Housing Law

Neighbours having loud sex and keeping the building awake? Noisy neighbours at night, sounds your children hear in the evening: what the law says, what it does not, the note to write and your remedies.

When your neighbour parties every weekend, French law grants no right to one free party a year. Night-time noise, daytime noise, letters, the conciliator, the managing agent, the police and the court, in order.

An abnormal neighbour disturbance makes the person behind it liable as of right under Article 1253 of the French Civil Code. Compulsory conciliation, the judicial court, daily penalties, damages, five years to act.

Night-time noise in France costs a fixed fine of €68, €180 if paid late and up to €450 before a judge. When to call the police, what the noisy neighbour risks, how to challenge a fine and what to do if it starts again.

Without proof, a noise complaint goes nowhere. To build noise nuisance evidence in France, combine a log of incidents, witness statements, an enforcement officer's report and police visits, without crossing the line of privacy.

A noisy tenant keeps you awake in France? The landlord must act after a reasoned formal notice and can go as far as ending the lease. Steps, the syndic's role and claims against a passive landlord.

Neighbours arguing almost every night in France: just noise, or a sign of domestic violence? What the law says, the warning signs, and when to call 17, 3919, 119 or the police chat.

Neighbour noise in France can be punished by day as well as by night once its length, repetition or intensity goes beyond normal life. The €68 fine, the conciliator, the court: the full guide.

Substandard housing obliges the landlord to carry out works, and an unfitness order can suspend the rent. Fitness criteria, banned energy-poor homes, applying to the town hall and the family allowance fund, and rent reductions.

An eviction procedure follows precise stages, from the order to pay to the involvement of the police. The six-week window, the forfeiture clause, payment terms, the winter ban and the help to claim at once.

A security deposit must be returned within one month, or two where the inventories differ. Lawful deductions, wear and tear, the 10% monthly penalty, free conciliation and the court application.

A landlord's notice to quit is valid only to sell, to move in, or for a legitimate and serious reason. Six months' notice, the tenant's right of first refusal, protection for older tenants and fraudulent notices.