ᐅ Semi-detached house: ours without a basement, neighbor’s with a basement

Hello everyone,

We are about to be awarded a plot of land for a semi-detached house.

Therefore, we are currently organizing the financing. Since our budget is quite tight, we plan to build without a basement. Construction is supposed to start soon.
We do not yet know the buyer of the other half, so we are not aware of their plans.

Our main concern now is, what happens if the neighbor wants to build a basement?

Is the neighbor required to start construction before us?

There is a building obligation / planning permission requirement within 5 years. What if we build immediately (without a basement) and the neighbor only builds later, for example in 5 years (with a basement)? We are worried that our house could be damaged as a result (for example to the foundation slab).
Would the neighbor then have to provide appropriate support for our house?

Thank you very much in advance for your answers!
David

kamda schrieb:
We are about to secure a plot of land for a semi-detached house.

Is it specified which of your neighbors (left or right) would be your semi-detached partner?

Are only semi-detached houses allowed, or are detached houses permitted as well?

kamda schrieb:
Does the neighbor then have to provide appropriate support for our house?

The neighbor must ensure that their construction does not pose any risk to your house. If they are not reckless, they will not excavate next to a house without a basement. The protective measures would likely make their basement significantly more expensive than the rest of their house.

kamda schrieb:
Since our budget is quite tight, we want to build without a basement.

Is it only your budget that limits this, or is the plot (for example, due to more than half a meter of slope within the building area) actually better suited for a basement?

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If a contractor/builder constructs both semi-detached houses, meaning the entire duplex, they will likely build the duplex as a single, continuous structure and not just one half.
If you are both building independently of each other in any way, the second builder must ensure that the already existing half or the garden area is not damaged.

Best regards in brief

Sorry, but this seems like a conflict between neighbors is inevitable. If your neighbor wants to build with a basement, but you have already quickly built without one, meaning he will probably have to skip the basement for cost reasons, he is unlikely to be very happy about it. And living next to a hostile neighbor for decades doesn’t sound very appealing to me...

kamda schrieb:
We are now wondering what happens if the neighbor wants to build a basement.

@Hausbauer1
the original poster only suspects

ypg schrieb:
@Hausbauer1
the original poster only suspects

Yes, that’s correct. However, my assumption is that a clear majority of home builders prefer to build with a basement, so it is quite likely that this issue will arise. At least I wouldn’t be happy about it.