Move out, if the landlord is in such a great position that he would actually evict you, he won't by the way, then tell him ok, good luck finding another tenant. Yes, it sucks to have to move again but trust me I have been through it twice, It is much easier and better to move then deal with loud annoying neighbors. It is not worth the fight.

This same situation happened in my building - the complaining tenant took his complain to the city, and was awarded 6 months of free rent when he agreed to move.

If you're buying a house in the next 3 months, I'd just lay low and ride it out. It takes a while to evict someone legally, even when there are legitimate grounds to do so.

Document all your communication with the landlord and neighbors just to be safe.

I agree with GDW. if your buying a house in three months, even if they started the eviction process today it would take at LEAST 90 days to evict you. I don't see how that would even show up on your record, or effect your ability to buy a house either.

Oh, we've had our share of nightmare neighbors. I'd say find out if your city has a noise ordinance and call the cops if the music gets unruly. Even if there isn't a specific noise ordinance (but I'd suspect there is) I'd imagine something could be done about neighbors being overly rowdy (especially if it's late at night). Cops helped us when our landlord wasn't doing much. (They put some fear in the rowdy neighbors and we didn't have many more problems.)
Also, you could research your city's code and potentially have some 'blackmail' on your landlord if he continues to do nothing, or tries to evict you. Our old landlord was a slacker in that area.
And lastly, write down everything. Every time you talked to your neighbors, the landlord, a mediator. It might not be necessary (and hopefully it wouldn't be!) but it definitely wouldn't hurt.
And just think... in three more months it won't be your problem anymore!

I agree with Lisa. Landlords don't want to be bothered by that sort of thing. Just call the cops about the loud music.
I've done that several times in the building I'm currently living in. And you know what? The noisy people ended up moving after receiving 2 warnings from the cops!

I would suggest in looking up the code of ordinances for the city you're in and take it from there. Your neighbor could be in violation for playing loud music. If your neighbor plays loud music at odds hours, then you have every right to call the police if your landlord doesn't want to handle or resolve the issue.

I'm not an expert on evictions in Chicago, but I do know that unless you've got a written, year-long lease, your landlord can't evict you just because he doesn't like you. The landlord needs to give reasons, like you don't pay your rent, you've damaged the property or you've broken the lease. If you're served an eviction notice, the notice should indicate the specific reason - in this case, which provision of the lease you violated. In NYC, where I live, the landlord is required to give you a chance to fix the problem before you're evicted - maybe the same is true in Chicago. Anyway, if you don't act on the eviction notice and stay put, the landlord might take you to court. However, if you haven't done anything wrong, the judge might find that the landlord's eviction notice is improper. If you really haven't done anything wrong and the landlord is just harassing you by serving you with the notice, I wouldn't even expect the landlord to take it to court, but you never know.

I think it would be unlikely that the landlord would try to evict you especially since you only have three months left on your lease. Right now, landlords are lucky to have paying tenants, so as long as you pay your rent, you probably shouldn't worry about getting an eviction notice.

As for your neighbors, that's a different story! I'm not sure that there's anything you can do to pressure the landlord into helping you out unless what the neighbors are doing constitute a housing code violation. If there's a code violation problem, you can probably report it to the city or take the landlord to court to require the landlord to make repairs. But annoying neighbors are probably not code violations. I think your best bet is to leave your landlord out of it and make a noise complaint to the city by calling 311 every time your neighbors play loud music. Once enough complaints pile up, the city will investigate, leaving it so that you don't have to go through the landlord to get some relief.

Good luck!

I wouldn't even pay rent for the next three months... just let him evict you. You'll be out of there before it matters anyway. You could even tell the landlord, that he can go ahead and evict you, if he doesn't do anything about it... he's not getting rent.
Definitely read up on renter's rights. There are probably way more things he's not doing right. For example, it is against the law for your landlord to enter your premises without 24 hours written notice.

Know your rights: check with city about landlord-tenant laws.
Hearing protection earmuffs helped me get through a similar situation (like earmuffs airport workers wear). Mine were about $20 at a farm supply store. Earplugs may help too. I put books and an old mattress against the shared wall. If you can get them to move amplifiers away from shared wall, that may help. I'd throw a load of clothes in the wash when music started, for white noise to mask sound. A fan, or the furnace fan, is also white noise. Other sources include recordings of natural sounds like rain or surf.

All good suggestions, and I agree that you should just lay low until you move for good. You don't want to do it twice in a 3-month span! And honestly — I would get the word out to any potential move-ins about the bad landlord, any way you can.

You're in Chicago? Get in touch with the Metropolitan Tenants Organization at http://www.tenants-rights.org/. They're great.

