Legal assistance with neighborhood issues | Legal aid center

Questioner

I work abroad regularly and when I came home last week there was suddenly a cooling system in the courtyard of a new Turkish supermarket. No more peace (the reason why I bought this house six years ago, especially because of the quiet courtyard in Amsterdam), because it is 30 meters away from my living room and bedroom. I hear the humming everywhere in my house and I have been sleeping in the guest room since I returned. I notice that I am getting nervous from the persistent monotonous humming. I have reported my complaint to the municipality, am still waiting for a phone call, but have received a confirmation of the report via email. What are the rules for this? Can you just install a cooling system in a residential garden? Is a permit required for this and shouldn't this be presented to the residents first? And can you as a resident (or homeowners association) ask to remove the cooling system? What are my rights as a resident regarding this? Thank you in advance for your answer?

Lawyer

Under neighbour law, an owner of a property may not cause unlawful nuisance to owners of neighbouring properties. Whether there is unlawful nuisance depends largely on the circumstances of the specific case. You can inquire with the municipality whether a permit is required for the installation of the neighbours and which noise standards such an installation must meet. It is then advisable to have a specialised company carry out a noise measurement. You can then compare the results of the noise measurement with the standards set by the municipality. If the standards are exceeded, you can enter into consultation with your neighbour to resolve the problem by mutual agreement. If your neighbour does not wish to cooperate in finding a solution, it is advisable to summon your neighbour by registered letter to remove the unlawful nuisance. The only option left after that is to submit your case to the court.

Lawyer

In addition to the good advice from my colleague Frank Franssen, I would like to point out that nowadays there is also a very good app to download with which you can possibly save costs because you can do an initial sound measurement yourself. If that measurement gives sufficient certainty, you can hire an external company.

Questioner

Dear Sirs, Thank you very much for your quick response and good advice. @ Mr Martens: I just downloaded several apps and unfortunately they are not really accurate or not working enough. Do you know of an app that you can recommend? Once again: thank you very much!

Lawyer

I don't have one myself, but an acquaintance of mine works for the police and they use an app for that. Unfortunately, he is on vacation now and won't be back until the end of next week. I will ask him which app that is. If you contact me directly, I will tell you which app it is.