Frequently asked questions to the regulatory authority

Frequently asked questions to the regulatory authority

1. Neglected neighbouring property
An intervention by the regulatory authority against the conditions on a private property requires the existence of a threat to public safety or order.

In principle, every citizen can do what they want on their property. Freedom of ownership reaches its limits where laws are violated or the protected legal positions of third parties are infringed.

For example, landowners are not allowed to store just any object on their land. Restrictions arise, in particular, from environmental protection or waste legislation (e.g. in the event of imminent groundwater contamination due to leaking oil from a car wreck stored on the property).

An overgrown garden with an unmown lawn, weeds, garden furniture and children's toys lying around, broken washing lines, etc., does not represent a danger to public safety or order.

Intervention by the regulatory authority based on environmental protection law obligations to act or cease and desist is therefore ruled out. The described conditions on the property at best impair the aesthetic perception of the observer.

A violation of elementary, unwritten rules cannot be seen in the criticised condition of the property.

The objectionable behaviour of the property owner, which incidentally takes place in the exercise of his constitutionally protected property rights, is hardly visible to the outside world. The neighbour's rights worthy of protection are not violated by the unpleasant sight.

As a rule, intervention by the regulatory authorities is therefore neither possible nor permissible due to the lack of a dangerous offence.

If weed seeds are carried over to the neighbouring property to an unacceptable extent due to failure to maintain the lawn, there may be a civil law claim against the person responsible (owner of the overgrown property) for removal of the disturbance to property.

2. noise caused by children playing
The neighbour's children playing in the garden, even if it should be louder, corresponds to the normal use of a garden plot in a residential area and is therefore acceptable to the neighbours. The same applies to noise caused by children playing in playgrounds or on public thoroughfares. However, the night-time quiet period from 10.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. applies in accordance with the State Immission Control Act.

3. alcohol consumption in public
Alcohol consumption in public does not in itself constitute a threat to public safety or order without additional circumstances. Behaviour that is merely unusual or distasteful and/or causes incomprehension or discomfort in parts of the population is to be tolerated by the regulatory authorities as long as there is no fear of damage to a protected good (e.g. property, physical integrity, etc.).

The excessive consumption of alcohol primarily jeopardises the health of the drinker. However, as an expression of the general right of personality in accordance with Art. 2 Para. 1 of the Basic Law, mere self-endangerment is to be accepted by society and the regulatory authorities. Intervention to protect the drinker from himself is not permissible. In contrast to the consumption of other drugs, the consumption of alcohol is tolerated in our culture, and in some circles and regions it is even valued as an expression of a special way of life.

Only children and young people are protected by various laws and prohibitions (e.g. § 4 Para. 1 of the law for the protection of young people in public prohibits the serving of alcoholic beverages to children and young people). Since, for cultural and historical reasons, the majority of the population is generally rather favourably disposed towards alcohol and the legislator has taken this phenomenon into account by giving alcohol "special treatment" compared to other drugs, the regulatory authorities cannot prevent the consumption of alcohol "through the back door", so to speak, via the protection of public order.

The subjective fear that citizens, tourists and visitors could have a negative impression of the municipality due to the sight of people drinking in public is not sufficient for the regulatory authority to intervene.

4. barbecue party in the neighbour's garden (odour nuisance)
According to Section 7 (1) sentence 1 of the NRW State Immission Control Act, the burning and burning of objects for the purpose of recovering individual or other purposes in the open air is prohibited if this could endanger or cause considerable nuisance to the neighbourhood or the general public.

On the other hand, on warm summer days on special occasions, for example on the occasion of a birthday, it is a great pleasure for many people to barbecue in the garden, which is usually tolerated by the neighbours - and in some cases even beyond 10 pm. In the opinion of the OLG Oldenburg (Ref.: 13 U 53/02, judgement of 29.07.2002), prohibiting this completely goes too far.

The hypersensitivity of individuals is not particularly protected. For some people, the smell of roasting meat may be unbearable, but for the "normal citizen", who is the focus of consideration, the occasional barbecue is part of normal garden use.

Noise and odour nuisance affect private rights, which are protected by both public law and civil law.

(Excessive) barbecuing outdoors is prohibited if the odour emissions caused by it penetrate into the living rooms or bedrooms of neighbours in a concentrated form.

This also applies to noise if it is caused in high intensity over a longer period of time, possibly repeatedly and possibly at regular intervals.

Please also note that partying in the garden is a socially acceptable activity.