I don't think the landlord is going to help and it sounds like the neighbors are upset that the mediator agreed with your points. Even if the mediator felt you were right about everything and the neighbors were wrong, have you thought about asking them to keep the music down in return for you NOT doing laundry at 10 pm or maybe doing something about the noise that the dog makes?
Maybe a little give and take, or being the bigger person, will go a long way :-)

We had a similar situation with a landlord who threatened to evict us after we bugged him about fixing a lock on our front door - after our next door neighbors (also his tenants) had been robbed. Somehow that was our fault? Not to mention this was one week before our wedding. Good times! So we moved, and it was incredibly stressful, and I had blisters and bruises on my feet on my wedding day after all the hard work. But we survived, and got a better landlord, and then eventually bought a house that just happened to be next door to the greatest neighbors we could possibly want. My point is you'll survive too - I agree, know your rights and contact legal people if you think it's worth the fight, and even if not document everything and put in a complaint about the landlord. Otherwise lay low and do what you have to do to get through this time, knowing it will soon be long behind you.

instead of not paying rent (which can damage your credit), i've heard of renters paying rent into an escrow account until the dispute is settled... check with your local rental laws (and a lawyer) for details.

Definitely check out tenant's rights laws in your area. I've had a landlord threaten to evict before because my roommate and I were "loud." Since when is having the television on at 7 and laughing at it a problem?!
The problem was that my upstairs neighbor was a pastry chef, and worked and slept at odd hours. However, this also meant that he'd get home from work at 6AM on a Sunday and wake me up with his loudness as well. It was a bad situation, but I worked with the neighbor and we lived with it until the lease was up.

When you want to feel better about your life, check out this poor guy's blog:
http://strangerthaneviction.tumblr.com
Start at the bottom and work your way up, starting at the oldest entry. It's pretty ridiculous.

Definitely DON'T stop paying rent, that's just stupid and can bite you in the behind later. Keep a record of all your contact with your landlord, as stated above, call the non-emerg. police # when you're neighbours' music is loud late at night. Definitely check out a tenant's rights organization.

redneckmodern's suggestion above is another great idea. I know people who have done that due to non-repaired safety issues (after falling down stairs and really injuring herself and had already notified the landlord months ago to fix it), so she withheld rent but kept it in a safe place so it could be paid in full immediately upon remedy of the situation (a legal escrow account is even better). But, as others have stated, noisy neighbours really aren't your landlord's problem--call the city or police. Your landlord might even be fined as the owner of the building, and then s/he will surely act on it.

Just be sure that you're being reasonable.

I agree with redneckmodern, you should absolutely pay your rent - you don't want it damaging your credit! My advice is still to complain to 311 - it's the only way the city records these complaints, and the landlord won't like it if his building is getting a bad reputation.

1. Do not follow the advice of not paying your rent. Because this would just give him very strong ammunition against you, and it could very quickly reach the credit-report foks. And also because you know that's not the right thing to do (if he was withholding heat, water, that's different--in that case you have a legal right to fight the rental payments).

2. I wonder why the hours the dog can be out playing are a concern of his. Is it a big dog? Do you have wood floors? Does he bark when he plays? What, exactly, are the neighbors complaining about? Or is it the landlord--is he going into your place when you're not there and being surprised that the dog is out? That would be a freaky situation! I would set up a hidden camera. Really. Landlords are not supposed to walk in unannounced--check your lease--unless there's an emergency, like a water pipe breaks.

3. The landlord sounds like he just wants you to leave. Even if there's nothing you think you did--sometimes there's just a dislike. If you are certain you have just 3 months to go, I would suck it up and concentrate on what's ahead. You have a right to stick up for your rights, but what good will it do now? You don't need to deal with what this landlord might do if you push him. If you had no plans to move, that'd be a different situation.

Any chance you could find a temp home for your dog...and then let loose on your neighbors by playing your music a little louder????

You're leaving in 3 months? Ignore it. It will take far longer than 3 months to evict anyone. You need a legal reason to evict someone--You can't just evict because you're "bothering them."

Ignore it. Or move out now. But certainly don't worry about an "eviction."

i would say dont bother with your landlord. you can always call the cops on your loud neighbors. whenever i had issues with other tenants i did just that. they are probably violating an ordinance - check your local laws. if i had a problem with the landlord i just called the housing inspectors for the city. that gets the landlord really moving :) good luck with the new house! :)

I agree on almost all of the above points.

The landlord doesn't want you to bother him.
So don't.

Call the police for every noise violation whether it's 911 or 311 in your city. Here in Boston it's taken pretty seriously because of all the college students.

Request the police write up a police report. Get copies.
Have a copy of your mediator report and ongoing documentation of harassment.

Put your rent in an escrow account with your bank.

IF the guy takes you to court for the back rent, it will take about 6 months to go in front of a judge because of the housing court backlog due to the bad economy. By the way, the same goes for his bullshit threat of eviction. IF he goes through with it, you won't be seeing a judge for 6 mos.

It was my understanding it only shows up on your credit report if a judge rules against you. BUT check that before you do it.

I have used escrow accounts to force landlords to follow the law, and that's usually as far as I have to go with it. Oh and I've never been evicted.

Learn the rent laws in your city back and forth. It may not seem like you have to because you're buying, but what if you want to rent in the future?

Good luck in a sucky situation and let us know how this turns out.

