Noisy children have destroyed the peace of our French garden

Reader question: Our enjoyment of our garden has disappeared since our neighbour installed a swimming pool. We hear children shouting all day. Is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to take legal action over noise of this kind, although each case depends on its circumstances.

In 2015, the Nîmes Court of Appeal ruled that noise from children playing in a neighbour’s swimming pool did not constitute an actionable abnormal neighbourhood disturbance (trouble anormal de voisinage).

The complainants said that, during renovations to the neighbouring property, a swimming pool had been built 2.2m from the boundary, rather than the minimum three metres required by the commune. A terrace overlooking their property had also been constructed.

After the work was completed, the neighbour began renting out the property during the summer. According to the complainants, most occupants were holidaymakers with children, who used the pool for much of the day and made considerable noise.

The court considered the noise to be an ordinary feature of residential life. It also found that the alleged breach of planning requirements had not made the noise disturbance worse: the level of noise would have been the same had the pool been built three metres from the boundary.

Other disputes have concerned noise from swimming-pool pumps and filters. These may be assessed differently, depending on the intensity, duration and timing of the noise.

If the disturbance is persistent or particularly intrusive, you may wish to seek advice about your own circumstances.

Sarah Bright-Thomas is an English-speaking lawyer at Bright Avocats