Anyone who creates an abnormal neighborhood disturbance is exposed to having to repair the damage suffered by their neighbor whatever the cost.
This decision concerns neighborhood disturbances. The argument of the unreasonable cost of a repair was rejected by the Court of Cassation. It therefore ruled that anyone who had built a house exceeding the dimensions authorized by their building permit could be ordered to reduce it, whatever the cost of the operation for them.
Damage fully repaired
The principle of civil liability, vis-à-vis a neighbor who was not involved in the project and construction, recalled the judges, requires that his damage be fully repaired, without loss or profit for anyone. The disgruntled neighbor noted that the height of the construction, exceeding the authorized limits, had caused him to lose three-quarters of his view of the sea, a significant amount of sunshine each day and great luminosity in the living rooms.
Reducing the height of the roof by 70 cm would require very significant work, argued the author of the construction, and the operation would have an unreasonable cost in view of the damage suffered by the neighbor. It would be a disproportionate sanction, he said, citing an admissible margin of error.
But the judge did not reduce the compensation owed to the victim because it would present a disproportionate cost for the author of the damage, replied the Court of Cassation. The Court has ruled on numerous occasions that, in principle, the victim of damage had not minimized his loss in order to accommodate the author of the damage.
Real estate: this neighborhood that can cost you dearly
Different decision in a subdivision
In September 2022, however, it had not imposed such a solution when two neighbors disagreed on the importance of the construction of one in a subdivision, because it was not a question of civil liability between two foreign people. each other but from the application of the rules of a subdivision contract which linked the two adversaries. In this case, she accepted that the damage should be repaired by compensation and not by demolition.
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