Noisy Sex

Every co-op and condo board hates to hear a noise complaint. Especially when the noise comes from a resident’s sexual congress. Especially when the resident making the beautiful music is a lawyer who might sue anyone who dares to complain about his amorous warblings.

This was the nightmare scenario that unfolded at a small co-op in midtown Manhattan, where the super, who lives downstairs from the lawyer Lothario, was unable to sleep through the noise, while the board was fearful of legal retaliation if they confronted the noisy shareholder. “How can we stop his uncivil behavior?” a board member asks the New York Times’ Ask Real Estate column.

“The actions of the shareholder might be jeopardizing the co-op as a whole,” says Andrew Brucker, a partner at the law firm Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads. “This cannot be tolerated.”

The board’s lawyer or property manager should send the shareholder a firm letter addressing the late-night escapades. “Loud sex violates the prohibition against making disturbing noises,” says attorney Marc Luxemburg, a partner at Gallet Dreyer & Berkey.

The board could serve the shareholder with a notice of default or even a notice of objectionable conduct. And if the behavior continues after that, shareholders could vote to evict him.