April 8, 2024, marks a turning point in French civil law with the National Assembly's planned vote on the introduction of Article 1253 into the Civil Code. This new article, which already received Senate approval on April 3, formalizes the principle of liability for neighborhood disturbances, previously established by case law. It establishes that any person causing a disturbance beyond normal neighborhood inconveniences, such as excessive noise or obstruction of view, is automatically liable for the damage caused.
This Article 1253 clarifies that this liability does not apply if the disturbance results from activities prior to the complainant's installation, in accordance with the regulations, and which did not modify the conditions in such a way as to aggravate the disturbance. This provision repeals Article 113-8 of the Construction and Housing Code and introduces amendments to the Rural Code to provide specific exemptions for agricultural activities.
Here is the exact text of Article 1253 of the Civil Code under discussion:
“The owner, the tenant, the occupant without title, the beneficiary of a title whose main purpose is to authorize him to occupy or exploit a property, the project owner or the person who exercises the powers who is to the origin of a disturbance exceeding the normal neighborhood inconveniences is legally responsible for the resulting damage. The liability provided for in the first paragraph is not incurred when the abnormal disturbance comes from activities, whatever their nature, pre-existing the installation of the injured person, which comply with the laws and regulations and which were continued under the same conditions or under new conditions which do not cause an aggravation of the abnormal disorder. »