Suburban homes often offer an oasis where people can raise kids, enjoy nature and have peace and quiet. However, in one suburb in unincorporated DeKalb County, that quiet is allegedly being disturbed by a loud neighbor running a party house.
"It is very dysregulating to your nervous system," said Sarah Kleiner, one of the residents affected, who is trying to raise her children in the formerly-quiet neighborhood. "You could just be relaxing at home and then all of a sudden, the bass starts. You’re sitting on your couch and it just starts thundering through the home."
Neighbors have complained for over a year about the noise issue and other problems with the house in question, but the home’s owner claims he’s the one being harassed. So far, code violations have been dismissed and the police have proved unable to solve the problem, but county officials are working to change the rules to stop the unneighborly behavior for good.
Here’s what’s happening, along with some details on why the neighbor’s complaints have had no effect.
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A party home leads to complaints
When 36-year-old Brock Shorter built a $1.8 million home in the DeKalb neighborhood, the former Ole Miss basketball player tried to get started on the right foot, warning his neighbors of his intent to throw a New Year’s party and asking if the music was too loud.
Kleiner said, "I was laying in the bathtub at the time and I told my husband, ‘That’s way too loud. Please have him turn that down.’"
Shorter did not, however, end up turning down the music. And the New Year’s party was far from the only one he hosted. Parties there aren’t just common — the home has actually been listed on Giggster and Airbnb as a “modern compound,” renting for $500 per hour or $10,500 for five nights. It served as a location for a music video shoot and tickets were sold for events, including $75 tickets to a brunch and $25 tickets to a Memorial Day party, according to Fox5.
These parties are a huge disturbance. Andre Jackson, who lives next door, told Fox5, "on a party day, we retreat further inside the house than we normally would, because you can hear the music through our double-paned windows, which are always closed. We live with loud music, screeching car tires late in the evening, car alarms, car horns and associated noise."
Police can’t help, but the law could change
Neighbors have complained repeatedly to law enforcement officials, but current law doesn’t give the police many legal tools to stop the parties, as one officer explained in his police report, stating, "we reminded Mr. Jackson [the neighbor who called in the complaint] that we are unable to enforce the county’s residential noise ordinance until 2300 hours."
Officials did say that selling event tickets isn’t allowed, with a county spokesperson telling Fox5, "Based on the R-75 designation for this property, the use of the property as a special event center is not permissible." However, when law enforcement issued violations, the court dismissed them, giving Short the belief that he’s in the right.
"They’ll complain just to run the numbers up," he said. "When you do that, you cry wolf like that just to run the numbers up to make my house seem like a nuisance. It just taints the whole claim." He also said he’s not doing anything wrong, nor hosting events and that the tickets were sold without his knowledge."I’ve been to court multiple times. Nothing has stuck. Because I’m in my rights."
Neighbors, however, don’t buy these excuses, with Jackson writing in a letter to the county, "The property owner and his associates are growing adept at skirting right to the edge of the existing laws and their spotty enforcement."
In response to these concerns, the county is working on some legal changes. "Since January of 2024, we have received 20 calls for noise concerns," county commissioner Michelle Long Spears told Fox5. "My office has been actively working with the administration since then — four different departments, including both police and code enforcement, to help resolve this issue."
Spears said officials may set noise limits during the day and impose quiet hours after 11 PM. If those rule changes do happen, Shorter has said he will comply, stating, "I have no problem with it. I’m going to go by any rules that they set."
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That would be welcome relief for the neighbors who, until that happens, will continue to suffer the consequences of their neighbor’s actions. "Sometimes we cannot sleep, we cannot work, we cannot rest," said Rafi Muhanna, whose yard backs up to Shorter’s property. "We cannot use our deck. It is destroying our quality of life."
The Atlanta City Council, on its part, is adding stricter regulations and defining party houses and banning them from some neighborhoods.
How to cope if you’re dealing with a noisy neighbor
Just because something isn’t illegal doesn’t mean it’s neighborly and dealing with disruptive noise at home can be unpleasant under any circumstances. However, it’s more challenging when you have no legal recourse.
One way to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation is to look for a home in a neighborhood with an association. HOAs usually have strict regulations and strong power to take action against violators, so party houses usually wouldn’t be allowed (though, of course, HOAs can bring their own issues). You can also check county ordinances before moving in to make sure there are noise rules to protect your peace.
If you already live in a home and have a loud neighbor, report every violation — if for no other reason than to ensure that your neighbor must respond when law enforcement comes out and to be a squeaky wheel to convince your town to take a close look at the rules.
Attending local government meetings to raise your concerns can also be helpful, as lawmakers may be more likely to act to protect you if you raise the problem repeatedly in person or in a public forum.
Hopefully, residents of this DeKalb neighborhood who have been reporting issues will soon get some relief. "We have been working on a short-term rental ordinance," the commissioner stated. "A portion of that ordinance does relate to dealing with these party house issues. And we have also tried to tackle it through strengthening our current noise ordinance."
Those changes could make all the difference in restoring the dream of a quiet and peaceful place that so many people worked hard to achieve.
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