S.J. from Outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
We’ve been hearing strange rattling/vibrating noises coming from the bathroom in our unit. It sounds like it’s coming from the pipes from the wall between our bathroom and flex room. It can get really loud throughout the night. The noise can be as short as 30 seconds to as long as 5 minutes. And we hear this all through the night. We’ve contacted our property manager and the board president and have sent a recording of the sound. Nothing has been done to resolve issue. What can we do? Can we legally withhold our association fees until they start taking our issue seriously?
Mister Condo replies:
S.J., NO! You cannot withhold your common fees! Unwanted noises arising from mechanical or plumbing issues can be a real pain in a condo where you can’t always get at the source of the noise. You have done the proper thing by contacting the Property Manager and the Board. They are not under obligation to act immediately but they do not provide a resolution. Ask for a proper response, in writing, from them about what they plan to do to resolve your complaint. If their answer is to do nothing, then you will speak with an attorney and see what your next step will be. At the very least, the Board should acknowledge your complaint and dispatch a maintenance or engineering person to follow up. Have you checked with your neighbors? Are they having the same problem? There is always strength in numbers so the more complaining that goes on, the more likely there is to be a resolution. Be persistent and be thorough. I am confident that you can have this situation remedied. Good luck!