Noise (General)

Noise affects most people everywhere and at all times. There is hardly a place where people's physical,
mental and social well-being is not affected by noise. This noise can be caused by traffic, commercial activities, leisure or sports facilities, but also by the behavior of individual people.

Everyone reacts differently to noise pollution in their daily environment. Noise conflicts often arise in the context of individual leisure activities. While guests in a restaurant, for example, enjoy life with a good glass of wine and at an advanced hour with wine-soaked songs and open windows, the neighbors in the immediate vicinity of this restaurant cannot organize their leisure time in a self-determined way due to the prevailing noise level.

On the basis of the German Restaurant Act, the competent authorities have the possibility to intervene in a regulatory manner if necessary. According to Section 5 (1) No. 3 of the German Restaurant Act, the operator of a restaurant may be subject to conditions to prevent harmful environmental impacts as defined by the Federal Immission Control Act. Harmful environmental impacts also include noise emitted by the restaurant. In addition to the music systems, the generally known noise immissions of a restaurant also include the entertainment and laughter of the guests, the banging of car doors and the background noise caused by the arrival and departure of vehicles

Neighborhood noise should also not be underestimated. In particular, the maintenance of gardens with equipment such as lawn mowers, grass trimmers, leaf vacuum cleaners and hedge trimmers often leads to noise-related disputes with neighbors.

The operation of equipment and machinery is not permitted in areas used for residential purposes and in special areas on working days from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., or all day on Sundays and public holidays.

Brush cutters, grass trimmers / grass edge trimmers, leaf blowers and leaf collectors may not be operated on working days between 7.00 am and 9.00 am and between 5.00 pm and 8.00 pm.

However, appliances and machines, with the exception of brush cutters, grass trimmers/grass edge trimmers, leaf blowers and leaf collectors, may also be operated from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on working days if they are used for public services or for commercial purposes.

In many cases, the people causing the noise are not aware that they are disturbing their fellow citizens beyond the tolerance limit. A clarifying discussion between the parties involved can possibly save a trip to the public order office. Experience has shown that a neighborly conversation usually leads to a quicker solution to the problem than recourse to state authorities.