When you open the door, the fruit flies come in first. The hallway is filled with the smell of rotting food. In front of the neighbor's door, trash bags with their tops left untied have been sitting for two or three days. This is the scene in apartment buildings reported by Newsis on the 28th. The report says that as "doorstep household waste pickup" services, in which people pay to leave their trash outside the door for a company to collect, spread rapidly among single-person households, cases of neighbors suffering from odors and pests are increasing as well.
According to the report, in one officetel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, there were households that had left trash bags in front of their doors on 4 of the building's 16 floors, and at 3 of them the bags were open with their contents in plain view. The monthly number of transactions at one pickup company rose from 68,000 to 164,000 in a year, and at another from 63,000 to 170,000. The companies advise users to tie their bags before putting them out ahead of pickup time, but there is no real mechanism to sanction users who do not comply. The building manager posting notes and spraying disinfectant himself is reportedly the only practical response.
Is a neighbor's trash odor an "inconvenience you must put up with," or "harm" the law can stop? This column sets out where that line lies and how to respond, step by step.
1. Odors and Pests Are Also "Nuisance" Under the Law
A. Article 217 of the Civil Act and the "tolerance limit"
Article 217(1) of the Civil Act imposes a duty to take appropriate measures so as not to cause suffering to the lives of neighboring residents through smoke, hot gas, liquids, noise, vibration, or anything similar. The provision does not use the word "odor," but odors that travel down the hallway and seep into the home, and pests as well, can be examined as nuisances of the same nature in that they cause suffering to neighbors' lives. However, paragraph (2) of the same Article provides that neighbors must tolerate such effects if their degree is appropriate to ordinary use. As long as people live together, everyone has to put up with a certain amount of everyday smells.
In the end, the question is "how much must one tolerate." Courts decide this using a standard called the "tolerance limit."
Supreme Court Decision 2014Da57846, November 25, 2016Whether a neighboring resident has a duty to tolerate is determined by whether the nuisance exceeds the degree that must be endured under socially accepted norms, taking into account all circumstances, including the nature and degree of the harm, the manner of the harmful act, and the possibility of preventive measures or of avoiding the damage.
B. How is leaving trash out assessed?
This judgment concerned road noise, but its factors can be applied to odors as they are. A bag tied and left at the door for a day or two is assessed quite differently from a bag left open for days so that fruit flies and cockroaches swarm around it. The factor of "the possibility of preventive measures by the person causing the harm" is especially important. Tying the top of the bag and putting it out just before pickup costs almost nothing in money or effort. If neighbors suffer pests and odors because someone fails to take that simple step, there is a greater chance that the tolerance limit will be found to have been exceeded.
2. In Multi-Unit Buildings, There Is Another Law to Rely On
A. "Acts contrary to the common interest" under the Aggregate Buildings Act
Buildings such as officetels and apartments, in which multiple units are separately owned, are governed by the Act on the Ownership and Management of Aggregate Buildings. Article 5(1) of that Act provides that a sectional owner shall not engage in any act contrary to the common interest of the sectional owners with respect to the management and use of the building, and paragraph (4) applies this mutatis mutandis to occupants such as tenants. This means that even if it is a tenant rather than the owner who leaves trash out, the same duty applies. The hallway is a common area shared by all households. Using it for days as a place to store trash runs directly against this duty.
B. Measures the manager can take
Article 43(1) of the same Act provides that when such an act is committed or is likely to be committed, the manager or a sectional owner designated by resolution of the management body meeting may demand that the act be stopped, its results be removed, or measures necessary for prevention be taken. To pursue this through a lawsuit, a resolution of the management body meeting is required (paragraph (2) of the same Article). Where the disturbance is serious and is very difficult to resolve through this demand alone, there is also the route under Article 44 of seeking, by lawsuit and after a resolution of at least three-fourths of the sectional owners and of the voting rights, a prohibition on the use of the unit for an appropriate period. It will be rare for a trash problem to reach a prohibition on use, but simply setting out the times and methods of disposal in the management rules and giving notice of a demand to stop repeated violations can exert considerable pressure.
