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There is such a thing as quiet hours in Germany, and many German’s take this rather seriously, so I would pay attention to this blog post if you want your neighbors to respect you.
Similar to things not being open on Sundays or the other bizarre rules in Germany, Germany has quiet hours.
Surprisingly, you may actually come to enjoy these quiet hour rules yourself as well. I find myself outraged when there are movers outside my apartment at 6:00 in the morning as I yell out the window, “I still have one more hour of peace and quiet until quiet hours are over, be quiet!” … just kidding… but I want to!
When are the Quiet Hours?
Everyone has their own understanding about when exactly quiet hours are in Düsseldorf, but from my research, most forums have the following quiet hours:
- Sunday’s (all day)
- Holiday’s (all day)
- Every day between the hours of 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM
- Every day between the hours of 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM (mid-day pause)
What does it actually mean to be quiet?
Well, I know this is quite different for many of us, but for the most part, being quiet means:
- No loud music
- No running the washing machine or dishwasher
- No parties
- No drilling/hammering/construction work
- No talking loud on the balcony
Of course, this will also depend on who your landlord and neighbors are, how tolerant they are, and what it says in your rental contract.
What happens if you aren’t quiet during these hours?
Well, if you’re lucky, you’ll likely just get a stern talking to by your neighbors.
However, if someone is found disrespecting quiet hours (and if it’s quite frequent), you might get a knock at the door from the Ordnungsamt, which is not the police, but the “Order Enforcement”. The Ordnungsamt enforces rules and laws and will be the first ones at the scene when a complaint is made about loud noise. You could be fined, they could call the police and of course, we don’t think this will ever happen, but you could be imprisoned if you fail to oblige.
While we’re at it… you might want to also consider getting liability insurance in case you accidentally break that vase outside of your neighbours’ house. Haha!
But now I’m curious… do you have any interesting stories to tell about experiences you may have already had regarding the quiet hours and the Ordnungsamt?
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This ordinance is not followed in our area of Oberkassel at all; and we’ve lived here since 2012! We’ve complained to the police, reported them, asked them to stop but there are times when people get drunk (especially here) and decide 0200 is a GREAT time to start doing karaoke or having a party. Furthermore, we have neighbors that throw their cigarette butts down from the top floor and their friends do it as well…again nothing happens. Of course there is never an apology because 2 times my daughter and I were barbecuing in our yard between 8-9pm and a cigarette missed her long hair by less than 6 inches…and thats only because I saw it falling down. The neighbors were just looking down smiling like idiots!
Oh man, that sounds terrible! Sadly, sometimes it’s a game with the Ordnungsamt… many people have to call multiple times before their problem is solved. The only recommendation I could make would be to keep track of the days and times these matters have taken place, and the days you called the Ordnungsamt, and the response you received from their team. To the best of my knowledge, filming is illegal, but I’ve taken a quick video of the evidence before just to strengthen my point. Best of luck! I hope you can find a solution!
I called the Ordungsamt as my neighbours (0tudents) are consistently making noise until midnight talking loud, one day out of frustration i called the office but they said talking loud is allowed in the quiet hours 🙁
So strange, right? Sometimes people can get in trouble for talking loud… sometimes perhaps the Ordnungsamt has something better to do and then claim that it’s allowed. My thought is that when you file to complaint or make a call to the Ordnungsamt a few times, that when they’ll usually take further action. If it’s something big, of course, they’ll take action right away… but with the more minor cases, I think sometimes they just wait for the issue to solve itself.
Thank you Jenna for your reply. Even yesterday th neighbours were doing some sports and all the flat mates came out midnight to ask them to stop. When I called ordung amt they said thump or play is ok and only loud music is what they would address. Even after repeated complaints to agent and even talked to those neighbours, still no luck.
Uhhhh, I know! It can be tough to get the attention of the Ordnungsamt. They have a lot to do (especially at the moment with people disobeying the rules set out for this lockdown. My best tip is to simply keep calling, and keeping filing complaints, and encourage your neighbors to do the same. Give them a reason to put it on their radar!
One thing I cannot find is what happens if you make noise outside of quiet hours? I have a neighboor who decreeted his own quiet hours: I must be silent between 1AM and 11AM. No other neighboor has ever complained about me at any given hour, but that one can be quite agressive and threatening. Quick question: if I apply the legal quiet hours instead if his, can I get in trouble? Thanks.
Hey there! That’s a great question, and the answer is… your neighbor cannot make up their own “quiet hours”. You simply need to follow the quiet hour rules laid out by the city. Your neighbor can kindly ask you to be quiet during different hours, but you are under no legal obligation to follow by these rules. Hope this helps! 🙂