In this dispute, the courts declared the sale void and ordered the seller to reimburse 1 million euros to the buyers. The judges ordered the neighbors to pay 10,000 in damages and interest.
A dream house that became their worst nightmare. This real estate purchase story takes us back to 2013. At that time, Mr. and Mrs. Vasquez were looking to purchase a home, not only to live there but also to start a family. Their choice falls on a large detached house located in the Paris suburbs in a particularly quiet area. Value of the property: 1,180,000 euros.
After making a few visits, the sale of the house was officially signed on March 27, 2013. However, once installed in their home, the couple discovered the pink post. Their property is adjacent to a fruit and vegetable store which receives its deliveries every day at 5 a.m. Our couple is therefore systematically awakened at dawn by the noise of trucks, pallets and freight elevators. In addition, the spouses complain about the noise pollution generated by the cold rooms of the greengrocer.
They carry out insulation work in their home, but nothing helps. After numerous complaints, the city’s municipal hygiene and health service (SCHS) launched an acoustic study in the Vasquez home. The design office actually notes perceptible noises in all rooms of the house, sometimes reaching up to 36 decibels, while the Public Health Code sets the legal limit at 5 decibels during the day and 3 decibels at night.
Based on this observation, the couple sued the seller of the house and the merchant before the Nanterre judicial court, in order to obtain the nullity of the sale and the payment of damages. After a long legal procedure, the case ended up before the Versailles Court of Appeal. In a decision rendered on July 6, 2023, the court declared the sale void for “hidden defect”, because the tranquility of the house was a determining element in the choice of buyers. If the spouses had known about the noise pollution, they would never have purchased the house.
The Court therefore forced the seller to reimburse the couple the sale price of the property, i.e. 1,180,000 euros, as well as the notary fees amounting to 93,716 euros. The Court also ordered the greengrocer to pay the buyers the sum of 10,000 euros in damages for the loss suffered. Finally, the greengrocer and the seller were together ordered to pay the couple 100,000 euros for the loss of chance of making a capital gain, as well as 35,808 euros corresponding to the reimbursement of the insulation work carried out by the buyers.
Considering that the sentence was too heavy, the greengrocer and the seller appealed to the Court of Cassation. In a judgment rendered on January 8, 2026, the magistrates confirmed only part of the judgment of the court of appeal. The invalidity of the sale has been confirmed. The seller therefore recovered his property, but had to reimburse the purchase price of the house to the Vasquez couple. On the other hand, he was not obliged to return the notary fees paid by the couple, because the judges considered that it was not an amount that he had received himself.
Finally, the country’s highest court confirmed the developer’s order to pay 10,000 euros in damages to the buyers of the house. Nevertheless, the Court overturned and annulled the decision of the appeal judges who had ordered the greengrocer and the seller to pay the couple 100,000 euros for the loss of chance of realizing a capital gain, as well as 35,808 euros to reimburse the work carried out by the spouses. In the end, the couple still had to pay 93,716 euros in notary fees and 35,808 euros in work for nothing.
