Neighbor’s Dog Barking? A Comprehensive Guide to Obtaining Compensation

Dog Barking Nuisance: Legal Ramifications

Even charming dog barking creates noise nuisance. Persistent barking disrupts routines. It prevents comfortable living.

Owner Responsibility: Addressing Excessive Barking

Owners sometimes confine dogs outdoors. Distressed dogs bark excessively. Owners may be unconcerned. Neighbors often are not.

Legal Grounds: Suing for Noise Nuisance

Legally, dog barking is a noise nuisance. Inadequate care also qualifies. This creates grounds for a tort claim.

Key Questions: Proving and Remedying Nuisance

How loud is too loud? Does the law cover other behaviors? What proves excessive barking? What remedies exist? This article answers.

Dog Barking – What Does the Law Stipulate?

Legislation addresses dog barking through various enactments creating a comprehensive framework. The foundational legal and social norm, established in the 1960s, is enshrined in the Prevention of Nuisances Law.

The law’s initial provision addresses noise nuisance: “No person shall cause loud or unreasonable noise from any source whatsoever if it disturbs or is likely to disturb a person nearby or passersby.”

Section 13 establishes that violating these provisions constitutes a tortious act termed “private nuisance” (Section 44(a) of the Torts Ordinance).

Private nuisance occurs when an individual’s actions, business operations, or property use unreasonably interfere with another’s reasonable property use.

If another party suffers damage (monetary or non-monetary) from this unreasonable use, they may receive compensation.

Regulations further specify pet ownership. Section 13 of the Regulations for the Prevention of Nuisances (Noise Prevention), 5753-1992 states:

A person keeping animals at home, on their property, or in their yard shall keep them in a manner that does not cause loud noise disturbing neighbors.

Note that violating these laws or regulations may also constitute a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine of tens of thousands of NIS.

What Constitutes “Loud Noise” from Dog Barking?

The law specifies the noise intensity and duration required to constitute a nuisance. An exception applies to animal noise. The legislature recognized the difficulty of defining disturbing animal noise and thus stipulated:

“Loud noise disturbing neighbors.” While typical noise nuisance requires measurable evidence (expert opinion), this is not the case with dogs.

A court can determine “loud noise,” even without measurement. This is well-summarized in a criminal complaint filed by five individuals against their neighbor in Haifa’s Peace Court (Case No. 1006/05 Morg v. David, 2007):

[..] A person’s hearing and sensitivity to noise is subjective. Some have negligible sensitivity, such as those with various degrees of hearing impairment. Hearing levels vary, as does noise sensitivity, which requires no proof. […] Given the limitations arising from the human variation in noise perception, the legislature and sub-legislature established objective measurement tools and methods using instruments to measure noise and set a noise threshold as an objective criterion for the legal prohibition. However, I accept the legal argument that loud animal noise can be proven legally by other means.

Dog Barking Nuisance: Proving Excessive Noise

How to prove dog barking nuisance? No fixed standard exists. Case law guides courts. Claims often rely on these factors:

Factors Affecting Nuisance Claims

Proximity: Close proximity makes even quiet barking a nuisance. Distant loud barking proves significant disturbance.

Residential Setting: Urban noise lowers expectations. Rural settings highlight quieter barking.

Number of Animals: Farms or dog-heavy neighborhoods imply lower expectations.

Dog’s Location: Outdoor dogs often disturb neighbors more. Indoor dogs can still cause noise.

Dog’s Care: Unsupervised dogs bark more when distressed. Owner absence makes refuting claims hard.

Time of Barking: Daytime barking differs from nighttime. Night barking disrupts sleep and productivity.

Duration of Barking: Long, continuous barking is worse. Duration combines with time of day. An hour at night is worse than day.

Additional Complaints: Multiple neighbor complaints strengthen the case. They show it’s not subjective.

Strengthening Your Claim

Courts don’t demand all factors. But common sense and case law suggest they significantly strengthen claims.

The Dog Belongs to a Tenant. Whom Do You Sue?

The law refers to the “keeper” of the dog. This is typically the tenant, who is usually the appropriate defendant.

Filing a Lawsuit for Dog Barking

These cases usually involve small claims, best pursued in Small Claims Court. As of January 2024, the maximum claim is 38,900 NIS.

This applies unless the defendant has a special relationship with the plaintiff (family or work). For example, suing an ex-spouse requires Family Court.

Court Rulings

Case law shows these cases require substantial evidence and detailed factual descriptions.

Unlike objectively measurable noise nuisances, dog barking is subjective.

Court decisions show a range of remedies: removing dogs from their owners; restricting the dog’s outdoor access and time; mandatory dog training; and more.

Courts primarily award damages for emotional distress and sometimes for quantifiable material losses. For instance, if all-night barking prevents sleep, resulting in a missed work day, compensation may cover lost wages.