Urban police regulations
The regulatory discipline of the individual condominium is often accompanied by that of the Municipality. This body in fact has the power to regulate "noises" when these, due to the intensity, methods or times in which they are produced, are likely to disturb others. However, there is no univocal regulation, each Municipality is free, also based on the characteristics of the territory and the population, to orient itself as it sees fit. Let's see some examples.
Municipality of La Spezia
The art. 15 of the Urban Police Regulation entitled "Prescriptions to promote respect for public peace" provides:
1) "Citizens must behave appropriately to avoid the spread of annoying noises capable of disturbing public peace.
2) It is in particular prohibited from 10.30pm to 7.30am to use household appliances, lifts, hoists and other artefacts of various kinds if they produce sensitive vibrations and anomalous noises perceptible inside the real estate units adjacent to those in which said devices are installed ."
Penalties are foreseen for violators in the amount established by the Municipal Resolution, which is updated every two years and which provides for a reduced payment if made immediately after the dispute.
Municipality of Pavia
The art. 46 of the Urban Police Regulation of the Municipality of Pavia "Noise in homes and workplaces" states:
"1. In homes it is forbidden to produce annoying noises, use household appliances, hoists or other products of a different nature if they produce sensitive vibrations and anomalous noises perceptible inside the real estate units adjacent to those in which said equipment is installed, especially from 10 pm, 30 at 7.00." Anyone who violates this provision is subject to an administrative fine of 50 to 400 euros.
Municipality of Trento
The art. 46 of the Urban Police Regulation of the Municipality of Trento "Noises and vibrations from domestic activities" establishes that:
"1. The use in homes of household appliances and other instruments that transmit vibrations that are significantly perceptible to a significant number of adjacent homes is suspended from 11pm to 6am of the following day. (...)
4. Anyone who violates the provisions of this article is subject to the administrative sanction of paying a sum ranging from €27.00 to €162.00."
The Civil Code
As regards the Civil Code, it must be clarified that it is not specifically concerned with regulating the times in which to use household appliances in the condominium, but does so indirectly, through the regulation of emissions contained in the art. 844 of the Civil Code which provides as follows "1. The owner of a property cannot prevent the introduction of smoke or heat, fumes, noises, shaking and similar propagations deriving from the neighbor's land, if they do not exceed normal tolerability, also having regarding the condition of the places. 2. In applying this rule the judicial authority must reconcile the needs of production with the reasons of ownership. It may take into account the priority of a specific use."
According to the civil code, you cannot therefore prohibit your neighbor from turning on the washing machine, the dishwasher or from vacuuming, only that, unlike the condominium regulations and those of the urban police, he is not so concerned with the times, but with the noise produced. from these appliances and their spread to other people's properties. A big problem, given that the ability to tolerate noise is different from person to person, which is why the code leaves this evaluation to the judge.
Intolerable noise? It is necessary to prove intensity, frequency and time of propagation
An evaluation which, however, even if entrusted to an impartial third party, cannot be purely discretionary. Fortunately, the Court of Cassation (sentence no. 22105/2015) took care of clarifying this aspect, called upon to resolve a lawsuit brought by a tenant who complained about the improper use of the washing machine during the hours designated for rest by the tenant on the floor. above.
In rejecting the requests of the appellant condominium, the Court of Cassation specified that "In this case, the Court of Appeal, on the basis of the findings of the official technical consultancy, ascertained that the washing machine at issue, when working at full load and in the centrifuge, exceeded the background noise by 3.5 decibels during daytime hours and 4.5 at night, and acknowledged that these values are higher than that of 3 decibels of background noise, normally identified by jurisprudence as the limit of tolerability of the noisy emissions. It, however, highlighted that the actor - who had declined from the oral test - did not prove either a particularly intense frequency in the use of the appliance or that the washing took place during the night and afternoon rest hours ; and, having evaluated all the circumstances of the concrete case, with not inconsistent arguments, it reached the conclusion that a noise 3.5 times higher than the background noise, which lasts for five to ten minutes (the spin time) per day at times not intended for rest and, presumably, no more than once a day, cannot be considered objectively intolerable."
