Can you report a neighbour for bad smells?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It depends on where the smell comes from. If it comes from a business activity, such as a restaurant, a garage or a farm, or from unhygienic conditions, such as accumulated rubbish, animal excrement or a drain in poor condition, you can report it to the town council, which can inspect, order the problem to be put right and impose penalties under its ordinances. If it is a normal household smell, such as cooking, there is not usually any infringement and the route is a civil claim. By that route, the “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, allows you to require your neighbour to put an end to smells that cause you substantial harm and to pay you for the damage. Reporting it to the town council Town councils make sure, through their ordinances and the regulations on business activities, public health and animals, that homes and businesses do not cause hygiene problems. That is why it makes sense to go to them in cases such as these: Smells from a business, such as a restaurant, a bakery, a garage or a farm, especially if it is in breach of its licence or of the conditions for its extraction flue. Accumulated rubbish, animal excrement, pests or a drain in poor condition. The town council can inspect, order the place to be cleaned up or the problem to be put right and impose penalties under its ordinance. If it is a normal household smell, such as cooking, an occasional barbecue or tobacco, there is not usually any administrative infringement, unless your municipality's ordinance says otherwise. Nor is a bad smell between neighbours a criminal offence in itself, so outside very serious cases it is not reported to the police. The civil claim The Catalan code prohibits smells, smoke, gases and other nuisances, or “inmisiones”, which is what the law calls emissions coming from the neighbouring property, when they arise from unlawful acts and cause damage to the property or to the people who live there. But it requires people to tolerate those that are harmless or cause harm that is not substantial. To decide this, account is taken of the limits set by laws or regulations and, if there are no limits for that smell, the court assesses it case by case. The Catalan code adds these rules: Even if the harm is substantial, it has to be tolerated if it comes from the normal use of the neighbouring property and preventing it would involve disproportionate expense. In that case you are entitled to compensation for the damage and to require the nuisance to occur at the least harmful time. The fact that the business has a licence does not prevent you from claiming. You can require it to take the measures that are technically possible and economically reasonable to prevent the harm and to compensate you. Nobody has to tolerate smells deliberately directed towards their home. You can demand that the smells stop for as long as they continue. Compensation for the damage can be claimed for three years from when you become aware of the nuisance. If the neighbour lives in the same building, the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) can also take action. Under the Spanish Civil Code (“Código civil”), which applies in most of the rest of Spain, there is no such detailed rule, but the courts protect neighbours in a similar way and the time limit for compensation is one year. How to prepare your case Note down the days and times when the smell reaches you and take photos or videos of its source, such as the rubbish or the extraction flue. Gather strong evidence, such as the report of the council inspection, a notarial record (“acta notarial”), a report from a qualified professional or statements from other neighbours. Talk to your neighbour first or write to them. Before suing, the law generally requires an attempt to reach an agreement, for example through a written proposal or mediation.