ᐅ Retaining Higher-Level Neighboring Properties: L-Shaped Retaining Walls and Tips

You need to imagine that the entire area is a large slope. From the street on the east side down to the open field in the west.

jaenno1 schrieb:

now, right?

Sure, thanks.

Now I understand the problem. One of the neighbors of the semi-detached houses simply filled up the land right up to the boundary.

You should ask them to restore it. Just because someone has a small plot doesn’t mean they can fill it up all the way to the property line.

You can slope down those 70 cm (28 inches). There is enough space for that.

icandoit schrieb:

Sure, thanks.

Now I understand the problem. One of the neighbors of the semi-detached houses simply filled up to the property boundary.

You should ask them to remove it. Just because you have a small plot doesn’t mean you can fill right up to the boundary.

You can slope the 70 cm (28 inches). There’s enough space for that.

I don’t want to seem unreasonable. Besides, filling in that area might also be possible.
Why is what they did forbidden? Maybe it’s actually approved somehow, but I can’t imagine that.

70 cm (28 inches), okay. But what if I don’t want to slope it?

Please tell us the elevation of your house and the height at the ridge beam on the west side.

The ground level at the house is approximately equal to the planned new finished floor height, which is 25.70 meters (84.3 feet).

I have updated the drawing. Unfortunately, there is no height measurement at the bottom because the surveyor stopped in the middle of the garden. However, the terrain slopes down significantly from there, by at least about 0.5–1.0 meters (1.6–3.3 feet).

jaenno1 schrieb:

I don’t want to come across as unreasonable. Also, filling in that area could be an option.
Why is what he did not allowed? Maybe it is somehow approved, but I can’t imagine that.

Retaining walls up to a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) do not require a permit. But not within setback zones.

He increased the value of his property by building the retaining wall inside the setback area. That’s where it should have been, so it wasn’t. As a result, he gained 30 m² (320 ft²) of usable land. Your property was damaged by this construction of the retaining wall on the boundary (your neighbor can see directly onto your property), so its value has decreased.

Ask the seller of the land. Or, if you have a legitimate interest, request to see your neighbor’s building documents. If they refuse, then you know where you stand. Then you can contact the building authority.

You could demand that he dismantle it. Alternatively, as a friendly neighbor, you could come to an agreement, like a one-time payment of 10,000 or a monthly payment of 50. 😉

But first, consult a lawyer to see if it’s worth pursuing legally.

70 cm (28 in), okay. What if I don’t want to make a slope?

I’ll come back to the finished floor height. Raising it by 20 cm (8 in) is very helpful to level the terrain.

Underpinning below the existing retaining wall is extremely expensive. Your neighbor would have to cover this extra cost since they filled in the ground.

In my opinion, this is the legal situation but I am not a lawyer (INAL). I would be extremely annoyed if a neighbor had built this without permission. At least I would want to know whether the neighbor had the right to build the wall right on the boundary.

Sure, you probably bought the property “as is,” so it doesn’t bother you outright. But you now have additional costs or your property has lost value.

2 m (6 ft 7 in) on a large property is not much. The neighbor compensated at least 1 m (3 ft 3 in) on their own land.

If you do nothing, word will get around and other neighbors might follow suit. 😉

Have a nice Sunday.