5. party in the neighbour's garden (noise nuisance / disturbance of the night's rest)
The legal interest affected here is unhindered sleep and the undisturbed use of the home and garden, i.e. the neighbours' property and possessions. Consequently, only private legal interests are affected. The protection of private legal interests is primarily the task of the civil courts and their enforcement bodies. The regulatory authority can only intervene if either the private rights are also protected by public law standards or civil law assistance cannot be obtained quickly enough.

From 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., activities that are likely to disturb the peace at night are prohibited. This results from § 9 Para. 1 of the NRW State Immission Control Act.

The criterion "likely to cause a considerable nuisance to the general public or the neighbourhood or to disturb the night's rest" must be examined to determine the intensity with which the night's rest is disturbed.

The following must be taken into account

- the volume level
- the duration of the disturbance,
- the regularity of the disturbance,
- the (day or night) time of the noise impact and
- the distance of the residential building from the noise source.

In principle, the objective and not the subjectively perceived volume is decisive. The hypersensitivity of individuals is therefore irrelevant.

The procedure depends on the specifics of the individual case. A one-off disturbance of the night's rest with low intensity and short duration of the disturbance neither fulfils the offence of § 117 of the Administrative Offences Act nor the offences of the regulations of the federal states on noise protection. Occasional celebrations are part of the normal use of a garden plot in a residential area. In the case of a one-off celebration, it may be reasonable to tolerate the noise for a few hours.

The intervention of the Public Order Department is then out of the question, as the offences of § 117 of the Administrative Offences Act and the NRW Immission Control Act are not fulfilled.

However, if the noise is caused in high intensity over a longer period of time and this is possibly repeated and possibly at regular intervals, it is possible to recognise a violation of § 117 of the Administrative Offences Act or the NRW State Immission Control Act.

The legal basis for this arises from Section 14 (1) of the NW Regulatory Authorities Act and Section 15 in conjunction with Section 9 (1) of the NRW State Immission Control Act. § Section 9 (1) of the NRW State Immission Control Act.

Violations can be punished with administrative offence proceedings and result in a fine.

Complainants are requested to keep a noise log for evidence purposes so that the individual offences are documented.

6. obligation to affix a house number
The federal legal basis or requirement for the affixing of house numbers can be found in Section 126 (3) of the Building Code: "The owner must provide his property with the number determined by the municipality. In all other respects, the provisions of state law shall apply."

According to this, the owner of a property is obliged to provide his property with the number determined by the municipality and to procure and install the sign himself at his own expense.

Section 10 of the Ordinance on the Maintenance of Public Safety and Order in the City of Beckum also stipulates that a house number must be affixed: "Each house must be provided with the house number assigned to the property by the owner or authorised user at their own expense; the house number must be recognisable from the street and must be kept legible."

Violations of the regulations constitute an administrative offence and can be punished with a fine.

If the building owner or an authorised user refuses to affix a house number to the building, the municipality can impose fines and also have the sign affixed itself or by a third party by way of substitute performance.

It is in the interest of both the owner and the tenant that a house number is clearly visible so that the fire and rescue services can quickly find the correct address in an emergency. It is also important for postal and other delivery services to be able to recognise the house number.

7. dumping of litter
Attentive citizens who wish to report litter can contact the Environment and Greenery Department, Ms Stöppel, Tel.: 02521 296710.

If a polluter has been observed dumping litter or if the polluter can presumably be identified from the type of litter (letters with addresses or similar), the local regulatory authority will take action to prosecute the offence. In this case, please contact the Law and Order Department, Mrs Karrengarn, Tel.: 02521 293202.

8. other disturbances of the peace
Every summer, the Public Order Department has to deal with numerous complaints about disturbances of the peace.

Experience shows that many disturbances of the peace are due to inconsideration towards other people, thoughtlessness or ignorance of noise protection regulations. In most cases, complaints are not made; in individual cases, charges are sometimes pressed.

To avoid unnecessary arguments and trouble with neighbours, authorities and courts, the following advice should be observed:

a.) Use of lawn mowers and other garden equipment

Complainants often express their incomprehension that their neighbour spends the whole day at home but only mows his lawn with his motorised mower after 8 pm. It is prohibited to use lawn mowers (including so-called low-noise devices) with electric or petrol engines in sensitive areas (i.e. pure, general and special residential areas as well as special areas used for recreation, spa and clinic areas, areas for tourist accommodation and on the grounds of hospitals and nursing homes)

- on Sundays and public holidays

- and on working days (Mon. to Sat.) between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. and outdoors.

