for these calls was not only noise after 10 PM but also screams of beatings. After visits from law enforcement, the neighbors did not calm down, and one night they even woke Mariya and her daughter by banging on the door.

According to the apartment owner, complaints about the tenants come only from Mariya, while other residents of the building remain silent. In search of reasons, Mariya conducted a small investigation and found out why the neighbors do not support her.

— I went to all the other nearby apartments, but no one opened the door. So I decided to leave notes asking them to call me back. In this way, I managed to find out that, besides my daughter and me, no one lives in close proximity to the noisy tenants. The other apartments are simply empty for now. Neighbors whose homes are one apartment or one floor away hear the screams only in their bathrooms. They are ready to support me, but the noise does not bother them as much, — the single mother admits.

Seeing her child«s anxious state, Mariya Nikitina decided to move out of her own home. Changing the familiar environment is also stressful for her daughter, but in the rental apartment, at least she sleeps at night:

— I rented a one-room apartment and pay 33,000 rubles ($367) for it. For me this is a huge blow to the budget, but I have no other choice for now. We can only feel at ease in our own home during the first half of the day, when our neighbors are catching up on sleep after another sleepless night.

The owner of the apartment where the noisy group settled lives in another city. We managed to contact the owner by phone, and she promised to resolve the conflict.

— My distant relatives live in this apartment — two girls. One of them is in a wheelchair. Perhaps that«s why there is so much noise from them. Mariya did complain to me about them, and I honestly already wanted to evict them, but they promised everything would be fine. The thing is, the girl who moves in a wheelchair finds it convenient to live in a new building with a barrier-free environment. They have already adapted and gotten used to it, — Olga said about her tenants.

She added that due to communication problems, her dialogue with the neighbor was interrupted a few months ago. According to Olga, she did not know that the situation had gone so far and that Mariya and her daughter had to move out of their own apartment.

— Of course, this is abnormal. I was recently passing through the city and stopped by my apartment to check on how the tenants were doing, but Mariya wasn«t home then, so we didn»t meet. I didn«t know she had moved. We»ll figure something out, — the rental property owner stated her position.

Mariya«s complaints about noise disturbances were handled by local precinct officers. They interviewed her and talked to other residents to find out the details of the conflict.

— As a result of the inspection, two administrative protocols were drawn up against the tenant (the partner of one of the female tenants. — Editor«s note) who caused the complainant distress. The first — for violation of the peace and quiet of citizens, the second — for petty hooliganism. It is worth noting that there was no inaction on the part of the police: all calls were promptly handled, and the neighbor was brought to justice as established by law, — the city police commented on the situation.

The first piece of advice lawyers give to people in such circumstances is to document everything. It is necessary to record the noise on a dictaphone or video and save correspondence with the property owner so that he or she cannot later claim ignorance of the conflict.

— For each nighttime noise — call the police. Not by phone to the «duty station», but an official one with registration. Always take a notification slip (KUSP). For each new incident — a separate statement. Record video and audio with date and time. Call an ambulance if your health has suffered. Medical reports on stress, sleep deprivation, exacerbation of chronic diseases — this is direct evidence of harm, — the law firm outlined the algorithm of actions.

If the police are inactive, lawyers advise complaining to the prosecutor«s office. Additionally, one can check the legality of the income from renting out the property. Such a question should be addressed to the tax authorities.

— The main thing is to stop being a «convenient victim» and create a real threat to the owner«s wallet and status. As soon as the damage from the tenants exceeds the rental income, the problem will be solved in one day, — the experts assure.

Mariya Nikitina has already contacted all possible authorities, but so far it has not helped her. She says that if necessary, she is ready to go to court to demand the eviction of the noisy tenants and compensation for the moral damage caused over the past months to her and her special child.