A neighbour dispute starts quickly and lasts a long time: you pass each other every day, you no longer speak, and every detail becomes a provocation. Mediation deals with the substance — how the properties are used, and the relationship — instead of stacking up complaints.
Music, repeated works, animals, terraces, comings and goings. Noise is the leading cause of neighbour disputes and the hardest to establish.
Extensions, insulation, terraces, damage caused by works next door, dust and vibration lasting months.
Trees too close to the boundary, a hedge blocking the light, overhanging branches and roots, leaves in the gutter.
Party walls, fences, where a structure is built, disagreement over the boundary line or over maintenance costs.
A window, balcony or terrace looking onto the neighbour's property, loss of privacy, an opening created during conversion works.
Rainwater run-off, seepage from the adjoining plot, shared drainage, water damage between adjoining buildings.
Since 1 September 2021, abnormal neighbourhood nuisance has been codified in article 3.101 of the Civil Code, introduced by the Act of 4 February 2020 enacting Book 3 ("Property"). Before that, the rule rested on case law of the Court of Cassation, built on the former article 544 of the Civil Code, now repealed.
Neighbouring owners each have the right to use and enjoy their property. In doing so, each must respect the existing balance by not causing their neighbour a disturbance that "exceeds the measure of ordinary neighbourhood inconvenience and is attributable to them" (art. 3.101 § 1).
Three practical consequences, often misunderstood:
Book 3 also gathers the classic neighbour rules: party fences (art. 3.103 ff.), water run-off (art. 3.129 to 3.131), the distance for windows, balconies and terraces — nineteen decimetres (art. 3.132), planting distances — two metres for trees at least two metres tall, fifty centimetres for other trees, shrubs and hedges (art. 3.133), overhanging branches and roots (art. 3.134) and a right of way for landlocked plots (art. 3.135 to 3.137).
Which court? Disputes about abnormal neighbourhood nuisance fall to the justice of the peace, whatever the amount claimed (art. 591, 2°ter of the Judicial Code), as do disputes over easements and rights of way (art. 591, 3° and 4°).
Three routes exist in Brussels, and the most expensive is not always the right one. This is how we steer the people who call us.
Several Brussels municipalities run a local mediation service for disputes between residents. In Saint-Gilles, for instance, the process is voluntary, free of charge and confidential, and the mediator is an impartial third party with no decision-making power. For a landing-level disagreement or tension with no money at stake, start there.
Conciliating the parties is part of the judge's remit (art. 731 of the Judicial Code). The parties can themselves ask for a preliminary conciliation: they are summoned by a simple letter from the registrar, and any agreement is recorded in a report carrying enforceable force (art. 731/1 to 733). Except in cases provided for by law, this attempt is not compulsory.
An accredited mediator makes sense where there is money at stake, building works, a co-ownership, several parties, or a need for an agreement a court can approve. Costs and fees are borne by the parties in equal shares unless they agree otherwise (art. 1731 § 1) — so it is not free, but the agreement can be made enforceable.
If your dispute takes place inside a co-ownership — general meeting, managing agent, charges, common areas — see our page Co-ownership and neighbourhood mediation. Worth knowing: in forced co-ownership of buildings, any clause giving arbitrators the power to settle disputes is deemed unwritten, but the law expressly states that this does not exclude mediation (art. 3.85 § 5 of the Civil Code).
You set out the situation. We check that mediation fits and, where it does not, point you to the municipal service or to the justice of the peace.
An invitation from a neutral third party lands better than a solicitor's letter. The neighbour remains free to accept or decline: mediation is voluntary.
Each party describes what they are living with. We separate what concerns the use of the properties, what is a legal question and what is about the relationship, then look for solutions that work day to day.
The agreement is written down: hours, works to be carried out, how costs are shared, mutual commitments. It can be put to the court for approval.
No. Mediation is a voluntary process (art. 1723/1 of the Judicial Code), and either party can end it at any time without being prejudiced (art. 1729). In our experience, an invitation from a neutral third party is nonetheless received far better than an approach coming straight from the other side.
No, and that is a distinctive feature of Belgian neighbour law. Article 3.101 of the Civil Code reasons in terms of balance rather than fault: whoever causes a disturbance exceeding ordinary neighbourhood inconvenience must restore the balance they upset, even if they are entirely within the rules.
Mediation is still possible: the conflict is between the people living there. Depending on what is at stake — works, insulation, layout — it can help to involve the owner or owners, since only they can authorise certain works.
No. Documents drawn up and communications made during the mediation are confidential: they cannot be used in any proceedings and are never admissible as evidence (art. 1728 § 1). The signed protocol and agreement are the exception, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing — logically, since the agreement has to be produced for court approval.
It binds those who signed it first of all. Where the mediation was conducted by a mediator accredited by the Federal Mediation Commission, the parties can ask the competent court to approve it — for a neighbour dispute, the justice of the peace. The approval order has the effects of a judgment (art. 1733).
Yes, and that is in fact the most common situation. The mediator can start with separate meetings and only bring the parties together once the framework is in place.
Take stock in a few minutes with our free diagnostic, or contact us for a first conversation with an accredited mediator.
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