CA Ct Says Unauthorized Installation of Hardwood Floors Created a Nuisance to Lower Unit

UNPUBLISHED California Appellate Court decision (January 29, 2015).

This case involved a dispute between a homeowners association and a member of the association who made unauthorized modifications to the flooring in his upstairs condominium unit. The association’s governing documents contained provisions that provide, “No activity shall be conducted in any Unit or Common Area that constitutes a nuisance or unreasonably interferes with use or quiet enjoyment of the occupants of any other Condominium.” Another section states, “No Unit shall be altered in any manner that would increase sound transmission to any adjoining or other Unit, including , but not limited to, the replacement or modification of any flooring or floor covering that increases sound transmission to any lower Unit.”  Another section requires prior written approval from the association’s Architectural Review Committee before “any replacement or modification to any floor coverings or wall or ceiling materials or any penetration or other disturbance of any wall, floor, or ceiling if the replacement, modification, penetration or disturbance could result in any increase in the sound transmissions from the Unit to any other Unit.”