Neighbors | It can be surprisingly difficult to get rid of a nuisance neighbor – Do this

For housing related disturbances in residential buildings have increased, at least based on the message from the property managers. This is what the legal expert of the hosting association says Jenni Valkama.

“At the moment, situations related to intoxicants have become more prominent. For example, the resident of the apartment sells intoxicants, there is constant noise disturbance, or the apartment is occupied at special times of the day.”

All in all, from the point of view of hosting, disturbances are usually related to, for example, noise nuisance and are mild and moderately common.

For example According to Valkama, cases where the resident has destroyed or seriously messed up the apartment are rare.

HS reported on Monday about a case where a tenant who moved out of an apartment left the apartment in an uninhabitable condition. The district court ordered the tenant to pay his ex-landlord, for example, 14,000 euros in renovation costs as compensation for the damage he caused.

In the case, the tenant had managed to live in the apartment continuously for more than ten years. The gross condition throughout the apartment was revealed to the landlord as a surprise only after the tenant moved out of the apartment.

If there are no renovations in the housing association, representatives of the housing association or the landlord will probably not visit the apartment for a long time.

“The damage can remain hidden for a long time, if it is not accompanied by a disturbance that can be seen or heard from the outside. Such cases often develop over years.”

The landlord may not visit the apartment without notice and without the tenant’s permission. The landlord has the right to enter the apartment, but in such a way that the visit is agreed together with the resident.

However, if you wish, you can write in the lease that the landlord can check the condition of the apartment, for example, once a year.

“If the resident refuses to go there, the landlord may have the right to get official help from the police to get access to the apartment.”

Lessor can intervene in the rental relationship if damage or frequent noise is caused in the apartment. The tenancy can be terminated or terminated, but termination always requires that the tenant has been warned first.

If the tenant corrects his actions, the tenancy will continue as normal.

The housing association can intervene in disruptive situations by taking control of the owner-occupied apartment with the decision of the general meeting. The grounds for taking control are of the same type as for terminating a tenancy, and in this case too, a warning must always be given first about disturbances.

“The law requires that you have been warned once. After that, the housing company can make a decision to take possession or the landlord can cancel the contract if the strict conditions laid down in the law are met.”

Valkama emphasizes that taking possession of the apartment and terminating the lease are only a last resort if the warning has not helped, but the disturbances continue. They can only become possible if the disturbance is “significant”, i.e. repeated or continuous.

Grounds for terminating a tenancy or taking possession of an owner-occupied apartment can be, for example, poor maintenance of the apartment, leading a disruptive life or violations of order in the premises of the house.

Even serious ones however, intervening in disturbances is not always as easy in practice as in theory.

When taking over an owner-occupied apartment or terminating a tenancy, it is the responsibility of the landlord or housing association to prove that a specific person has caused a significant disturbance.

“If a dispute arises and the matter is dealt with in court, the housing company or the landlord must be able to prove the existence of the disturbance.”

Valkama describes that situations can be really difficult for both the landlord and the housing association.

“If one says that he has done nothing wrong, and the other says that this resident constantly has some kind of disorder, then it is difficult to solve the case. At what stage is there such evidence that it can be considered serious enough for measures?”

Neighbors should inform the housing company in their own name and in writing about the nature of the disturbance. If the case were to lead to the taking over of the apartment or the termination of the lease, the neighbors should also be ready to testify about the disturbances if necessary.

“It can be problematic in these situations that neighbors complain about disturbances anonymously, but no one agrees to report the matter by name. Then it will also be difficult for the building society or the landlord to intervene in the disturbance.”

Executive Director of the Finnish Landlords Association Sanna Hughes says that he finds it problematic that the Housing Company or the landlord does not have the opportunity to obtain information about police visits to the apartment to use as evidence in court.

With police visits, he refers to cases where the police have visited the apartment due to repeated more serious disturbances or situations related to intoxicants.

“Other residents don’t necessarily dare to appear in court to testify against the troublemaker.”

According to Jenni Valkama, if it is not possible to prove that serious enough harassment has taken place, Taloyhtiö has very few options.

“The difference in tenancies is that a tenancy valid for an indefinite period can also be terminated.”

The lease agreement valid for the time being in dismissal the notice period must be observed, but termination is possible without warning. Lease agreement in dismantling the contract ends without a notice period, but requires a warning first.

If, on the other hand, the tenant cannot be reached to accept the demolition notice, and he does not want to leave the apartment voluntarily, the landlord can apply for an eviction from the district court.

Read more: “A violent surprise” – The tenant moved out and left the apartment in an indescribable condition

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