Hostile Letter Received from Owner of Condo Below Our Rental

My question involves a condominium located in the State of: District of Columbia

We received a very hostile and borderline threatening letter from the owner who lives directly below the apartment we are currently renting. There was no previous contact or indication of any issue. We have been renting this apartment for about a month but moved in between 7/15 and the end of July (mostly on weekends) due to travel and work, never before 9 am or after 9 pm. We've been living there full time for three weeks. Our move and subsequent apartment setup did require more time and shuffling than the norm as my girlfriend and I were combining households. The property manager and owner of our unit were aware of our protracted move schedule.

We were shocked to receive the note as we use large rugs and runners with carpet pads on the hardwood throughout the apartment. All pieces of furniture have felt pads on the feet. Until Sunday, we were using an additional rug as a runner of sorts from the front door to the middle of living room (since that was a major walkway during our move).

The downstairs owner claims that his ceiling shakes enough from our movement to cause him to fear damage to his walls and that disruption of his peace and quiet is constant. Claims that we do not have enough of our hardware floor covered are baseless. We go to bed between 10-11 pm and wake up between 6-7 am and are both gone during the workday. We do not listen to the TV or music loudly and are in slippers or barefoot except when entering/leaving. We have had not had any parties or large gatherings. There are very few, if any, noises in the building but we do respect that some are more sensitive than others. However, we fear this situation could infringe on our ability to enjoy our apartment.

As we were racking our brains to figure out what could be causing any vibrations on the ceiling the only thing we could think of beyond normal moving noises was the washer and dryer. Yet, we've used it mostly during daytime/evening hours.

In three years of renting in DC, neither of us have ever received any kind of complaint of this type. In my girlfriend's previous building, of a similar age but of lesser construction, you could hear vibrations/floor noise as well as if someone's TV or music was too loud. And still, the only complaint she ever received from a neighbor was during her roommate's birthday party and it was related to music volume.

We've looped in our landlord and the building manager. The landlord also asked the building manager to make it be known to the board as similar complaints from this neighbor have apparently been a problem in the past. We had a feeling that was the case and as such we have avoided responding to the note until we know more about the situation. We've welcomed the inspection of our apartment by the property manager to insure we are not in violation of the floor covering rule (85%) and are open to their suggestions. We've even suggested a rubber vibration isolation mat to our landlord for the washer/dryer.

My girlfriend and I desire to be respectful of our neighbors and the owners in our building in every way possible within the limits of reasonable expectations for apartment living, and we fully expect the same in return. Any guidance in terms of our rights or how to handle the situation beyond what we have done so far would be great given the nuanced renter-owner conflict.

Thanks!

You've already done all you can do. Ask your landlord to respond to the letter if he feels it appropriate to do so. Elsewise, since this neighbor is a known problem, do not engage.

Some people just like to complain.

I had an issue like this once. The landlord advised the woman to call, when the mysterious noises were happening. Of course she did not and continued to complain. Finally, along with offering proof I was not within 700 miles of the apartment, when I was supposedly making some of these noises, I requested the woman's info to file harassment charges against her. They evicted her for being a nuisance.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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I had an issue like this once. The landlord advised the woman to call, when the mysterious noises were happening. Of course she did not and continued to complain. Finally, along with offering proof I was not within 700 miles of the apartment, when I was supposedly making some of these noises, I requested the woman's info to file harassment charges against her. They evicted her for being a nuisance.

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Unfortunately for the OP, the downstairs neighbor owns his unit, therefore he cannot be evicted.

He just doesn't like somebody living above him.