Noise and sound nuisance: what does the law say and what remedies are available?
Noise becomes a neighbourhood nuisance when it harms peace and quiet by its duration, its repetition or its intensity (Article R. 1336-5 of the French Public Health Code). At night, tapage nocturne (night-time disturbance) is punished by a fine. The victim can act to obtain compensation and have the noise stopped.
Behavioural noise: duration, repetition, intensity
So-called behavioural noise, or domestic noise, is noise produced by a person, an animal or an object in their keeping: loud music, shouting, repeated barking, late-night DIY, heels on a wooden floor. Article R. 1336-5 of the French Public Health Code prohibits any particular noise which, by its duration, its repetition or its intensity, harms the peace and quiet of the neighbourhood or health, by day as well as by night, in a public or a private place.
For such noise, no acoustic measurement is required: the nuisance is established directly. An offence can be punished by a fine (contravention), independently of the civil claim for compensation.
Night-time disturbance and noise from activities
Insulting or night-time noise or disturbance that disrupts another person's peace and quiet is a third-class contravention (Article R. 623-2 of the French Criminal Code), punishable by a fine of up to 450 €. In practice, the offence most often gives rise to a fixed fine of 68 €, raised to 180 € in the event of late payment. The text sets no hours; the night-time period is usually taken to run from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Noise linked to a professional activity other than those covered by special regimes, or to a sporting, cultural or leisure activity organised on a regular basis or subject to authorisation, follows a different logic: the disturbance is measured by emergence, that is the gap between the ambient noise with the activity and the residual noise without it (Article R. 1336-6 of the French Public Health Code). The permissible emergence is 5 dB(A) during the daytime period (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and 3 dB(A) during the night-time period (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.), together with a corrective term based on the cumulative duration for which the noise occurs (Article R. 1336-7 of the same code).
What remedies against persistent noise
The first step is amicable: talking to the neighbour, then sending a registered letter of formal notice. In a co-ownership or in rented accommodation, the managing agent (syndic) or the landlord can be alerted, since the co-ownership rules and the lease often impose an obligation of peaceful enjoyment. Where an offence is in progress, the police can be called to record the disturbance.
If the noise persists, the victim can bring the matter before the judicial court (tribunal judiciaire) on the basis of abnormal neighbourhood nuisance (Article 1253 of the French Civil Code) to obtain damages and measures putting an end to the nuisance. Note: such a claim must be preceded by an attempt at conciliation, mediation or a participatory procedure, on pain of inadmissibility, and this whatever the amount claimed (Article 750-1 of the French Code of Civil Procedure).
Frequently asked questions
Does daytime disturbance also exist?
Yes. Excessive noise during the day can be punished on the basis of Article R. 1336-5 of the French Public Health Code as soon as it harms peace and quiet by its duration, its repetition or its intensity. Nuisance is not confined to the night-time period.
Can a dog's barking be a nuisance?
Yes, if it is repeated or prolonged to the point of harming the peace and quiet of the neighbourhood. The animal's owner answers for it as behavioural noise, and the court can order measures to put an end to the nuisance.
Is a formal report needed in order to take action?
It is not compulsory but strongly advised. A bailiff's report (constat de commissaire de justice), witness statements or a police report strengthen the evidence of the noise, of its frequency and of its intensity before the court.
Read next
- Code de la santé publique, article R1336-5 (Légifrance)
- Code de la santé publique, article R1336-6 (Légifrance)
- Code de la santé publique, article R1336-7 (Légifrance)
- Code pénal, article R623-2 (Légifrance)
- Code de procédure civile, article 750-1 (Légifrance)
- Service-Public.fr : Bruit de voisinage (fiche F612)
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