Jean Taquet

NOISY NEIGHBORS

QUESTION
I purchased an apartment in Paris a few years ago, both as an investment and as the fulfillment of a lifetime dream. I love the apartment, EXCEPT for the apartment directly above, which is rented out to short-term visitors, who are there every time we come to Paris!

The by-laws specify that the peace and tranquility of neighbors must be protected. But even after having met with the president of the Board, the management company and the owner of the upstairs apartment in October 2008, we are not sure to have peace and tranquility in April when we come back. The upstairs owner admitted to removing the insulation between his floor and my ceiling. I offered to pay for carpeting and he refused. However, he promised to replace the insulation by December 2008, and I even offered to pay for half the cost. So far nothing has been done. I am going to discuss this matter with him again, but I fear that a pattern of procrastination is developing, and the work will never be done. Can the French judicial system resolve this matter?

ANSWER
First, I believe that you can get the problem resolved relatively quickly, but, NO, I do not think that the French court system will give you satisfaction in this matter.

Though French legislation is quite simple, it gets quite complicated in your situation.

For an individual like yourself, there are three categories of noise volume, each of which triggers a different legal response.

The simplest one to prove is a one-time, very loud noise such as loud music coming from a party next door. In this case only one measurement is needed, and if the measurement establishes that the noise exceeds permitted levels, the police officer issues a call for a court hearing. The fine can be very expensive.

The second simplest case to prove is the case of continuous noise. This noise may be a low volume but is heard all the time, such as the motor of an air conditioner. This case is addressed through the installation of a sound-measuring device in your apartment to measure the noise level as well as its continuous nature. If the continuous noise is above the legal limit, then you can safely take the matter to court.

The hardest case to prove is frequent and loud noise that is not necessarily continuous. To prove this case, you must measure both the level of noise and the frequency at which it occurs. As you can guess, this case is difficult to prove but it is also the most bothersome to people because it comes from neighbors. I remind you that the burden of proof is on you. It is really difficult for you to prove the reality of such noise because the French courts do not consider testimony from private individuals to be admissible evidence.

Included in this law is the provision, article R 1334-31, which states that no noise should disturb the peace of the people in the lodging:

“Aucun bruit ne doit porter atteinte à la tranquillité du voisinage ou à la santé de l’homme par sa durée, sa répétition ou son intensité. Constat sans mesure sonométrique.”

Therefore, a court procedure cannot quickly fix the problem, even though you might have to start a procedure to show your determination regarding the matter.

I would propose, therefore, a simpler solution.

So, YES, what you had intended to do would get the situation documented and, therefore, known.

The first piece of the solution is that running a successful short-term rental requires that the tenant is happy with his stay and, therefore, does not complain to the owner.

The second piece of the solution is that what was removed between your ceiling and the floor above is almost certainly common property.

The third piece of the solution is that the management company and the Board be aware of the situation and appear to be doing something to help you.

Your goal is to systematically sabotage the tenant’s satisfaction of the upstairs apartment in such a way that it is not outright harassment. It would not take long before the owner’s rental business takes a nosedive!

Here are some ideas I think you could pursue, but you need to have them reviewed professionally so that you do not expose yourself to a liability suit.

One tactic you could use would be to have a huissier serve a summons at 7AM to whoever is in the apartment, since the assumption would be that the owner could be in it. I can assure you that if three or four tenants in a row get this kind of early morning wake-up call, the apartment will be blacklisted and nobody will be interested in renting it. Of course, you must be prepared for a violent response from the owner. This is why the normal legal paperwork with him is needed so you have the documentation ready.

Another tactic would be for the upstairs tenants to get a copy of some of the letters between the management company, the President of the Board, and you translated into English. These letters could be either delivered by the gardienne, put under the entrance door, or hand-delivered at 8PM by an English speaker, etc.

In short, you are spoiling these tenants’ visit to Paris.

As stated above, you must have the undisputed right to take these actions and, therefore, a few things must be documented. I assume that nothing will have been done before you come back. So here are the steps I suggest you take:

1 - Write back to the owner as soon as possible, stating that his apartment will not be repaired by the time you come back, so you are forced to take stronger measures.

2 - Obtain a statement from the President detailing the terms of the agreement that were agreed to on October 2008 and translate this into English,

3 - Prepare the agenda of the next General Meeting with the president, so that there will be a motion about this matter. Your claim is that part of the insulation removed from under the floor is either partially or totally common property and not privately owned.

4 - Get a vote on this motion at the next General Meeting, stating that the removal of the insulation was illegal, and an act of destruction of common property, and everything else that goes with it.

5 - Make sure that the syndic sends a copy of the minutes of this meeting to the public authorities who enforce the noise regulations.

After completing these steps you have enough legal documents to pick and chose from to start your "informing-the-tenants campaign." If it is done well, I am sure that all this would qualify as normal transfer of information to people living in the apartment and not “harassment”. You are simply sending information that is public knowledge.

One would hope that the owner of the apartment above you has enough common sense to see that the co-owners are moving against him, and he installs the needed insulation. If not, he will quickly lose much more money in lost rental income.

