- Hello, I might not be in the right place here, but I urgently need advice from experts.
- 10
We recently bought a two-family house and are currently renovating... and as is often the case, problems are now arising.
First, the garage was added later and is apparently a bit too wide, so it crosses the neighbor’s property line.
Years ago, the garage was converted into living space (two office rooms) without permission from the neighbor or the building authorities. Behind it, an extension was built (two rooms, bathroom, corridor), which was approved, but it also apparently crosses the property line by a few centimeters.
The original house has living space upstairs and downstairs. We would use the lower part together with the extension and rent out the upper apartment. Now to the main problem... there is only one main entrance from the street.
If both parties used this entrance, we would have to walk through the kitchen to get to the living room, and the access to the upper apartment would be open – which tenant would want that?
Therefore, that entrance should be only for the upper apartment.
Our entrance should be created in the former garage, as we don’t really need those rooms anymore; it would just become a long corridor. But the neighbor is opposing this, understandably, since he has only experienced disadvantages so far.
He insists that the garage door remains (from the outside it would still look like a garage).
I’ve already Googled and called the city building authority... they want me to call on Monday to review the plans... but I would like to know now if there are possibilities?
Our garage adjoins the neighbor’s garage, with a white door between them, as is common in garages.
I thought it might help to install a partition wall (drywall) inside with a 1m (3 feet) gap, and not place the door in the middle so that the distance could be maintained. But I keep reading about a 3m (10 feet) distance?? The house is located in NRW, a rather rural area.
What do you think about the idea?[INDENT]Completely removing the garage door and using the garage as an open passage? At the back, we could build it so that we have a house entrance.
That would probably be easier to get approved by the authorities than turning the registered garage into a long corridor and placing the front door there.
Is something like this allowed??? Please respond, this is really giving me a headache.
[/INDENT]
Difficult. It’s a unique case. It could go either way. Do you still have enough parking spaces allocated on your property for 2 dwelling units? That would be the first veto point.
If you leave it open, it would be okay. The 3m (10 feet) refers to the building itself, not to subordinate components.
If you leave it open, it would be okay. The 3m (10 feet) refers to the building itself, not to subordinate components.
That would of course be very good.
We have enough parking spaces, with a double garage behind the house and at least 3-4 parking spaces in front. The plot is about 712 square meters (7,667 square feet).
Are there any other points that might speak against it? The neighbor has his garage door directly next to it, with another garage door in between. He wants the appearance to remain unchanged, meaning our garage door should stay as it is. He knows about the rooms behind it and tolerates that but does not want us to install an entrance door there. I fear he would also not agree to a passage.
We have enough parking spaces, with a double garage behind the house and at least 3-4 parking spaces in front. The plot is about 712 square meters (7,667 square feet).
Are there any other points that might speak against it? The neighbor has his garage door directly next to it, with another garage door in between. He wants the appearance to remain unchanged, meaning our garage door should stay as it is. He knows about the rooms behind it and tolerates that but does not want us to install an entrance door there. I fear he would also not agree to a passage.
The neighbor has no say in the appearance of your garage. You can officially declare the open part as a carport / parking space and unofficially use it as an entrance – who could prove otherwise?
It is not the neighbor who has to tolerate the illegal construction (although that is of course helpful), but the building authority.
It is not the neighbor who has to tolerate the illegal construction (although that is of course helpful), but the building authority.
Yes, normally it would be my decision whether to install a garage door or not... but this is not a normal situation. The garage is apparently a few centimeters over the property line, and the extension is as well! Both were apparently approved, but not the encroachment over the boundary. The neighbor has tolerated this all these years for the sake of good relations, but now seems to be upset. If I now remove the garage door against his wishes, I am worried he will take legal action, and even though I am not responsible for the construction, I might still be held liable. I only found out about the boundary violation a few days ago. How does this work with compensation claims against the previous owner, or if someone else bought the house and sold it to us a few months later?
There is also an old oil tank, partially on the neighbor’s property, which the neighbor says has been cleaned and filled with sand or should be removed. This would also cost me at least 2000 euros. The seller did not inform us about this either.
I could of course use the old entrance, but as I mentioned, the layout would be a bit awkward. Alternatively, I could go around to the other side and build an entrance at the back of the house. However, that would be much more expensive and, in my opinion, inconvenient for visitors. Strangers would stand in front of the house and would probably not look for us at the back. It’s all quite complicated :-/
I realize that sooner or later there will likely be financial compensation regarding the boundary encroachment. We will also have to handle the tank cleaning sooner or later. Right now, though, financially it’s not ideal... especially since other unexpected problems have come up that we did not anticipate. Well, this is all a bit frustrating, as I suspect the seller acted intentionally and made a good profit from the sale...
There is also an old oil tank, partially on the neighbor’s property, which the neighbor says has been cleaned and filled with sand or should be removed. This would also cost me at least 2000 euros. The seller did not inform us about this either.
I could of course use the old entrance, but as I mentioned, the layout would be a bit awkward. Alternatively, I could go around to the other side and build an entrance at the back of the house. However, that would be much more expensive and, in my opinion, inconvenient for visitors. Strangers would stand in front of the house and would probably not look for us at the back. It’s all quite complicated :-/
I realize that sooner or later there will likely be financial compensation regarding the boundary encroachment. We will also have to handle the tank cleaning sooner or later. Right now, though, financially it’s not ideal... especially since other unexpected problems have come up that we did not anticipate. Well, this is all a bit frustrating, as I suspect the seller acted intentionally and made a good profit from the sale...
Hello ano,
The issue is not the entrance itself, but rather the change of use or the general use of living spaces directly on the boundary line. Living areas must have a 3m (10 ft) setback from the boundary or there must be a building encumbrance (easement) on the neighboring property at the same depth. If there are openings (windows, doors, glass blocks) in the boundary wall, a 5m (16 ft) easement for open space is required, or the openings must be sealed. The reason for this is fire protection – compared to that, a slight encroachment over the boundary by a few centimeters is a minor issue.
If you want reliable (and free) information about this, please send me a private message and share some details about the property or the plans/floor plans. Don’t worry, Bocholt is too far for me to visit in person, but I can take a quick look and then connect you with one or two local professional contacts if you like.
What is interesting in your case is how the sale was conducted (through an agent? Private sale? Did you have witnesses or a surveyor present?), as I suspect that crucial information was withheld from you. What you urgently need is a specialist construction law attorney, and I can also provide you with a good contact if you want.
Best regards
Dirk Grafe
The issue is not the entrance itself, but rather the change of use or the general use of living spaces directly on the boundary line. Living areas must have a 3m (10 ft) setback from the boundary or there must be a building encumbrance (easement) on the neighboring property at the same depth. If there are openings (windows, doors, glass blocks) in the boundary wall, a 5m (16 ft) easement for open space is required, or the openings must be sealed. The reason for this is fire protection – compared to that, a slight encroachment over the boundary by a few centimeters is a minor issue.
If you want reliable (and free) information about this, please send me a private message and share some details about the property or the plans/floor plans. Don’t worry, Bocholt is too far for me to visit in person, but I can take a quick look and then connect you with one or two local professional contacts if you like.
What is interesting in your case is how the sale was conducted (through an agent? Private sale? Did you have witnesses or a surveyor present?), as I suspect that crucial information was withheld from you. What you urgently need is a specialist construction law attorney, and I can also provide you with a good contact if you want.
Best regards
Dirk Grafe
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