What are you allowed to do or not do in your garden?
The regulations on private outdoor spaces are quite comprehensive. Overview of the legal rules on what it is possible to do and what not to do in your garden.
To discoverCan I come by whenever I want my mower?
Although your garden belongs to you, it is subject to restrictive rules, particularly with regard to noise pollution. Some noises are punishable by a fine. At the top of the list, mower noise.
Being an offense is not just about cutting the grass in your garden for a few minutes. The noise must cause an abnormal neighborhood disturbance. That is to say, it must be repeated, intensive and last a long time.
More locally, mayors, by virtue of their police powers, can issue an order relating to noise. There may be a ban on mowing on Sundays, or even on using your mower at certain times of the day, on weekends or during the week.
To find out more about mowing regulations, contact your town hall. If nothing has been specially taken by the mayor, you are free to pass your mower whenever you want. Except to respect suitable rules of good neighborliness.
Good to know: if you live in a condominium, you must check in the regulations if there is a framework for mowing in the gardens.
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Can I force my neighbor to have a maintained garden?
Your garden is maintained to perfection, and you find that the disorder in your neighbor's garden is not appropriate. Legally, there is an obligation to maintain your garden. It appears in article L2213-25 of the General Code of Local Authorities:
"Failure on the part of the owner or his heirs to maintain undeveloped land located within a residential area or at a maximum distance of 50 meters from dwellings, outbuildings, construction sites, workshops or factories belonging, the mayor may, for environmental reasons, notify him by decree of the obligation to carry out, at his expense, the work to restore this land after formal notice.
If, on the day indicated by the formal notice, the prescribed land restoration works have not been carried out, the mayor may have them carried out ex officio at the expense of the owner or his heirs".
The administrative judge clarified the concept of “environmental reasons”. A fallow garden, filled with rubbish or rubble or invaded by pests, such as rats, falls into this category (CAA Nancy, February 11, 2010, RG n° 09NC00279).
The maintenance obligation concerns the gardens:
In concrete terms, how do you force your neighbor to maintain his garden? First, send him a letter reminding him of his legal obligation. If nothing happens, you can try mediation or contact your town hall. The latter can put your neighbor on notice to put his garden back in good condition, and at his expense. As a last resort, and only if the lack of maintenance causes you harm, you can take legal action.
Good to know: you don't know the owner of the fallow garden? You can contact your town hall who will search for it. If it does not find it, the mayor will draw up a report of abandonment of land and will order, at the expense of the town hall, the necessary work.
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Can I force my neighbor to cut down his trees?
Your neighbor has one or more trees on his property and the branches of these trees encroach on your garden. The Civil Code, in its article 673, governs the rules on pruning. It gives you the right to act.
“The person on whose property the branches of trees, bushes and shrubs of the neighbor are advancing can compel the latter to cut them. The fruits which naturally fell off the branches are his.
If it is the roots, brambles or twigs that advance on his inheritance, he has the right to cut them himself at the limit of the dividing line.
The right to cut the roots, brambles and twigs or to have the branches of trees, shrubs or shrubs cut is imprescriptible”.
So you have two options, depending on what sticks out on your land.
- Ask your neighbor to cut the branches sticking out of your garden.
- Cut any roots, brambles or twigs sticking out of your garden yourself. The size must be done at the limit of your property.
In the event of non-response or refusal of your neighbor, you are entitled to seize the court of the place where your garden in order to request the execution of the size and compensation for the damage suffered.
Good to know: in the event of joint ownership, the trees (and more generally the hedges or shrubs) must be maintained by the neighborhood. Everyone must carve out their side. In case of failure, the courts can compel to do so.
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Can I make a fire with green waste from my garden?
Gardening leads to the production of waste that we call “green”, since it comes from the garden. Dry or wet, they come from mowing the lawn, picking up dead leaves in the fall, pruning trees, hedges and shrubs, etc.
Perhaps the easiest way to get rid of them is to burn them to ashes. Is it allowed to burn green waste from your garden? The answer is no, and is very clearly specified in the circular of November 18, 2011 relating to the ban on open burning of green waste.
Several reasons are given to justify this ban:
The flyer offers alternatives to burning green waste. In particular, mulch or compost. Or, to deposit them in a recycling center.
Good to know: derogations may exist to the principle of banning the burning of green waste. They are usually taken when a plant disease control campaign is in place. Or, if your garden is part of a fire risk zone, you may be forced to clear your land and allowed to burn them. Check with your town hall.
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Can I plant a tree wherever I want in my garden?
The answer to the question of planting trees in one's garden is very clearly indicated in the Civil Code.
Article 671 authorizes an owner to decorate his private plot with a plant. However, there is a legislative framework to avoid creating unnecessary neighborhood disturbances. The latter would for example be constituted by an encroachment on the neighboring plot, or the deprivation of an unobstructed view.
“It is only permitted to have trees, shrubs and shrubs near the limit of the neighboring property at the distance prescribed by the particular regulations currently in existence, or by constant and recognized usages and, failing that, regulations and customs, only at a distance of two meters from the dividing line between the two heritages for plantations whose height exceeds two meters, and at a distance of half a meter for other plantations”.
Two planting distances must therefore be respected, depending on the height of the tree to be planted:
The distance is measured from the middle of the tree trunk. The height is calculated from the ground to the top of the tree.
Good to know: a regulation or local custom can modify the general principle of article 671 of the Civil Code. Check with your town hall.
If you fail to comply with applicable law, you may be subject to legal action. If your neighbor has planted a tree too close to your property line, you have several means of enforcement:
Note: if the planting is more than 30 years old and has never been denounced, it is prescribed. That is to say, you will have no legal means of forcing your neighbor to pull it out.
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Can I use my barbecue whenever I want?
A priori, you can reasonably use your barbecue whenever you want. With two reservations.
Neighborhood disputes and the use of barbecues rarely go hand in hand. In question ? Stubborn fumes and odors. The neighborhood disorder, to be characterized, must be repeated, intensive and last a long time. The occasional barbecue cannot therefore constitute one. On the other hand, intensive use can become so, provided there is proof of damage. For example, the blackening of a wall or the noise of the guests.
Locally, town halls can regulate the right to barbecue. In particular, by limiting the hours or periods of the year when it is possible to use it. They can also prohibit charcoal barbecues, if there is a risk of a fire starting.
Also readBurning green waste in your garden: what does the law say?
Until what time can noise be made in the garden?
Noise pollution comes from behavioral noise. They fall into the category of neighborhood disturbance. Noises coming from the garden can be one of them.
Good to know: we are talking about noise pollution during the day. At night, it is nocturnal uproar.
During the day, noise pollution will be formed when it is repeated, intensive and lasts. It is therefore possible to make noise in your garden during the day, as long as you do not cross the limit stated above. You can mower, sand shutters, host a lunch or have fun in your pool. Without being liable to a fine.
On the other hand, at night, the nocturnal uproar is established much more quickly. The conditions of repetition, intensity and duration do not need to be met. Nocturnal noise is identified when two cumulative conditions are met:
If you are wondering at what time the nocturnal uproar is constituted, know that no text precisely frames it. The 10 p.m. - 7 a.m. is a usual range. You can reasonably consider the night from the time the sun sets until it rises.
You can therefore fully enjoy your garden, within reason.
Good to know: a decree relating to noise can prohibit it at certain times of the day. Check with your town hall.
