tenants rights/landlords responsibility

I live in an apt. building and most of the neighbors are great . They are quiet and considerate.As of late as an apt. becomes empty the landlord rents to whomever waves the money under his nose first & as a result we now have neighbors who are loud and drunk most of the time and who have brawls in the middle of the night constantly waking us up. I have called the police several times but we live in the county so by the time they get here they have usually scatterd so nothing is done. I have called the landlord about this & he gets angry with me and says to call the police. i have lived here 11 years and i have many health problems which are only enhanced by this constant aggrevation. I am on a fixed income and i have reasonable rent here so I don't want to move and I no longer drive due to my health so this is also a convenient location for me since the grocery store & post office as well as the ambulance service is all within a 2 block radius & i have no family here to help me get to these facilities. What can be done to get the landlord to correct this problem. Other neighbors have talked to him about this but to no avail. After 11 years i don't think i should have to move nor do I feel like we should have to live in fear.

[OHlandlord]

Darn, one stray key stroke and I lose my whole reply. Well I'll type it again.

You need to keep reporting these disturbances to the police. Tape the noise from inside your unit, so they can hear it when they arrive. Send a dated time-stamped copy of it to the LL so he can hear when you are disturbed. Send him a list of dates & times of these disturbances. You may want to get together with other neighbors and write a joint letter to the LL requesting that he abate these disturbances. Let him know who is disturbing the peace frequently and that they are disrupting your right to peaceful enjoyment of your premises. Send it to him by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep a copy.

If you are on a month to month, this can backfire though. Unless covered under the protection of your state's LL retaliation laws, he can raise your rent or give you notice to move. I can't imagine him getting rid of the good tenants though to keep the bad. Maybe if he knows they are bothering enough of his good tenants, he will clean the place up. Good luck.

Thanks for your advice i will try that. I have tried everything else. I know that laws vary from state to state i forgot to put in that this is in virginia.Again thank you for your advice.

[OHlandlord]

In VA, there is a law to protect you from complaining to the LL. See VA Code Ann. 55-248.39. I believe it protects you from retaliation for complaining to the LL or a govt. agency, for being involved in a tenant's organization, or for the exercise of your legal rights. However, there is no stated time listed that it is presumed to be retaliation if the LL reacts negatively after you do this. (Most states protect you for at least 90 days.) So if he tries to toss you after you complain within 3 mos., you could try to file against the LL for retaliation. One other option would be to seek out a tenants advocacy group and see if they would help you. Good luck.