Whether it’s a restaurant, café or bistro: visiting these and other places is usually a wonderful experience. However, it can sometimes be unreasonable for residents to live in the immediate vicinity of a restaurant. For example, if you can’t open a window without smells from the gastro kitchen constantly flowing in. Or the smells spoil their stay on the balcony or in the garden.
The question of whether this is acceptable for the neighborhood or not is not easy to answer. “Whether kitchen smells are actually a disruptive factor for the environment is ultimately a subjective assessment,” says Jürgen Benad, lawyer and managing director at the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga-Bundesverband) in Berlin. Smells are sensations and cannot be assessed objectively – after all, smell cannot be measured.
Regardless of this, if a legal dispute arises due to odor nuisance from the catering kitchen, according to Benad, the intensity of the nuisance plays a role for courts, i.e. the smell must be clearly – and not just slightly – perceptible. Another point: The odor nuisance occurs over a longer period of time – and not just occasionally.
Regardless of their relative frequency, according to case law, smells that trigger disgust or nausea should always be avoided. However, anyone who claims that smells from grilling, deep-frying and seasoning make him or her feel disgusted or nauseous will hardly be able to prevail. “From the perspective of the courts, there is no evidence of this,” says Benad.
Communication is key
So what should you do if you feel disturbed by the smells? “Always first talk to the restaurant business and ask for understanding,” says Christian Feierabend, a specialist lawyer in international business law in Berlin.
As a first-choice method, this is definitely better than hardening the boundaries from the outset by filing a complaint of administrative offenses or starting an expensive legal dispute. After all, the restaurateur also has an interest in being a good neighbor. In this respect, he or she will probably be willing to make compromises.
This is always better than starting an expensive legal dispute from the start. Sometimes the conflict can be resolved with very banal things. For example, an open or tilted window in the kitchen of the restaurant can cause the smells to escape to the outside. If this window remains closed, the odors can be removed via the ventilation system in the kitchen, which is often required by law.
The public order office can check the implementation of regulations
There are further regulations for catering kitchens: “For example, an exhaust air system with a filter device is often mandatory if increased grease vapor is produced by deep fryers or grills,” explains Feierabend. There must also be a grease separator that needs to be emptied regularly. But according to Feierabend, one thing must still be clear: “Smells emanating from the catering kitchen can often not be completely avoided.”
If residents now feel significantly affected by what they consider to be strong smells and if the conversation with the catering establishment was not productive, they can next contact their local authority’s public order office. “The authority can now be asked to check whether the kitchen in the restaurant is being operated in accordance with legal regulations,” explains Benad. If it turns out that this is not the case, the public order office can ask the company to change this.
Until what time is outdoor dining permitted?
In addition to smells from the kitchen, noise can also really strain the nerves of neighbors – for example from guests on the outside terrace in the form of loud conversations, laughter and shouting. Here, too, it is important to first talk to the catering establishment, make them aware of your own needs and ask for consideration. “One solution could be that guests are allowed to use the outdoor terrace of a restaurant until 10 p.m. and are then invited in,” says Benad.
The time until which outdoor dining is permitted is regulated differently from state to state and sometimes also at the local level. There may also be exceptions for certain times, such as days when customs are maintained.
Whether existing or incoming makes no difference
In general, when it comes to noise, restaurants must adhere to the regulations of the Restaurant Act and the Federal Immission Control Act. This results in operator obligations. These include, for example, the requirement to adhere to certain noise guidelines.
If residents cannot reach a solution with the restaurant business, they can also contact the public order office. “In an acute case of particularly severe noise pollution or in the event of recurring conflicts, residents could also contact the police,” says Benad.
Regardless of whether it’s about noise or smells: From Benad’s point of view, it makes no difference for residents whether the restaurant was already there when they moved in or whether it was only opened afterwards. The sentence “You knew what you were getting yourself into” doesn’t apply. Ultimately, it is about ensuring that legal requirements are adhered to and implemented and that the interests of residents as well as guests and entrepreneurs are adequately taken into account. (dpa)
2024-01-02 04:13:11
#Gastronomy #Neighborhood #smells #noise #nuisances
