I always make an effort to blog about topics that clients ‘frequently’ ask me about, and this comes up often!

When looking for a condo, one thing that can cause a bit of hesitation is living in such close quarters with others: what if it gets noisy, and what can you do about it?

That’s not to say that condo noise is an overly common problem though, as most condos are built with soundproofing in their floors, ceilings and walls.

But noise issues still remain a concern for condo buyers, and one I hear about often (interestingly though, before the purchase – rarely after).

If you do encounter a noisy neighbour, what can you do? In extreme cases, can the noise maker be forced to sell their condo and leave if they are frequently disruptive? There’s also the awkward issue of getting your well-deserved quiet without creating animosity between neighbours.

Most condo buildings have 24-hour security, and all the owners have to do to is give them a call. Security will then visit the suite themselves or call the police if they can’t convince the offenders to knock it off. Owners don’t have to call the police on noisy neighbours, and the owners who initially make noise complaints are also pretty far removed from the process (and don’t have to give their information if they don’t want to), as security, the police or even property management will take over from there.

If the police show up, they can issue fines in the forms of tickets for offences such as disturbing the peace. But what if police intervention doesn’t deter noisy neighbours? There are two things that can happen.

The first is that property management takes action. Property management reads the daily reports written by your building’s security and can send a warning letter, followed by a lawyer’s letter. If the problem persists, arbitration could be next.

It is highly unlikely a court will force an owner to sell their unit and move away. In fact, I only found five cases that have passed through the Ontario Superior Court where this has been the outcome, but it is still a possibility – however slim. Either way, your property management should be able to put a stop to the noise problem.

The second thing that can happen is that property management does nothing. In this case, the complainant will need to keep a record of the noise and a record of their complaints. If the situation is still not resolved despite a solid history of complaints, the complainant can take property management to court and have them ordered to enforce their own noise rules – which is mandatory as per the Condominium Act.

In the meantime, owners can also consider buying affordable soundproofing panels to make life in their condo a bit more enjoyable. I looked into a few companies that do this and it’s less expensive than I thought it would be.

I hope you found this post to be informative. Let me know if you have any questions or comments — and as always, I thank you for your past and future business and any referrals you may have are always greatly appreciated!

With about four years in the real estate business now, I can tell you that this doesn’t come up often, but it does ‘just’ enough to justify my first newsletter being on the topic.

Disclosure and the law

In Canada, the laws surrounding this issue can be called “muddy” at best. Material facts must be disclosed about a home and its history, but whether hauntings or murders are “material facts” is up for debate. In the United States, laws vary by state.

The most famous case involving haunted houses and real estate law occurred in New York in 1991. The seller experienced strange happenings in her home, later writing about it in Reader’s Digest. She sold the home to a man who later learned about the purported haunting, and he sued her for misrepresentation. Whether or not the home was actually haunted didn’t matter because the seller had publicly said it was haunted, making it haunted in the eyes of the law. This classified the haunting as a defect the buyer would not know about and could not be found during a home inspection, meaning the seller misrepresented the home.

Would you buy a ‘Murder House’?

Buyers may have legal recourse if they decide they no longer want a home they have committed to buy upon discovering a murder has taken place there. Specifics, such as a murder still being unsolved, can also make the buyer fear for their safety and give them even more of a case.

If something tragic has happened in a home, but poses no threat to the safety of potential buyers, it is essentially a non-issue in the eyes of the Canadian real estate world. But if a masked slasher returns to the home every Halloween night to wreak havoc, the buyers should probably be informed.

It is also important to note that the real estate broker cannot tell the buyers what the seller has neglected to tell them in the first place. It is probably best for the seller to inform the buyer as much as possible to avoid legal and financial headaches down the road.

Would you buy a home where a murder has taken place? What about a haunted house? Let me know!

- Robert Van Rhijn