Do Tenants Have A Right To Party?

The short answer is – NO.  There is no such thing as the ‘right to party.’ It is just wishful thinking on the part of tenants, especially college students, that as American citizens, you have a right to party. The ‘right to party’ is not a recognized legal concept. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution about the right of citizens to have parties. There is no place in the United States where federal, state, or local laws protect the right of citizens to have parties. There is also nothing in the Bill of Rights or U.N. Charter about it. Partying is not a human right.

‘We are fighting for our right to party!’ I am writing this piece because on October 31, 2015; there was a huge riot in Berkeley. It was Halloween and the night of the big UC Berkeley – USC football game, both considered by some students to be good reasons for getting drunk. Between 3,000 and 5,000 students participated in the ensuing riot on Frat Row. Car windshields were smashed, people were physically assaulted, police were assaulted too, gunshots were fired by unknown persons, and there were several arrests. Some of the students who were arrested, and I assume drunk, told police and that they were ‘fighting for our right to party.’ See: Frat Row riot.

Lease and other contracts restricting or banning parties are legal and enforceable. Many leases restrict or ban tenants from having parties. In college towns like Berkeley, nearly all leases restrict parties in some way. Many leases ban partying outright. In many places in the U.S., homeowners are also banned from having parties. It’s true. Many condominium CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) prohibit parties or limit the number of people who can come to a party or set an ending time for parties. There are also a lot of planned communities in the United States where individual homeowners are prohibited from having parties by deed restrictions. Leases and other contracts restricting and banning parties are enforceable in court everywhere in the United States.

Notifying the neighbors in advance. There is a widely held myth that you have a right to have a loud party late at night, providing that you notify your neighbors in advance. That is not true! This too is just wishful thinking. Simply announcing in advance that you intend to do something that is illegal does not give you the right to do it. For example, it is not O.K. to rob a bank providing that you give the bank advance notice that you intend to rob them. Somebody idiot actually did that here in Berkeley. Many years ago, there used to be a Bank of America branch near my house across the street from the Ashby BART station. It was once robbed by a lone gunman. The bank robber was quickly caught. At his trial, the bank robber told the court that he sent a letter to the branch manager a week before he robbed the bank informing him of his intention to rob the bank. The bank manager acknowledged that he received and read the letter but didn’t do anything about the it because he thought the letter was a prank. The bank robber was found guilty and sent to prison. He did not get off because he told the bank in advance that he planned to rob them. The idea that it is legally O.K. to have loud parties late at night providing that you told the neighbors in advance is an old myth that gets college students into trouble, sometimes big trouble.

Disturbing the peace. Preventing your neighbors from going to sleep at a reasonable hour, is illegal. You can be cited and fined or even arrested!  In addition, Berkeley has one of the toughest noise pollution laws in the United States. Berkeley policeman have decibel meters in their patrol cars. People having loud parties at night are regularly issued fines and sometimes arrested. The minimum fine in Berkeley for this is $750.00! Plus you could wind up with a arrest record and/or a criminal record.

Host responsibility. If you are going to have alcohol at a party in your home, remember that hosts are legally responsible for the consequences of their guest’s excessive drinking, whether you provide the booze or whether your guests bring their own. If someone gets drunk in your home, gets in his car, and has an accident while driving under the influence, you can be held responsible for the accident, even though you weren’t there. A lot of people think that drunk driving is a victimless crime, providing that nobody was hurt. Some people even think that drunk driving is funny, like in the ‘Arthur’ movies. I am not one of those people!  According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), 4,000 people are arrested every day for driving under the influence in the United States, and 1,000 Americans are killed every month by drunk drivers. When I was in college, I was nearly killed by a drunk driver myself. I was a passenger in a vehicle that was hit hard by a drunk driver who passed out at the wheel. Since that experience, I have had no sympathy for drunk drivers. If someone is unfit to drive a car, don’t let him!

Please remember – regardless of what you hear to the contrary – there is no such thing as the ‘right to party.’ You will just get into trouble if you believe it’s true.