C. Administrative rules and minor offenses
Article 15(1) of the Wastes Control Act requires owners and occupants of buildings from which household waste is generated to dispose of waste in a manner that does not hinder the preservation of the living environment, as prescribed by ordinances of the city, county, or district. Since the specific disposal methods and sanctions for violations differ according to each district's ordinance, you can inquire with the competent district office. In addition, Article 3(1)11 of the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act punishes a person who carelessly discards trash or the like anywhere by a fine not exceeding 100,000 won, penal detention, or a minor fine. However, whether a bag left in front of one's own door to await pickup can be regarded as having been "discarded" must be examined case by case, so civil and building-management procedures, rather than criminal punishment, are the realistic means.
3. Damages and the Company's Liability
A. Can you receive consolation money?
A nuisance that exceeds the tolerance limit constitutes a tort under Article 750 of the Civil Act and can lead to liability for damages.
Supreme Court Decision 2013Da59142, March 11, 2021To claim damages on the ground of nuisance, its degree must exceed what must generally be endured under socially accepted norms, and this is determined by taking into account all circumstances, including the nature and degree of the harm, the possibility of avoiding the damage, and the course of negotiations.
It is worth noting that this judgment cites "the course of negotiations" as a factor. If a neighbor raised the problem several times and the management office issued warnings, yet the same conduct was repeated, that history itself becomes grounds for finding that the tolerance limit was exceeded. However, consolation money for odors is often not large, so in practice a certified letter giving notice of a lawsuit is often more effective than the lawsuit itself.
B. Can the company also be held liable?
In the report, experts pointed out that companies should strengthen management by explaining disposal methods more clearly and restricting use by repeat violators. The companies also said they are considering providing sealed bags and compensating affected neighbors. For now, however, legal responsibility for leaving bags open and unattended lies primarily with the user. Since it is not easy to claim damages directly from the company, it is realistic for affected neighbors to notify the company's customer center of the household's violation of the disposal rules and request action.
4. What You Can Do Now
A. If you are an affected neighbor
First, keep a record. Take dated photos and videos showing the date and time the bags were left, their open state, and any fruit flies or cockroaches. Records spanning several days are needed to show that this was "repeated neglect" rather than "a one-time occurrence." Next, file a formal complaint with the management office and obtain the outcome in a text message or in writing. Going over to confront the neighbor directly is not recommended, as the dispute may escalate. If nothing changes, move on to asking for a demand to stop at the management body level, or sending a certified letter demanding that the nuisance cease and seeking damages.
B. If you use the service
Tie the top of the bag firmly and put it out just before the pickup time set by the company. If food waste is mixed in, seal it separately. If you have received complaints from neighbors or the management office, be aware that those records can later work against you. A service you use for convenience can become the cause of a lawsuit.
C. If you are the manager or a residents' representative
Include a clause in the management rules or community living rules stating "no storing trash in common hallways; dispose only at designated times," and set out a warning procedure for violating households. Only with such a rule does the manager's request become a measure with a legal basis rather than a personal favor.
5. Closing
A service that comes to your door to take your trash is certainly convenient for busy single-person households. But that convenience should not be passed on as an inconvenience to the neighbors who share the hallway. The law tells us to put up with ordinary everyday smells, but it does not tell us to endure odors and pests that could be prevented simply by tying a bag. Companies should clearly inform users of disposal rules and build systems to manage repeat violations, and multi-unit buildings should set standards through their management rules. In a home that sits side by side with the neighbors, even the space in front of your own door is not entirely yours alone.
(Shin Dong-woo, Managing Partner, DAEON Law Firm)
This column provides general legal information based on Korean statutes and court decisions as of 2026. 10. 29.. It is not legal advice on any individual case.
2026. 10. 29. · By Attorney Dongwoo Shin
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