Andover Housing Authority v. Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300 (2005)

Citation: Andover Housing Authority v. Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300 (2005)
Parent Document: Andover Housing Authority v. Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300 (2005)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2005-01-14
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/6579082/andover-housing-authority-v-shkolnik/ ↗

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The focus of the trial was the reasonableness of the tenants’ request that eviction proceedings be withdrawn or delayed as an “accommodation” for Barskaya’s medical conditions. By the time the resolution conference was held, the authority had received numerous complaints about the tenants’ noise, had notified them about the problem, had reminded them about the provision in their lease forbidding loud noise, had suggested family counselling, had contacted their son, had held an informal conference to address the problem, and had received the tenants’ assurances that they would take steps to be quieter. The authority’s awareness of a noise issue did not lead to an inevitable conclusion that medical concerns might be at the root of the problem. Only the tenants would be privy to that sort of information in the first instance. However, the tenants had not advised the authority that they were suffering from any physical or mental conditions that caused them to make excessive noise and, in fact, they denied that noise was coming from their apartment on a regular basis. When there was no improvement in the situation and the authority continued to receive complaints, it was left with little recourse but to commence eviction proceedings. Otherwise, the quiet enjoyment of the tenants’ neighbors would continue to be severely disrupted.17

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