Living in a house with a shared yard

Restricting adverse activities within neighborly relations is possible through Section 127, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Code, which explicitly states: “The owner of a thing must refrain from everything that would annoy another person to an extent disproportionate to the circumstances or that would seriously threaten the exercise of their rights. Therefore, they must not, in particular, endanger a neighbor’s building or land with modifications to the land or modifications to the building erected on it without making sufficient measures to secure the building or land; they must not annoy neighbors beyond an extent disproportionate to the circumstances with noise, dust, ash, smoke, gases, vapors, odors, solid and liquid waste, light, shading, and vibrations; they must not allow kept animals to enter the adjacent land and must not carelessly, or at an inappropriate time of year, remove tree roots from their soil or remove tree branches overhanging their land.”

Very often, a property owner may interfere with the rights of their neighbor while using their own property. This is frequently through noise, smoke, or ash, as in your case. In the aforementioned provision, the law does not precisely define when the “extent disproportionate to the circumstances” is exceeded; it leaves this to the judgment of the individual participants and affected persons. In this case, it will be necessary to assess whether the neighbor’s conduct interferes with your rights beyond a reasonable degree. “In assessing whether the conditions for providing protection under Section 127, Para. 1 of the Civil Code are met, the term ‘beyond an extent disproportionate to the circumstances’ must be interpreted as defining the boundary between permitted behavior (from the optimal state to a state that is still permissible) and prohibited behavior (beyond the permissible extent), not only in relation to specific circumstances in a given place and time but also in relation to objectively desirable circumstances.” — Judgment of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, Case No. 5Cdo 117/1993.

First and foremost, it is appropriate to notify the disturber of the interference with your rights in written and oral form, along with a request to refrain from such conduct. If the disturber continues to interfere with your rights, especially regarding excessive noise (for example, during nighttime quiet hours), you can contact a police patrol and report a misdemeanor.

Alternatively, it is possible to ask the municipality for assistance, particularly if there are interferences with the peaceful enjoyment of the property owner.

You can also file a lawsuit in court seeking to impose an obligation to refrain from interferences, based on the specific types of interference involved. We recommend supporting the lawsuit with documentary or other evidence, as well as the formal notices you have addressed to the disturber.