Misunderstandings about property rights abound, with nuisance near the top of the list. A controversy in California provides an interesting case study in nuisance. The concept of nuisance as a violation of property rights has its roots in common law. A property owner, according to the concept, has a right to the peaceful use of…
Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits after a farm has been operating for a year. Such a bill would be unnecessary if “coming to the nuisance” was understood and applied properly. Coming to the nuisance essentially means “first in time, first in rights.” A property owner has a…
Defenders of exclusionary zoning argue that if that institution is eliminated, neighborhoods will be overrun with multi-family housing. Children will no longer be able to ride their bikes because of increased traffic, denser housing, and a myriad of other ills. Zoning, they claim, is necessary to have the kind of neighborhood that they desire. Non-coercive…
The Cecil County Council in Maryland is considering an ordinance that would allow property owners to keep up to eight chickens in their backyard, so long as they have a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet. One of the provisions of the bill is that chicken owners must obtain an annual license from the…
Nightclubs can make for very poor neighbors. Loud noise, traffic, and drunken patrons can be disruptive to the residents of nearby homes. These types of nuisances are the basis for a controversy brewing in Abilene. A developer wants to build housing for low-income families near a nightclub. The club’s owner fears that the residents of…
In January, an explosion at a metal fabricating facility in Houston killed two workers and damaged hundreds of nearby buildings and homes. The tragedy has provided some with a renewed zeal to point out the alleged dangers of Houston’s lack of zoning. One Houstonian was quoted in an AP story: I feel like it needs…
Last week, a Texas appellate court ruled that certain provisions of Austin’s short-term rental (STR) regulations were unconstitutional. Those regulations, which were passed in 2015, intended to outlaw full-time STRs by 2022. In its ruling, the court correctly noted that existing nuisance laws are sufficient to deal with the few problems caused by STRs. The…
In cities across Texas (and the country) local politicians are imposing severe restrictions and outright bans on short-term rentals (STRs). When neighbors of STRs complain about noise, traffic, and other nuisances, city officials respond with controls and regulations rather than enforcement of existing laws. In most locales, there are laws that address loud noise, trash…
Nuisance law holds that an owner has the right to the peaceful use of his property. Loud noises, nauseating odors, and similar disturbances can interfere with one’s use of his property, and is thus considered a nuisance. However, nuisance is highly contextual–what is a nuisance in one context is not necessarily a nuisance in another….
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on February 13, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. Consider the following: Driving down a road with no posted speed limit, another motorist races past you. A block away you are pulled over and cited for speeding. You ask the speed limit, and the officer says, “Whatever I…