A neighbor must be particularly concerned about not taking any actions that could disturb the peace of their neighbors.
The proximity of residences in urban areas sometimes causes certain inconveniences. Many city dwellers complain about the noise generated by their neighbors' heat pumps.
An owner, tired of hearing this incessant noise, turns to the Court and requests a permanent injunction to disconnect the heat pumps from his neighbor's house and swimming pool. This owner argues that the presence of "two heat pumps makes any stay at the back of the house unpleasant due to the noise and vibrations". He feels like he's hearing a "noise similar to that of a parked diesel truck in front of the house".
The judge emphasizes "that noise can constitute pollution", but that the Civil Code imposes on neighbors the obligation to tolerate inconveniences of a normal nature. He also notes that "the same noise can be bothersome for some without being so for others". However, every owner has the "right to a minimum of quiet within the perimeter of their property, their last refuge on this earth". That is why "a neighbor must be particularly careful not to take any actions that may disturb the peace of their neighbors."
The judge therefore proposes to the neighbor one of the following solutions: the installation of a silencer on the swimming pool heat pump, its relocation, or adequate insulation of it, in order to reduce "the noise emanating from the heat pump to a reasonable and tolerable level". If the neighbor fails to comply with the court's suggestions, they will have to disconnect the heat pump.
Due to the density of urban fabric in certain neighborhoods, we must ensure that our comfort does not become the discomfort of our neighbors. God might be our neighbor because he knows that, as Jean-Paul Sartre put it so well, "hell is other people".
*C.S. 400-17-001089-057
