california homeownership mental-health
What are my rights if my neighbor is belligerent in his own home?
<p>I live in a condo and my neighbor with a shared wall has violent and profane outbursts. We believe he has a mental problem and has episodes of loud yelling and slamming doors/throwing furniture. It happens all hours of the day and occasionally wakes us up at night. We know he's not well and he probably cannot control his outbursts, but it's disturbing for us and at times scary. He has never made a direct threat towards us, so do we have any rights here? We just purchased our unit so selling and moving is not an option right now. Also, not sure what my first action would be, police or HOA board? Any advice is appreciated. </p>

<p>The police can take him in for an evaluation. However, to permanently commit him requires you demonstrate he is likely to harm himself or others to a burden of "clear and convincing evidence", which is difficult. It's feasible he's having what are called Autistic Meltdowns. If those outbursts are emergent from a mental health issue the Fair Housing Act will likely prevent the HOA from enforcing anything related to noise. I have read multiple cases in which judges have allowed persons with mental illness to get away with unbelievably obscene and outrageous behavior because of the FHA. I would call the police the next time it happens to do a welfare check. It's unlikely the HOA will be able to do anything. If they determine he may be dangerous they'll take him to the hospital for an evaluation.</p>
