Future nuisance

Nuisance is an element of neighborhood law - interference involving the impact of one property on the neighboring property. It may consist, for example, in the penetration of noise, dust, or water flow (as a result of the neighbor's drainage works) from someone else's property to ours.

There is no doubt that the person affected by the nuisance has the right to demand that the lawful state be restored and that the violations cease. But what if a neighbor starts work that will undoubtedly lead to nuisance in the future?

An example of this is the construction of a hall on the neighboring property (in a residential area), which is to be a transport base for lorries. The construction itself is not an excessive nuisance, especially since it is a temporary state. However, the operation of such a base will be problematic for the neighbors. Of course, the completion of construction will make the effects difficult to reverse. In such a situation, does the person concerned have to wait for the building to be erected and the activity to start in order to claim protection of his rights in court?

In the judgment of June 3, 1983, III CRN 100/83, the Supreme Court decided that obtaining legal protection is possible already at the stage of construction of facilities that will generate nuisance in the future. The justification for the ruling states: “The owner of the neighboring property may demand, pursuant to Art. 222 § 2 k.c. in connection with Art. 144 k.c. not only prohibiting nuisance that already interfere with the use of his property beyond the average level, but also abandoning the preparations that would allow such nuisance only after the completion of appropriate works.”.