Can you get a Halfway House removed from your neighborhood?

All the misconceptions posted here are kind of shocking. First, your status as a renter is immaterial. You have the same rights as a home owner. Heck, the laws that limited voting to property owners were repealed long ago.

Second, it is impossible to accurately answer your question without knowing more about what you are calling a "halfway house" since it might actually be a group home. Halfway houses are supervised temporary living arrangements that seek to emulate a family. They are generally populated by people with mental illness who have left an institution and are transitioning to independent living or people in recovery from drug and/or alcohol addiction who have gone through detoxification and are living there temporarily until they are capable of more independent living including moving into a recovery community which is a long-term, more permanent living arrangement. Halfway houses limit the length of time somebody can live there -- usually a month to 6 months. These folks are all people with disabilities and the nation's Fair Housing Act requires your city to make a "reasonable accommodation" in its zoning to enable these homes to locate in residential zoning districts where they belong. However, if the halfway house is for prison pre-parolees or an early release program, it is NOT covered by the nation's Fair Housing Act.

On the other hand this could be a group home for people with developmental disabilities or mental illness. This is a much more permanent living arrangement with no limit on how long people can live there.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

Properly operated community residences (group homes, halfway houses, recovery communities) do not generate the problems you describe. But as in any field there are some lousy folk running things.

Forget about the police. They are not going to help you. You need to contact your city's planning and zoning department. The first thing you should do is find out from your city planning department whether this halfway house has a license. If it does, you should contact the state licensing agency and report the lack of supervision and problems its residents are causing. The state licensing agency should be able to force the operator to run it properly and provide the supervision licensing requires -- or shut it down. If it is not licensed, it is possible that local zoning prohibits the halfway house and you should file a complaint with the city to require it to enforce its zoning ordinance.

The bottom line is that more information is needed to give you guidance. You would be prudent to find a zoning attorney to help you with this. At a bare minimum, download the city's zoning ordinance and read it carefully (but you'll probably need a zoning attorney to understand it). This is more complicated than you might think. But you should ignore the smart-a*s and ignorant comments posted here that tell you to suck it up and stop being a big baby. While I've spent nearly 40 years working to bring local zoning for community residences for people with disabilities into compliance with the Fair Housing Act and helped scores of operators through the zoning process, there is no excuse to allow an improperly operated halfway house to continue to exist. But, again, more details about the halfway house are needed. And, by the way, nobody was under any legal or moral obligation to tell you there was a halfway house three doors away.

Halfway House California

Actually, one person cannot do anything to remove a halfway house from a neighborhood. It would require a combined effort of several neighbors on the order of a petition to the City Council. It would also require documentation of repeated hazards to the safety of the neighborhood, not simply anecdotes of occurrences. Although a renter will carry less weight than a homeowner, you're STILL a resident of the neighborhood and, unlike Home Owner Associations, you still have a vote in City Council. And, finally, even if successful, it can still take months, perhaps even years to finally get rid of the place.

Unfortunately since you moved into the house after the half way house was established, your claims against it are weak.

It is a common misconception that you have to be informed about things like this. You could have checked with the licensing agencies to see what was licensed in the area. Even a simple google of half way houses in that city could have shown you it existed. You could have talked to neighbors before you rented.

You got about zero chances of being able to do anything about it. Best thing you can do is not get too comfortable in that house and move out when your rental agreement is up.

The halfway house, logically, was there before you moved in. So, NO!

Otherwise, unless YOU own the neighborhood (or it's part of a neighborhood governed by a homeowner's association) you have no recourse.

And, being as you are not a property owner (and just a renter) - not only is there nothing you can do about it, you have no right to complain to city hall either.

Only think you can really do, is ask out of your lease. But keep in mind your landlord doesn't, legally, have to oblige your request - because, as a renter, it's your obligation to have checked out the neighborhood before you moved in.

You have two alternatives. Either to stay there or change the house. Changing the house is the most easier one. But that is not the end. To continue staying there peacefully is the hardest. For this you require to win over the neibhours and make them as freindly as they were 12 years back. Going to police may yeild some result for a few days. But that will only increase their animosity. You have told that till the diverse they were very close and friendly to you. That means, they were agitated over your mum's diverse. One reason may be, that they have regards to your father much more than to you or to your mum. Second, they think that the diverse happened due to the fault of your mother. Third, they view a diversed woman living next door as a taboo. Fourth, they might have been antogonised against you by your estranged father. Whatever may be the cause, you have to win over them again. For this you have to arrange a third party very close to you as well as to them. Let them explain the reason of your mum's diverse in favour of her. It should be done in two-three visits by the third party. Afterwards in presence of the third party you also should visit them and ernestly request them to be friendly as you were before the diverse. A little bit of sobing and breking down is necessary. After that invite them to your house for a celebration of some kind. It is OK if nothing is there as to celebrate. Treat them well. Here also little bit of hugging and sobing will perfectly fit into the place. Always praise them well saying that how happy you were when the two neibhours were friendly and take a vow that we will never part company again so.. so.. I think, you understood all. If they are humans, they will definetly turn!

In addition to what everyone else said, the only thing you can do is call police on the lady if you catch her trying to enter someone's home. One would think she would be charged with trespassing.

Sorry, you're a renter and not considered to have any power.

Kood aid is right, you should have checked your neighborhood out and stop being such a baby

They were there first so you're SOL. Just move if you're not happy but investigate where you're moving.