Everything is relaxed when you move in, but over time your relationship with your neighbors changes? It doesn't have to be - if you keep a few basic things in mind.
There is always trouble among neighbors at the property line. Sometimes fences, hedges and walls trigger a fight, sometimes trees and bushes. Recently there has also been a dispute about the subsequent insulation of houses. Owners can prevent problems.
The basic rule is derived from the German Civil Code (BGB). It states that nothing may be done that infringes on the property rights of others. In addition, the neighboring laws of the federal states, municipal specifications and court decisions set guard rails. An overview of things that landowners should avoid on and around the boundary of their property for the sake of peace.
1. Smells, noise and barbecue pleasure
Grilling is one of the typical causes of neighborhood conflicts. That doesn't have to be the case if homeowners choose the right location for their barbecue area during the planning stage. In principle, it can go anywhere, but not directly on the fence, hedge or boundary wall to the neighbor and certainly not where the smoke produced by the grill enters the bedroom and living room.
Neighbors can find such emissions and the smell of the food being grilled both disturbing and unacceptable. That in turn would mean an encroachment on his property rights, as the state chairman of the Hessian arbitrators, Bodo Winter from Büdingen, explains. He and his colleagues take care of the amicable settlement of neighborhood disputes.
Winter adds compost heaps to the list of nuisances to avoid when they give off odors that not everyone finds pleasant. The arbiter advises discussing in advance with the property owners next door where there is a suitable place for a barbecue and compost.
2. Boundary Violations
A shed here, a fancy garden shed there: over time, some homeowners put a lot more on their property than just their home. If superstructures erected directly on the property line protrude into the neighbors, they are generally not permitted. Even if it's just centimetres.
Cross-border construction should therefore be avoided. The Berlin lawyer Petra Sterner, member of the working group on construction and real estate law in the German Lawyers' Association (DAV), formulates the trouble-saving principle as follows: "Stay on your own property!"
In principle, fences and hedges may stand at the border, but not in the neighbor's garden or exactly on the border. An exception are enclosures that put neighbors together on the common border. Then "the fence and hedge belong to both of them; both are responsible for maintenance and costs," says Schiedsmann Winter.
Trees and shrubs should not be planted right next to the border. It is to be avoided that they proliferate in the neighbor's garden. If you are annoyed by overhanging branches, you should not use your own saw. If the tree is protected by a tree protection ordinance, sawing it would be an administrative offence.
3. Structural changes
On slopes, owners often come into conflict over the leveling of the terrain. "It's a big point of contention when there is damage to the house below," says Bavarian lawyer Oliver Mai. Classic are flooded basements after thunderstorms and heavy rain, because the change in the area affects the flow rate of the water. Changes to the slope wall should also not be made without prior agreement or written consent from the so-called underlying.
4. Insulate
Can insulation touch neighboring terrain? Depends on. "The limit must be observed for new buildings," says attorney Sterner. In the case of existing buildings that are subsequently given an energy-saving coat, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has no problem with exceeding the limit. He decided that neighbors must tolerate external insulation (Az. V ZR 115/20 and V ZR 23/21). The top civil judges consider it possible that climate protection justifies this approach.
However, the subsequent insulation may only slightly affect the use of the neighboring property and must comply with the respective specifications that the federal states have issued for subsequent insulation. According to Sterner, shells that were attached later usually reached ten or twelve centimeters over the border. Affected neighbors would be entitled to the so-called superstructure pension. However, that is minimal.
5. Trespassing prohibited
Basically, property owners have lost nothing on the land next door. But sometimes you have to go over there. For trimming hedges or facade work, for example. But: "Not without notice," warns Bodo Winter. This should be done two to three weeks in advance. A friendly shout over the garden fence will usually suffice. If the relationship is tense, it is advisable to send a written notice. According to the hammer blow and ladder law, the neighbor must agree to the request, but a refusal for important reasons is possible.
If you want to find out more about the rules governing neighbors, you should first ask the municipality where you live. The offices usually know both the state requirements and those of the municipality, for example on local custom.
(This article was first published on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.)