PAYING THE CONTRACTOR WHEN YOU HAVE AN ARCHITECT

QUESTION
I own a large apartment in the Paris area and its renovation is almost done. To be more precise, the contractor stated that he is done and has demanded payment in full for the original amount agreed upon. I had hired a German architect to oversee this work, and I have appreciated, among other things, his thoroughness. Now I have learned that there have been small clashes between the contractor and the architect because the contractor is not used to working with such a detail-oriented professional!

The architect has gone through the réception des travaux procedure with the contractor, and has listed his waivers, ses réserves, which extend over two pages of various things that still need to be done, fixed, could-not-be-repaired, and so on. I can see that most of this is not major, but he has been thorough.
Just recently, they exchanged an email in which the architect explained that he was waiting for me to decide what could be let go and what was major enough to ask for a price reduction. I just received an email from the contractor threatening to sue me if he is not paid immediately, while claiming the job was done perfectly, all things considered! How did I end up being caught between these two professionals, and how can I stay out of this battle that is not mine for the most part?

ANSWER
I believe you need to come to France as soon as possible, and have a meeting with your architect on the premises. The problem should quickly diminish.

Most likely there is only a small legal issue, but a major cultural one. I would like to start with the latter, which should clear up most of your concern.

First, I am sure the contractor has not worked often with such a rigorous and somewhat inflexible architect. You stated that they have already had some clashes. Seeing that the end of the renovation is very near, the contractor considers he is done, and the job is as good as it can be. On the other hand, the architect has listed absolutely everything that he sees that is not quite right or not finished, without evaluating the importance of each item. In fact, there should be three types of problems mentioned on his list:

1 – Details that have no consequence,

2 – Problems that the contractor should fix or work that should be completed,

3 – Problems that cannot be fixed or are too difficult to fix.

The first category of problems includes those that the architect wants you to be aware of, but expects you to dismiss. He does not want to make this decision himself.

The second type of problems covers those that the contractor is hoping he can get away with. The contractor will just have to fix these sloppy jobs, and then they are no longer an issue.

The third type of problems involves those that are real issues and must be addressed. These are the things that cannot be fixed. On your arrival at the apartment, some of these problems could also be just those that the contractor was unwilling to fix. So in reality there could be very few real issues, if anything!

Now look at the situation from the contractor’s point of view. He is about to finish a project where he has made less money than expected because the quality of the work had to be better than what he had planned. For months he probably has had to endure the architect’s supervision, accompanied by an endless stream of reproaches. So he will try everything to be done with the job as soon as possible. However, since he was not able to get the architect to agree with him, his next tactic is to scare you into paying the bill in full. After that he can exit and not have to finish whatever still needs to be done.

Here is what I think the solution should be. First, do not pay what is being demanded no matter how threatening the contractor’s demands may seem. Come to France as soon as you can, which will motivate the contractor to substantially reduce the list of waivers due to unfinished work, leaving only a couple of problems that really need to be fixed.

At that point, and only then, do you have a legal issue in determining how much the contractor is really entitled to. Your architect should help you with this evaluation. You might want to have a second opinion from another professional since your German architect may not be the right person to make a correct and fair evaluation of the quality of the work and how much the shortcomings should penalize the contractor. Keep in mind that at this stage of the process what you are looking for is a good compromise so you can quickly put an end to the situation.

Here lies the true legal question of this contractor’s liability in delivering a less than perfect job. Regardless what he claims, in France such a professional is expected to deliver a perfect job. Too often the client hears “but we have done our best and this is what we’ve got.” In a previous issue, I discussed at length about what level of result should be expected from a professional. There I used the example to explain the difference between a car mechanic who must deliver perfect service and a safe car, and a surgeon who must perform to the best of his ability but cannot make any guarantee of the results.

This said, do not get hung up on the legal aspect of your issue; such a battle will not be worth it. Your best solution is to cut your losses and agree on whatever is a good compromise. The alternative would be to have a lawyer estimate how much of a price reduction you are entitled to for the shortcomings in the job, and then have this approved by a court. Once this is done, the first hearing will only mandate an expert to reassess the shortcomings so that the court can rule. Such cases can drag on for years because the case depends entirely on the evaluation of the expert. Often what happens is that the court must appoint several consecutive experts because the parties reject every conclusion, which does not favor their claims!

I do not think you want this latter scenario. So, after you have reviewed the entire situation, make your contractor an offer with a small discount, which you believe you are entitled to and quickly close the negotiation.

To specifically address your two concerns: NO, the contractor is not entitled to his final full payment until you agree that the job is perfectly finished. Here your architect is correct in advising you to wait until you have seen the condition of the apartment for yourself. And, NO, you are not caught between two professionals’ dispute, you simply have the responsibility, which is another way of saying the power, to make the final decision as the client who pays for work done.

Jean Taquet holds a masters degree in law from the Sorbonne University and the French BTS accounting degree. He served as a jurist officer in the French Army in1985.
He has been managing the refugee ministry of the American church since 1993, and has written the Question and Answer column in the Paris Free Voice. This column has continued and a book has been made with it. The Insider Guide to Practical Answers for Living in France. As an associate member of the Delaware Bar association since 1987, he had an article published in the February 1988 issue of the Delaware lawyer and sat as a guest member on the wills and trusts committee.

Comments (1)