Bad Neighbors and Burnt Bedbugs

In 2019, a single-family home located at the entrance of my suburban neighborhood was bought to be rented to families looking to live in the county’s best school district. Previously inhabited by a quiet couple who worked hard to keep their yard presentable, the home was now victim to a slew of families moving in and out on a yearly basis. The third rental tenant to occupy the home in 2021 made it immediately evident that yard upkeep was not one of their priorities. Three months into their rental period, the tenants allegedly experienced a bedbug infestation, prompting them to burn their mattresses in their backyard. Placing them only a few feet from the home, they doused the mattresses in gasoline and watched them, along with the grass and the back of the house, burst into flames.

After the fire was put out, the partially burnt mattresses were left leaning against the burnt siding, surrounded by scorched grass for the following six months. Because the home’s backyard faced the entrance to the neighborhood, the surrounding residents were extremely displeased with the unsightly wreckage they were greeted with every time they entered the neighborhood.

To resolve this dispute, it is beneficial to examine the doctrine of nuisance discussed in Puritan Holding Co. v. Holloschitz. In Puritan Holding, a building in New York City was abandoned and left in deteriorating condition. The condition of the building caused the surrounding buildings to decrease in market value. The court noted that the nuisance doctrine limits the right of a property owner to make use of their property however they want. The court said, “the term ’nuisance’ is applied to that class of wrongs which arises from the unreasonable, unwarrantable, or unlawful use by a person of his own property, and which produces such material annoyance, inconvenience, discomfort or hurt that the law will presume a consequent damage.” The court reasoned that when evaluating whether one can recover for injury from being in the vicinity of a nuisance, it’s important to consider the location of the activity and the surrounding circumstances that may make it reasonable in some cases and unreasonable in others. Accordingly, the court determined that the abandoned building was a nuisance.

The nuisance doctrine is helpful in assessing solutions to the dispute over the burnt mattresses and destroyed siding in the rental home’s yard. A private nuisance is a wrong that arises from the unreasonable use of one’s own property that produces an annoyance, inconvenience, or discomfort, interfering with the rights of another in the enjoyment of their property. With respect to unreasonableness, mattresses kept outside are not a typical use of one’s yard and are commonly considered trash; thus, leaving them outside is unreasonable. Regarding the production of an annoyance or inconvenience that interferes with the rights or enjoyment of another’s property, mattresses and burnt siding create a visual disturbance and can affect property values, therefore interfering with the surrounding neighbors’ enjoyment of their property. The result of the rule is that when someone is using their private property unreasonably in a way that interferes with another’s enjoyment of their property, the use can be considered a nuisance.

Although the neighbors have the right to enjoy their property and be free from unsightly disturbances that can affect its value, the rental tenants also have the right (assuming their rental agreement does not indicate otherwise) to use their yard however they wish. The neighbors can take legal action and argue that their rights have been infringed. However, a better course of action may be to confront the rental tenants or the homeowner and request that the yard be cleaned up to avoid further neighborhood turmoil. By setting broad criteria for what constitutes a nuisance, the nuisance doctrine discourages less extreme or private methods of resolving neighborhood disputes. Courts should be less willing to find nuisances to promote the efficient use of time, money, and the judicial system, and to encourage communication and compromise among neighbors.

Zoe Tembo is a law student at the American University Washington College of Law.

Image: Alan Stanton, Sherringham Avenue Mattress.