I AM FUMING! I NEED LEGAL ADVICE PLEASE!! Read on...?

Question

I live in an apt. bldg. in NJ & today my Mom who cares for my son while I work, took my 14 month old son for a ride in the stroller in the hallway as she's done many times before. It just so happened that while she was going up & down the hallway, the apt. rental manager came to the floor to show a couple an apt. that was vacant & ready to be rented. While she was around, my son started to cry and make some noise and then the apt. manager ordered my Mom to go back into her apt. otherwise she would call the cops because according to her, the hallway was not a playground & we were disrupting the other tenants. I should mention, this happened at 4:00 pm on a weekday while most people are at work. I don't know much about laws but is this harrasment? Can the cops really do something to me? My son sometimes cries while out in the hallway but it is nothing ear-piercing. He only really cries when we stop the stroller because he likes the ride or when we're about to go back inside the apt

Answer 1

no, there is nothing that the law can do to you because it's not against the law. i could understand if you had your multiple older children running up and down the hallway, but that's not the case. i would go talk to the manager and tell them that you do not appreciated them talking to your mother this way and if they have a problem with you or your son to take it up with you. if they really want to press the issue tell them that you are not above calling them in for harassment and discrimination.

Answer 2

I say good for the apartment manager. What about the people who are not at work at 4:00? Say the guy that works all night and sleeps during the day? What if at 4:00 a.m. there was someone out in the hall making noise? You'd be upset, right? And she was right, the hallway is not a playground - why not walk your kid around in the stroller inside your own apartment, or outside, or at the mall? I don't think the cops could do anything, but I think people (especially with whiny kids) should be more considerate of people who do not - hence, the couple that got kicked off the airplane when their whiny kid wouldn't shut up - it's about time.

Answer 3

They can't call the cops on you but the manager can tell anyone to go inside their apartment if they are being loud. My apartment doesn't allow any noise in the hallways or patios either. There are lots of babies and I've never heard any of them which is great. Apartments should be kept as quiet as possible with so many people having to do different things in there lives. You never know, your child could be crying next to an apartment where someone works nights.

Answer 4

no, there is nothing that the cops can do to you. they may tell you to avoid doing it or something to avoid trouble, but that is about it. they cant make you stop. did she do this while the other couple was there, cause i think if i was checking out the apartment and saw the manager be so rude to one of the residents, i would think twice about renting there.

i would suggest talking to the manager and telling her you didnt appreciate the way that she spoke to your mother. tell her it was rude, and a simple polite request would have been enough. let her know that if she continues this sort of harrassment, than you may take action against her. you pay to rent your apartment, and that includes some use of the hallway.

i can understand if your son was running around, toys strewn everywhere, than she might have had a case. but she cant stop a person pushing a pram in the hall.

Answer 5

I think the apt. manager was within her rights to request that your mother take your son into the apartment. Clearly, there were safety concerns, and the manager was absolutely correct in asserting that the hallway was not a play area, but a common area intended as a means of passage and egress to and from residences.

I see no harrassment by the apt. manager.

Also, I see nothing requiring the intervention of law enforcement.

There really is no legal issue here.

Answer 6

Nope, nothing he can do... shame on him.. You may want to look into a different apartment though.. just check it out because you should not have to worry about your kids being yelled at by some asshole. Quick story.. my daughter was 10 months old, we caught a train to go visit my folks, it was midnight, and my daughter screamed the entire ride.. (stomach ache, she used to get them a lot) all these people were pissed at me. One person even suggested I give my baby to him for the duration of the ride... hahaahaha.. I understand and sympathize with them, but by the same token, they needed to just chalk that up as a night to remember on the train. Kids are wonderful.. a blessing.. Your Mr Landlord should ask his own mom what kind of things he did in public too. Don't worry, not a thing he can do.

Answer 7

They cannot do crap. You pay rent, therefore that is your residence. Now if you child were running the halls at 4 am and tenants called the police, then yes they can do something. It would be disturbing the peace, but since no one has complained and it was 4 in the afternoon there is nothing he can do.

Answer 8

I can understand your position, especially in the winter, but I used to live somewhere that people did that with their kids and it aggravated me a lot. They let their kids run around in the hallways like a playground, or walked them up and down crying, or hung out in the stairway near my apartment, and it was quite an intrusion on my rights to some peace and quiet within my home. I never did/said anything about it, but it took some patience on my part to put up with it.

Answer 9

Calm down, mom! You are getting second-hand information and your mom/caregiver may have exaggerated just a wee bit when she said he "ordered" her around. By saying this, she may have been wanting to show you just how hard she works for you under any circumstance. People do that if they're insecure and even moms can be insecure.She wants you to know just how much she endures for you - her baby. If you make this into a big issue, you will only cause problems for you and the landlord and for your child when he is out of her care. Really. Calm down. Zone out. Have a cuppa tea, assure your mom that she is very much appreciated and that you are sorry if she had a stressful day. Then forgeddaboudit!!! Life is too short to sweat the small stuff and, as a working mom, you have much bigger things on your plate.

Answer 10

The cops can't do anything, she's being ridiculous. If I were you, I would call the the apartment manager directlly and tell her that your mom told you there was a problem and you would like to discuss it with her. Stand firm, ask her where does it say you can't have your child in the stroller in the hallway for a few minutes.