Neighbourhood nuisances are inconveniences, of any kind, caused by one’s neighbours. Of course, unless you live on a deserted island, it is completely normal to hear your neighbour’s lawn mower on a Saturday morning! But sometimes neighbourhood inconveniences may become so persistent that they stop us from being able to enjoy life at home, whether we own the building or are tenants.

Note that renters have a right to enjoy the space they rent in peace. When you experience damages caused by a neighbour who is also a renter in the same building, the landlord can be held responsible. To learn more, consult the Infosheet entitled Obligations of the landlord.

Besides some protection in relation to neighbourhood nuisances, the law provides for a number of rights and obligations for neighbours, notably in relation to trees, fences, views, and rights of way. Because these questions are often at the heart of conflicts between neighbours, they will be the focus of this Infosheet.

Even though there is no legal definition, the distance between your home and your neighbour is obviously important. That said, all harm attributable to a neighbour that is reasonably nearby may be deemed a neighbourhood nuisance. For example, a court has considered two people as neighbours even though they were 1.5km apart.

The first solution is, of course, to try to come to an understanding with your neighbour to resolve the problem that exists between you. If your neighbour doesn’t want to hear anything about it, you can send him a demand letter. This is a document in which you request that another person do or not do something, like keep her dog on a leash at all times, or compensate you as a consequence of a wrong suffered. Very often, the demand letter is obligatory before legal proceedings can go be started; it is therefore important to take it seriously. To learn more, you can consult the Infosheet entitled The demand letter.

If neither negotiation nor the demand letter helps to resolve the problem, you may start an action either to be compensated for damages suffered, to have the activity that is causing the problem stopped, or to oblige your neighbour to do something he has neglected to do.

For example, thanks to an action in Small Claims Court, Martine was compensated for the landscaping work she had to complete after her neighbour’s swimming pool water spilled onto her property.

If what you really want is for the problem to just stop, instead of financial compensation, you may ask for an injunction from the Superior Court. The Superior Court may force your neighbour to keep noise below 50 decibels between 10pm and 7am, or order a local business to stop polluting your neighbourhood.

First, you should know that most municipalities have by-laws concerning maximum decibel levels. Get in touch with your municipality to find out about your rights and recourses. Your neighbour may be required to correct the situation or to pay a fine to the municipality.

If your municipality does not have such by-laws, the law nonetheless protects your right to tranquility. In other words, if there is a neighbourhood nuisance that prevents you from freely enjoying your property, you do have recourses.

Remember that, as a neighbour, you should expect to suffer the normal annoyances of having neighbours. But if these inconveniences go beyond what is tolerable, you have certain recourses. Note that you cannot take justice into your own hands by cutting the branches or the roots of your neighbour’s trees if they are encroaching onto your property. You must first ask your neighbour to take care of the situation.

If your neighbour refuses, you can oblige her to cut the branches through the judicial process, by obtaining an injunction in court. An injunction is an order of the court that obliges someone to do or not do something. Before beginning such proceedings, you must inform your neighbour of the problem by sending her a demand letter.

The answer depends on whether the hedge is on the dividing line of the two properties or if it is on your neighbour’s property.

If the hedge is on the dividing line of the two properties, whether it is a hedge or a fence, it is presumed to be shared. This means that it is considered to be the common property of both neighbours. Maintenance, repairs and reconstruction of all works on this line must be decided on and paid for by both neighbours. So, if you want to, you can oppose the demolition.

If the hedge or fence is built within the limits of your neighbour’s property, he can use whatever materials he sees fit. As long as the works are in conformity with the municipal regulations and local usage, you cannot oppose them, whether he builds a wall, a ditch, a hedge, a fence or any other kind of barrier.

No, your neighbour must let you use her property if it is impossible for you to do your renovations otherwise. Though your neighbour has the obligation to let you use her property, it goes without saying that you must inform her of your intention to use her property in advance, orally or in writing.

If, despite your precautions, you harm her property, you will be responsible for returning it to its original state.

To protect against the indiscretions of neighbours, the Civil Code stipulates that certain distances be respected concerning the placement of doors and windows. Details can be found under the by-laws on direct and indirect views. For example, you cannot have transparent windows or doors less than 1.5 m from the dividing line between your property and that of your neighbour.

Even if your neighbour is not spying on you, the regulations on views described above still apply. However, if the view opens onto a public route or park or, for example, if the window is made of opaque glass, these restrictions do not apply.

It depends on whether the encroachment causes you any harm and whether it was done in good faith. For example, maybe your neighbour did not know he was encroaching on your property. In this case, the law provides that you have a choice of recourses. You can require your neighbour to buy that part of your property, or give you compensation for the loss of usage of that part of your property.

If the hot tub encroaches on a significant part of your property or the encroachment causes you serious harm, you may require your neighbour to remove the spa and to return the area to its previous state. For example, suppose the spa has made access to your shed difficult. Know that you have the same rights if you suffer harm, whether your neighbour was acting in good or bad faith. Bad faith here means that he built the hot tub knowing he was encroaching on your property.

Finally, while remaining the owner of the property, you may agree to give a right of superficies to the neighbouring property. This right may be given freely or in exchange for payment. It can be established with the help of a notary and entered into the Land Register.

The situation you find yourself in is one of "enclosed land." To remedy the situation, you may ask that your neighbour offer you the easiest access to a public thoroughfare, giving you a right of way.

For example, in the case this question describes, you and your neighbour may go to a notary to draft a real servitude of passage and have it recorded in the Land Register. This way, all future buyers of the two properties will be obliged to respect the real servitude of passage.

If your neighbour refuses to give you a servitude, he still must provide you with a way to access your property. The law obliges him to allow you this right for as long as your property is enclosed.

This right of way, whether a servitude or not, may be given with or without a charge. In other words, your neighbour may request compensation in relation to the inconvenience he suffers due to the new intrusion. You are responsible for maintaining this right of way and using it in a manner that causes the least damage possible.

Yes. You and your neighbour must each ensure that the water, snow or ice that falls from your respective roofs falls on your own property and not on that of a neighbour. In this case, you may oblige your neighbour to re-install the eavestrough so that the water falls on his own property.