Rubbish under the bedroom window: the block of flats is liable for damages

Having to seal the windows in the height of summer because of a nauseating smell. This is the central issue in Judgment 2195/26 handed down by the Florence Court of Appeal, arising from the introduction of separate waste collection in a Tuscan block of flats with 900 residents, which decided to place five large rubbish bins right up against the boundary wall and just 2.5 metres from the bedroom window of one of the residents.

The impact had proved devastating: persistent foul odours, constant noise caused by the delivery (even at night) of rubbish and its collection at dawn by the waste collection company, which made life unbearable for the woman. Hence her appeal to the court for help. At first instance, the judges had upheld the claim, but by following a circuitous route: the bins were located on a public road, and consequently, the Court had applied Article 2051 of the Civil Code (liability for property in custody), ordering the block of flats and the waste collection company to pay, in equal shares, over 50,000 euros in compensation to the resident, who had been recognised as having total temporary incapacity.

The residents’ association and the company therefore appealed to the Court of Appeal, which overturned the account of the facts: the bins had been placed in a private area belonging to the block of flats. For this reason, the correct provision to apply is Article 844 of the Civil Code. Dumping the waste of 900 people beneath a bedroom window is objectively intolerable, and the judge may also reach a decision based on prudent assessment and witness evidence. The block of flats cannot absolve itself of liability by claiming that the location of the bins had been imposed by the waste management company. As the owner of the area, it should have prevented nuisance odours from emanating from its property, identified an alternative location or taken urgent action against the waste management company.

As for the role of the waste collection company, it is not liable under Article 844 of the Civil Code, but pursuant to Article 2051 of the Code in its capacity as custodian of the bins. Liability therefore remains joint and several between the two parties named as defendants. Finally, as regards compensation, this is left to the judge’s discretion: 50,000 euros is too high a figure, but by virtue of the infringement of constitutional rights, the total damages are recalculated at 15,000 euros, of which 50 per cent each is to be borne by both the block of flats and the waste collection company.