In general, neighboring rights can be defined as a limitation on the right of private ownership. They represent a set of legal and customary norms that regulate property relations between the owners of neighboring immovable properties, or between properties that border each other or are otherwise considered neighboring according to customary rules.
Neighboring rights obligate the owner of an immovable property to consider not only their own interest but also to exercise their ownership rights in a way that does not endanger the rights and interests of the owner of the neighboring property. Neighboring rights do not necessarily require active actions by the property owner; they can also imply passive actions, such as refraining from performing actions they would otherwise have the right to do. Neighboring rights represent a collection of various rules. Some of them are based on law, while many are customary (unwritten) rules.
Thus, the Law on the Basics of Property Relations stipulates that every property owner must refrain from actions that impede the use of neighboring properties and remove causes originating from their property that hinder the use of other properties (such as the transmission of smoke, unpleasant odors, heat, soot, tremors, noise, wastewater, etc.) beyond what is customary considering the nature and purpose of the property and local conditions, or that cause significant damage (protection from excessive emissions).
Therefore, the transfer of harmful emissions is a regular and common occurrence and must be tolerated as long as the emissions do not exceed the usual limit. If this limit is exceeded and there is no agreement between neighbors, the owner of the property exposed to the emissions is entitled to demand compensation for the damage caused, the removal of the cause, and the refraining from releasing excessive emissions in the future. If the excessive emissions originate from an activity for which a permit has been issued by the relevant authority, the owner of the property exposed to the emissions does not have the right to demand that the activity cease but may seek compensation for the damage and appropriate measures to prevent or reduce excessive emissions in the future.
A lawsuit for the protection from excessive emissions can request an action, that is, it can demand that the property owner remove the cause or source of the harmful effects or that the property owner refrain from actions they would otherwise have the right to take.
Additionally, one of the identifiable neighboring rights based on the law is the right of necessary passage. In fact, the right of necessary passage is both a neighboring right and a real easement. To recognize the right of necessary passage, it is essential that the property has no other access to a public road except through the neighboring property, or that it could access a public road but only through an excessive detour. In that case, in the absence of an agreement, the court can establish the right of necessary passage, which is exercised in such a way as to minimally burden the neighboring property. Of course, the owner of the property used for passage has the right to fair compensation for the use of their property.
In addition to the above, there are many other neighboring rights: a shared fence, a tree on the boundary, the risk of building collapse, the installation of water systems and other utilities, and many other rights.