Agree with others about sticking it out. Get a handle on your rights and what you need to do to get satisfaction. If you have "quiet enjoyment" in your lease - you may have cause for discounted rent over the next three months.

Also, make sure you have a record of the condition of your apartment - videos or photos - before you leave. A landlord who unreasonably threatens to evict you may also play games with your security deposit.

Why are you getting the landlord involved in situations between you and other tenants in the first place? He's not your Mommy.

Grow up and settle your differences with the neighbors yourself, pay your rent on time and realize that nobody is forcing you to live there.

with three months to go, is it worth feeding in to any more of this? ignore the noise, live your life, stop complaining and move out. it's time to look to the future. mediation didn't resolve it and you've bought a house. call it quits.

If you're in Chicago the first stop should be the Commission on Human Relations which has the "bible" of landlord tenant relations. If you still need assistance then turn to Metropolitan Tenants Organization. In Chi, its now heating season - no evictions from October 15 -April 15. Try to tough it out, document everything, give 30 days notice when you leave and chalk it up to a learning experience / drink conversation.

Getting the landlord involved in past instances is the right thing to do, especially if you have tried to speak with your neighbours and they are unresponsive to your requests. It's not a "mommy" situation, and no, no one's forcing this couple to live there, but where I live tenants are entitled to "peaceful enjoyment of the residential premises they are renting" and a "legal obligation not to interfere with the
rights of other tenants, one of which is the
quiet enjoyment of their property".

Document everything, go out to movies often, and have a wonderful housewarming when you do get your own place!

>>If you're buying a house in the next 3 months, I'd just lay low and ride it out.

Couldn't agree more.

The law doesn't care what's right, only what's legal. The suggestions to learn your rights and responsibilities are golden. The suggestion to join a tenants' association are, as well. Take further action only when you've thoroughly examined your rights and responsibilities under the law. If you break the law, you will be vulnerable to eviction.

Hang in there for the next 3 months. It will cost you more in attorney fees and will take more time to go the legal route than to just hold your breath.

And all this has what to do with Decorating and Design, living in small spaces etc.?. Did we acquire an agony column overnight?

This is no way to live.

Continue to pay your rent, lay low, and just move on. I would, however, let my dog out of its kennel and do laundry whenever I damned well pleased. Those are the most draconian measures I've ever heard of being imposed on a tenant.

@bodicegoddess - that blog is hilarious! Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

My parents rented out their home to a couple of losers who decided one day to just stop paying the rent. They refused to answer the door and one quick look through the window revealed that they had done some damage to the inside.

It was illegal for my parents to just enter the building, even though the renters were just hiding behind the locked door. There was nothing they could do. Months later, there is still nothing. There's no law that protects a landlord from people who lock themselves in the home.

but it doesn't sound like anything you would want to do yourself. I imagine it would be just as difficult to fight an eviction as it would be to force one.

It's only three months. You think you could do laundry at a reasonable time for the next three months? You think your dogs could stand being even slightly uncomfortable for three months? You think you could lie low and forget about your neighbours for three months?

Is pride really more important than having a place to live?

it's 3 months. if the worst of your problems are loud music, i'd just ignore it. live your life & screen your calls & just avoid the neighbors.

there are worse things i've had to deal w/ living in apts. fumes i'm allergic to, very loud overnight guests (if you get my drift), domestic violence (the kind you have to call 911 over), gun shots, break ins, loud drunken sports parties, being hit on every time you walk outside, crack of dawn power tools ... seriously, it's 3 more months, just relax & be thankful.

also, yes on the security deposit advice. if possible, have them do the inspection WITH YOU THERE, WITH A CAMERA.

Make sure to check into your local eviction laws. Apparently in other states (according to the commenters above) it can take up to three months to evict someone. Not in Louisiana! I can evict someone - complete with a sheriff throwing their stuff onto the curb - in three weeks. Granted, this is not a tenant-friendly state. But make sure to double-check your area: every state is different!

PS - Advice from a lawyer: pay your rent.

Definitely call Metropolitan Tenants Organization (www.tenants-rights.org) immediately. Chicago has decent tenant laws and they know them inside out.

Yeah, lay low. He can't get you out in three months anyway. I might withhold some rent money too...

My solution for neighbors who do laundry at 10 or 11 at night when I'm trying to sleep is to turn around and do laundry at 5 or 6am when I get up. It only took a week or two before they realized they couldn't complain without me doing the same.

Same solution with music - if they want their music on at midnight, hope they like me running the vacuum early in the morning on Saturdays.

If enduring your landlord's threats for three more months sounds intolerable, you should meet with a lawyer who specializes in landlord/tenant matters. Your state bar association can recommend one.

You have what's called a "right of quiet enjoyment" of your rental. This means, among other things, that your landlord may not threaten eviction just to intimidate you or shut you up. It also means that your neighbors' behavior is your landlord's problem.

In one hour's time, a lawyer can draft a letter to your landlord that will end all of this nonsense. The lawyer's time will probably cost you a couple of hundred dollars -- but that seems like a small price to get this situation resolved.

Also, do not stop paying your rent. That is terrible advice.