With the arrival of good weather, gatherings between friends and family armed with all kinds of food ready to put in the barbecues will not be long in coming. When the sun begins to make us more company, we feel like getting together again to enjoy a feast in the sun. And that is when conflicts and doubts arise about the suitability or not of having barbecues in private spaces, but outdoors, such as terraces and plots or gardens.
If you are thinking of organizing a barbecue, but you know positively that your neighbor will be bothering you again with the fumes and the noise, you have to get informed. Find out if you can really organize or not barbecues in the terrace or garden of your house and prepare the set-up for the good weather.
Barbecues in terraces and gardens, yes or no?
The answer is YES, for sure. There is no article in the Horizontal Property Law that expressly prohibits the use of barbecues in terraces and gardens. It would be quite another thing if one of the owners or tenants were to take advantage of a common garden area to celebrate their private meals.
However, it is advisable to review the municipal ordinances, since it would not be strange that some municipalities have restricted the use of this type of elements. This may happen at times when there are fire prevention restrictions, especially in the summer months.
Another thing to check is the statutes of the community of owners. It is not the most common thing that barbecues are expressly prohibited in private areas (balconies, terraces and gardens), as long as they do not produce annoyances to other neighbors. It is completely logical, as we said at the beginning, that they are prohibited in communal areas, such as the gardens or the roof of the building.
What if the smoke from the barbecue bothers the neighbor?
In this case we must go directly to article 7 of the Horizontal Property Law, which states the following:
“The owner and the occupant of the apartment or premises are not allowed to develop in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in the bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or unlawful activities.”
If this happens one day and the neighbor complains about the nuisance, he will not be able to do anything to prevent you from holding the barbecue one day. But if this is every week, you can get into trouble. If you can also prove that damage has been caused, such as damage to the facade of the building or smoke has entered the interior of your home, it is very likely that the issue will come up at the next owners’ meeting and the neighbor will ask to prohibit barbecues through the community bylaws. In the worst case, you can even file a complaint.
What if I build a barbecue on the terrace?
Maybe to better channel the fumes, you consider that the ideal thing to do is to build a barbecue on the terrace. It is possible that it is a much more effective solution. However, in this case it will be necessary that you request it to the community and ask for the corresponding building permit to the city council.
To avoid problems in the future, we recommend you to always count on the advice of professionals, who can advise you on the best solution to avoid inconvenience and litigation with the neighbors.
Source: Habitaclia
You can also find us at:
YouTube – Jaume by LivingSitges
Instagram – @jaumebylivingsitges
www.livingsitges.com