Urban police regulations
The regulatory discipline of the individual condominium is often accompanied by that of the Municipality. This body in fact has the power to regulate "noises" when these, due to the intensity, methods or times in which they are produced, are likely to disturb others. However, there is no univocal regulation, each Municipality is free, also based on the characteristics of the territory and the population, to orient itself as it sees fit. Let's see some examples.
Municipality of La Spezia
The art. 15 of the Urban Police Regulation entitled "Prescriptions to promote respect for public peace" provides:
1) "Citizens must behave appropriately to avoid the spread of annoying noises capable of disturbing public peace.
2) It is in particular prohibited from 10.30pm to 7.30am to use household appliances, lifts, hoists and other artefacts of various kinds if they produce sensitive vibrations and anomalous noises perceptible inside the real estate units adjacent to those in which said devices are installed ."
Penalties are foreseen for violators in the amount established by the Municipal Resolution, which is updated every two years and which provides for a reduced payment if made immediately after the dispute.
Municipality of Pavia
The art. 46 of the Urban Police Regulation of the Municipality of Pavia "Noise in homes and workplaces" states:
"1. In homes it is forbidden to produce annoying noises, use household appliances, hoists or other products of a different nature if they produce sensitive vibrations and anomalous noises perceptible inside the real estate units adjacent to those in which said equipment is installed, especially from 10 pm, 30 at 7.00." Anyone who violates this provision is subject to an administrative fine of 50 to 400 euros.
Municipality of Trento
The art. 46 of the Urban Police Regulation of the Municipality of Trento "Noises and vibrations from domestic activities" establishes that:
"1. The use in homes of household appliances and other instruments that transmit vibrations that are significantly perceptible to a significant number of adjacent homes is suspended from 11pm to 6am of the following day. (...)
4. Anyone who violates the provisions of this article is subject to the administrative sanction of paying a sum ranging from €27.00 to €162.00."
The Civil Code
As regards the Civil Code, it must be clarified that it is not specifically concerned with regulating the times in which to use household appliances in the condominium, but does so indirectly, through the regulation of emissions contained in the art. 844 of the Civil Code which provides as follows "1. The owner of a property cannot prevent the introduction of smoke or heat, fumes, noises, shaking and similar propagations deriving from the neighbor's land, if they do not exceed normal tolerability, also having regarding the condition of the places. 2. In applying this rule the judicial authority must reconcile the needs of production with the reasons of ownership. It may take into account the priority of a specific use."
According to the civil code, you cannot therefore prohibit your neighbor from turning on the washing machine, the dishwasher or from vacuuming, only that, unlike the condominium regulations and those of the urban police, he is not so concerned with the times, but with the noise produced. from these appliances and their spread to other people's properties. A big problem, given that the ability to tolerate noise is different from person to person, which is why the code leaves this evaluation to the judge.
Intolerable noise? It is necessary to prove intensity, frequency and time of propagation
An evaluation which, however, even if entrusted to an impartial third party, cannot be purely discretionary. Fortunately, the Court of Cassation (sentence no. 22105/2015) took care of clarifying this aspect, called upon to resolve a lawsuit brought by a tenant who complained about the improper use of the washing machine during the hours designated for rest by the tenant on the floor. above.
In rejecting the requests of the appellant condominium, the Court of Cassation specified that "In this case, the Court of Appeal, on the basis of the findings of the official technical consultancy, ascertained that the washing machine at issue, when working at full load and in the centrifuge, exceeded the background noise by 3.5 decibels during daytime hours and 4.5 at night, and acknowledged that these values are higher than that of 3 decibels of background noise, normally identified by jurisprudence as the limit of tolerability of the noisy emissions. It, however, highlighted that the actor - who had declined from the oral test - did not prove either a particularly intense frequency in the use of the appliance or that the washing took place during the night and afternoon rest hours ; and, having evaluated all the circumstances of the concrete case, with not inconsistent arguments, it reached the conclusion that a noise 3.5 times higher than the background noise, which lasts for five to ten minutes (the spin time) per day at times not intended for rest and, presumably, no more than once a day, cannot be considered objectively intolerable."