Working days include the days from Monday to Saturday inclusive.

The ban also applies to the use of scarifiers, lawn trimmers, hedge trimmers, portable chainsaws, concrete mixers, motor hoes and shredders, each with an electric or petrol engine, and water pumps (with the exception of pond pumps).

b.) Use of noisy garden tools with an environmental label

Particularly noisy garden tools with an environmental label (these can be recognised by a stylised flower with a circle of twelve stars as petals and the euro symbol in the middle) may also not be used outdoors

- on Sundays and public holidays

- and on working days between 8 pm and 7 am.

Noisy garden tools in this sense are brush cutters and gas trimmers/grass edgers with internal combustion engines as well as leaf blowers and leaf collectors with electric or internal combustion engines.

c.) Use of noisy gardening equipment without an eco-label

If the aforementioned equipment does not bear the EU eco-label, the following (extended) quiet periods apply:

- on Sundays and public holidays

- and on working days between 7:00 am and 9:00 am, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm and between 5:00 pm and 7:00 am.
d.) Exceptions

The quiet periods do not apply if the use of the listed equipment or machines is necessary "to avert a danger" in the event of severe weather or snowfall or to avert any other danger to people, the environment or property".

Please note that offences against the rules can be punished with a fine of up to 50,000 euros.

e.) Animal noise

Dogs are often left alone and then bark tirelessly. The neighbour then complains about the dog barking for hours on end.

This could be remedied by having someone else look after your dog or by closing the windows of the rooms where the dog is staying during this time. It is often sufficient to bring the dog into a room that faces the garden or a side of the building where there are no other people around.

f.) Complaints also often occur in the home

The possible high level of noise in a house obliges everyone to be particularly considerate. The owner of a home has a special duty of care to ensure that there is no disturbing noise in their home at all times. If other residents could be unreasonably disturbed, very loud music may only be listened to via headphones, even during the day. However, it is better - also for your own ears - not to exceed a medium volume (room volume).

Renovations should be organised in such a way that noisy work is completed before 22:00 on weekdays. DIY machines may not even be used outside after 8.00 pm. Doors, walls or floors can of course be painted after 10.00 p.m. as long as the work is not kept awake by loud singing and whistling or loud radio music.

Please ensure that you behave in such a way that you do not cause more noise disturbance to others than is avoidable under the circumstances.

g.) Further legal regulations

- From 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., activities that are likely to disturb the night's rest are prohibited.

- Sound equipment used to produce or reproduce sound (in particular musical instruments,

sound reproduction devices and similar equipment) may only be used at such a volume that uninvolved persons are not significantly disturbed. The use of these devices is prohibited on public thoroughfares as well as in and on such facilities, traffic areas and means of transport that serve general use and in public bathing establishments if others could be disturbed by them.

- It is prohibited to run engines that produce noise or exhaust fumes unnecessarily.

- Animals must be kept in such a way that no-one is more than slightly inconvenienced by the emissions they produce, in particular

by the noise they make.

Avoid unauthorised noise. Anyone who does not comply with the above regulations is committing an administrative offence, which can be punished with a fine.

9. home collections
The NRW Collection Act was repealed without replacement on 1 January 1998. The reason for the cancellation of the Collection Act was the "reduction of administrative bureaucracy". The Collection Act stipulated that all collections had to be applied for and authorised in advance by the Department of Law and Order. The authorisation requirement served to verify the integrity of the respective collections. As a result of the repeal of the law, anyone in NRW can now collect donations without registration or authorisation. This has reduced the overall administrative burden. The repeal of the law also relieves the burden on collection organisations, as the previous approval procedures are no longer necessary.

Since the repeal of the Collection Act, every citizen is free to decide whether and to whom to donate.

10. begging in public
Since 1974, begging has no longer been a criminal offence. Silent" begging in public places is not prohibited as it does not represent a danger.

In contrast, "aggressive" begging can interfere with legal positions that are protected by criminal offences (e.g. protection from bodily harm, protection from insults, protection from coercion). The police and the specialist law and order service can take action against "aggressive" begging to avert danger.

"Aggressive" begging occurs, for example, when the beggar obstructs the path of passers-by or prevents them from moving on by holding them down or similar.


For further regulations, please refer to the local regulations, in particular the Ordinance on the Maintenance of Public Safety and Order in the City of Beckum, as well as the brochure "What you should know about legal problems at the garden boundary".