Section 8 May Not Recognize Noise but HRA Does
This is the third and final installment of a three-part response to a question for Sound Advice regarding a Bronx resident whose family is regularly disturbed by noise emanating from a restaurant situated below her apartment. Finally, another interesting question raised by your situation is: What recourse is there for a resident confronted with a noise nuisance and whose rent is paid entirely by government agencies directly to the landlord? The better part of your rent is paid by Section 8, a federal program which is administered locally by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). A spokesman for the agency, Carl Pelleck, said there are Section 8 quality standards, but they involve only physical conditions. An inspection is done annually to ensure that the apartment is "physically habitable," said Pelleck. "We can't monitor noise." He added: "Section 8 is a private contract between tenant and landlord. [Tenants] don't sign a lease with us." These comments were echoed by Adam Glantz, spokesman for the regional office of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees the Section 8 program. Glantz said the program requires "decent, safe, and sanitary conditions," and that before a landlord is accepted into the program, inspectors "go and see if there are any physical defects." Noise is most likely nowhere in the standard agreements between the NYCHA and landlords, said Glantz. So, under Section 8, noise is, deplorably, a complete non-issue. Fortunately, the states don't always take their cue from the federal government, and choose to provide greater protection in many areas. One example is the Warranty of Habitability statute. Under this New York State law, the intangibility of noise notwithstanding, the courts have ruled that, beyond a certain level, noise is a detriment to an apartment's habitability, just like rodent infestation, flooding, or a lack of heat and hot water. As for the other government agency paying your rent, the city Human Resources Administration (HRA), I was caught off-guard by its broad-minded approach to noise problems. This much-maligned agency not only recognizes that noise can have an adverse effect on tenants, but will, if a client provides adequate documentation, withhold rent from a landlord, so that a client can have his or her day in court. Jim Whelan, an HRA spokesman, said, "If DEP [city Department of Environmental Protection] issued a summons, that would make it more likely that HRA would stop paying rent." However, he continued, "Supporting evidence doesn't have to rise to the level of a summons or police report. Letters [the clients] have sent to the landlord, letters from neighbors -- that would all be good." "The client" - you - "would present the evidence to her caseworker to stop the vendor payment," said Whelan. (Vendor payment is an HRA term for its payment of rent directly to a landlord.) What if the case worker isn't convinced that noise is a grounds for withholding the rent? The client "should ask to see the caseworker's supervisor," Whelan said. "She could go up the chain of command to the center director, if necessary. HRA also has an office of constituent and community services. But the situation wouldn't get that far." HRA's retention of the rent would eventually trigger a demand by your landlord for arrears in housing court. If you and the landlord don't reach an agreement beforehand, later at a trial, you would allege that the landlord is violating the Warranty of Habitability statute by allowing the restaurant to play its music at levels that are hazardous to you and your children's health. You would also state that your apartment, in the words of the statute, is not "fit for the uses reasonably intended" -- for example, sleeping and studying. Your landlord is even more of a scoundrel than the restaurant owner. Why didn't he soundproof the space downstairs, knowing that he wouldn't be renting to another bakery? That you live in the south Bronx and are on public assistance does NOT make you less entitled, legally or morally, to a reasonable level of peace and quiet in your home. Ed. note: John Dallas is founder of the Bronx Campaign for Peace and Quiet. If you have a noise-related question or problem write to: Sound Advice, Norwood News, 75 E. 208th St., Bronx, NY 10467. Dallas will try to respond in a future column. Recent Sound Advice Columns include:
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