Repeated nuisance poisons life in a building, and the syndic (the managing agent) is often expected to put a stop to it with a single letter. Its role is a real one, but it has limits that are better understood in advance, so that you take your complaint to the right place.
The framework
Every co-owner “freely uses and enjoys the private parts and the common parts, on condition that they interfere neither with the rights of the other co-owners nor with the intended use of the building” (article 2 of the Law). The règlement de copropriété (the condominium regulations) sets out the terms on which the property may be enjoyed, and it binds owners and tenants and occupiers on any basis whatsoever alike (article 10.4).
What the syndic can do
The syndic is responsible for “securing compliance with the provisions of the condominium regulations and with the resolutions of the general meeting” (article 21). In practice:
- remind the co-owner concerned, in writing, of the rule that applies — including the landlord whose tenant is at fault, since it is the co-owner who answers for compliance with the regulations;
- have the facts recorded and documented;
- place the question on the agenda of the general meeting where the issue is a collective one (use of a common room, permitted hours, equipment);
- bring proceedings without prior authorisation from the meeting where the object is to secure compliance with and enforcement of the condominium regulations (article 14). For other proceedings, authorisation by the meeting is required.
What is not for the syndic
The syndic is not a police officer, an expert witness or a judge. Offences, disturbances of the peace and dangerous situations are for the competent authorities: the police, and the commune for local by-laws (noise, permitted hours, cleanliness), which apply in addition to the condominium regulations. A purely private disagreement between two neighbours, which amounts to no breach of the regulations, is for the parties themselves and, if need be, for the court.
Nor can the syndic arbitrate a dispute or pass on another co-owner’s personal contact details: it is bound by professional confidentiality and by data protection law. It forwards; it does not disclose.
The question of pets
There is no uniform statutory rule in Luxembourg on keeping pets in a condominium. Everything turns on your own condominium regulations: some simply regulate it (animals on a lead in the common parts, cleanliness, exclusion from certain areas), others restrict it more broadly. And a restriction is valid only if it is justified by the intended use of the building (article 10.2). We will therefore give you no general answer: check your regulations, and if their scope looks doubtful to you, have them examined.
State: the date and time of each incident, its nature and its duration, the unit or floor concerned if you know it, the evidence you hold (photographs, recordings, an official record, a complaint), and your direct contact details. A dated, repeated report makes action possible; a vague or anonymous one makes nothing possible.
If you are a landlord
Where the nuisance comes from your tenant, it is you the syndic will write to: it is for you to bring the breach to an end. Handing over the condominium regulations or the house rules when the tenant takes possession, and referring to them in the lease, is your best protection.
If the nuisance comes from the common parts
Noisy equipment, a slamming door, failing lighting, a smell from the refuse chute: these are not neighbour disputes but maintenance or works matters, dealt with by reporting them and then, if necessary, by a resolution of the general meeting. The syndicat de copropriété (the co-owners’ association) is in any event liable for damage caused to co-owners or to third parties by a construction defect or by a failure to maintain the common parts (article 11).
Bringing it to us
Use the reporting form on this site, or write to us setting out the facts in detail. We will tell you the most effective route — a letter to the co-owner, an item on the agenda, or referral to the competent authority — and we will follow the matter through.
General information on Luxembourg condominium law (the amended Law of 16 May 1975 and the Grand Ducal Regulation of 13 June 1975, in their consolidated version applicable as at 1 August 2023). Your own règlement de copropriété may lay down specific rules, which prevail within the limits set by the law. This content is not legal advice.