Can we force a landlord to sound his home?

Verified 23 October 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

Yes, it is possible to require a landlord to sound-proofing his home under certain conditions.

In condominium, a landlord can be forced to sound his housing when abnormal neighborhood disorder is established.

This disorder may be caused by one of the following:

Non-compliance of the sound/sound insulation of the apartment with the applicable standards
Noise nuisance (noise) that exceeds the normal tolerance of community life
Wear and tear of the floor covering
A change in the flooring that leads to a significant deterioration of the sound insulation. For example, the judges were able to rule that replacing carpeting with tiling was detrimental to the rights of other co-owners due to the sharp increase in impact noise.

The victim of the nuisance (tenant or owner) and the owner of the property causing the disturbance can agree on the soundproofing works to be made.

In the absence of an amicable solution, the victim can obtain a court decision imposing the soundproofing works. The judge may, in fact, order the owner responsible for the nuisance to carry out the works under on-call duty if necessary.

Conversely, the judge cannot require the victim to finance and perform the soundproofing works at home to compensate for the disorder.

Please note

A tenant who suffers from nuisance because of the noisy neighborhood cannot ask the owner to have the rental unit soundproofed. Soundproofing is not one of the criteria of decency that the landlord must respect when renting a home.