germany noise
Germany (BW): What can I do about extremely loud neighbors: extremely loud music, loud kids that bang on our windows
<p>I have extremely loud neighbors, who are disruptive to me and other neighbors, and who have done the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Regularly drive their car slowly by my house while their music is blasting--and these are the type of people who buy a sound system for their car before getting a babyseat for their newborn.</li>
<li>They, and their kids, will literally scream at the top of their lungs; or pretend to cry (knowing that when they pretend to cry, I am not going to ask them to keep quiet).</li>
<li>Their parents (or guardians, or whoever is with them) will shout half-heartedly a few times, then, without anything changing, the so-called guardians will just go back inside their house.</li>
<li>Their kids have banged on my windows, with the excuse that they &quot;want to see the dog&quot;.</li>
<li>Their kids have also destroyed property on my neighbors lawn: including their flowers and some pottery.</li>
<li>Their kids have gone into private property (my garage and my neighbors backyard--which sits behind a gate).</li>
</ol>
<p>I have attempted to &quot;reason&quot; with them, several times, to no avail. Their general excuses are:</p>
<ol>
<li>The curfew on sound starts at 10pm, so as long as it is before 10pm, they are free to be as loud as they want to be.</li>
<li>Their kids are &quot;just kids&quot; and not only can they &quot;play outside&quot; but they need to do so directly outside my house because that is a &quot;public street&quot; (mind you, I live in a small German village, where the &quot;public street&quot; is extremely narrow and is not even a through street).</li>
</ol>
<p>This has bothered me for the following reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>Disrupted my work.</li>
<li>Disrupted my baby daughter's sleep.</li>
</ol>
<p>What can I do about this?</p>
<p>Whenever I tell them that I am not against their kids playing outside, I would just prefer they did not do it directly outside my house when my daughter is trying to sleep, I am either ignored or told that &quot;they will talk to their kids&quot; (which results in nothing).</p>
<p>There is literally a beautiful, public, free to access park (Sportplatz) right down the street, where I walk my dog daily: it has soccer fields, basketball courts, and several hiking and biking paths, but when I raise this as a suggestion, they say that their kids can play on the &quot;public street&quot;, meaning directly outside my house, where they scream, shout, pretend to cry, and &quot;play outside&quot;.</p>

<p>In Germany, the noise of playing children is <strong>defined as not noise</strong> according to <a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bimschg/__22.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">§22 BImSchG</a>. Normal industrial/commercial limits do not apply. This aims mostly at playgrounds, kindergartens, etc.</p>
<p>The noise of cars, stereos, etc. is not unlimited even before 22:00, but it is considerably harder to get the <em>police</em> to intervene during daytime. You might consult with a lawyer to find out if they are unreasonably noisy, you are unreasonably thin-skinned, or both. Similarly, the driving you describe <em>may</em> be violating traffic regulations, but proving that will be difficult.</p>
<p>As to actual damages to your premises, what happens depends on the age of the children <em>and</em> if they had proper supervision by their guardians. Proper supervision does not require the guardians to stand next to the children around the clock. If you have a specific case, and if the &quot;perpetrator&quot; was over 7 years old, you can ask for repayment and then sue if they refuse. This is most likely more hassle than the damage is worth, even if you do get a judgement against a minor, but it could change the tone of the relationship with your neighbours. They would have to explain in court what they did to supervise their children ...</p>
