Hello everyone,
We have attached our semi-detached house in Fulda (Hessen) to an existing, already completed semi-detached house. We are currently at the shell construction stage, and the windows are scheduled to be installed in three weeks. Until now, our plot was undeveloped.
Our soon-to-be neighbor recently approached us, saying that he would like to install a fence between the two semi-detached houses and has already spoken with a local landscaping contractor. He intends to fence his entire property and wants to start soon so that the garden can be used in the summer.
He approached me and said it is common for neighbors of semi-detached houses to share the cost of the fence placed in the middle and would like to have a joint discussion with me and his landscaper regarding the type and implementation of the fence. I honestly can hardly imagine that he would want anything different in the middle than what he chooses for the rest of his property.
To be honest, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I am already occupied with the shell construction, and garden planning is still quite far off. Frankly, I don’t currently have the time or financial capacity to also deal with garden planning. It should be noted that his house is slightly elevated compared to ours, so the terrace and garden level come into play.
Apparently, in Hessen, there is an obligation to enclose the property at the neighbor’s request...
"According to the Hessian Neighbor Law, the owner of a developed or commercially used property is obliged, upon request by the owner of the neighboring property, to enclose their property as long as the border to the neighboring property is not occupied by a building. If both properties are developed or commercially used, the owners of both properties are mutually obliged to cooperate in the construction of the enclosure (§ 14 HNRG)."
However, the fact is that we do not want a fence at all, and if anything, we would prefer a hedge or something similar, but not a conventional fence (which is also a permitted enclosure in Hessen). I also wonder if the neighbor can really put us under such pressure just because he wants to start NOW. He should be free to do what he wants on his own property, and I would never have thought of asking him to cover costs for a privacy screen or hedge that I might prefer.
Has anyone in Hessen experienced something similar?
Thanks
We have attached our semi-detached house in Fulda (Hessen) to an existing, already completed semi-detached house. We are currently at the shell construction stage, and the windows are scheduled to be installed in three weeks. Until now, our plot was undeveloped.
Our soon-to-be neighbor recently approached us, saying that he would like to install a fence between the two semi-detached houses and has already spoken with a local landscaping contractor. He intends to fence his entire property and wants to start soon so that the garden can be used in the summer.
He approached me and said it is common for neighbors of semi-detached houses to share the cost of the fence placed in the middle and would like to have a joint discussion with me and his landscaper regarding the type and implementation of the fence. I honestly can hardly imagine that he would want anything different in the middle than what he chooses for the rest of his property.
To be honest, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I am already occupied with the shell construction, and garden planning is still quite far off. Frankly, I don’t currently have the time or financial capacity to also deal with garden planning. It should be noted that his house is slightly elevated compared to ours, so the terrace and garden level come into play.
Apparently, in Hessen, there is an obligation to enclose the property at the neighbor’s request...
"According to the Hessian Neighbor Law, the owner of a developed or commercially used property is obliged, upon request by the owner of the neighboring property, to enclose their property as long as the border to the neighboring property is not occupied by a building. If both properties are developed or commercially used, the owners of both properties are mutually obliged to cooperate in the construction of the enclosure (§ 14 HNRG)."
However, the fact is that we do not want a fence at all, and if anything, we would prefer a hedge or something similar, but not a conventional fence (which is also a permitted enclosure in Hessen). I also wonder if the neighbor can really put us under such pressure just because he wants to start NOW. He should be free to do what he wants on his own property, and I would never have thought of asking him to cover costs for a privacy screen or hedge that I might prefer.
Has anyone in Hessen experienced something similar?
Thanks
Or you can come up with constructive suggestions yourself and use the situation to your own advantage. If the original poster (OP) wants a hedge, then suggest this to the neighbor. Maybe the neighbor will agree to cover half the cost of the hedge. If you then propose to take care of planting from your side after moving in, the neighbor won’t need to hire a landscaper and can start designing their side right away.
It is important to note that a hedge needs to be trimmed from both sides.
Our neighbor preferred a hedge made of cherry laurel because he already planted cherry laurel on his side, and he offered to cover half the expenses and allowed us to plant the hedge directly on the boundary line (normally, a 50 cm (20 inches) distance is required here). Legally, we would probably have had to take responsibility for the fence on our side of the boundary. We also wanted a hedge, and at that time the type of plant didn’t matter to us, so we agreed on cherry laurel and accepted the offer. We then took care of planting. Giving and taking.
This only works if both parties communicate openly about their expectations.
It is important to note that a hedge needs to be trimmed from both sides.
Our neighbor preferred a hedge made of cherry laurel because he already planted cherry laurel on his side, and he offered to cover half the expenses and allowed us to plant the hedge directly on the boundary line (normally, a 50 cm (20 inches) distance is required here). Legally, we would probably have had to take responsibility for the fence on our side of the boundary. We also wanted a hedge, and at that time the type of plant didn’t matter to us, so we agreed on cherry laurel and accepted the offer. We then took care of planting. Giving and taking.
This only works if both parties communicate openly about their expectations.
wiltshire schrieb:
What reason could he have for that? Is there a pet that might run away? Does he need the feeling of security when the kids are playing outside? If you don’t know, try to find out. If there’s a good reason, it will be easier for you to agree. At the moment, it’s not clear to me how many stubborn people are involved. He just wants to get it finished (he said so) and has already hired the landscaping contractor. He probably won’t wait forever with a quarter of the work left if the rest is done. There are older kids, but no animals. Maybe now that we are there, he simply wants a separation. Before, he didn’t care.
nordanney schrieb:
If the neighbor wants a high-quality fence installed by a landscaping contractor, that can easily be the price per running meter. For 12m (39 feet) in length, that could even be around 4,000, while the neighbor might only want to spend 2,000. In that case, I would also stand my ground—or just give him 300€ (about what I would spend on a chain-link fence) and then enjoy the neighbor’s fence. Well, no idea what he actually commissioned. Apparently, he has a quote for everything... but he won’t say what our share is supposed to be.
But if he puts up such an expensive fence and I only give him 300 EUR, that doesn’t exactly create a friendly atmosphere either.
Bertram100 schrieb:
Even a very expensive fence would be frustrating, but I would accept it if a conversation didn’t work out. However, the original poster is not showing a constructive attitude here. Any advice that protects the relationship with the neighbor is the best advice in this situation. Sometimes, that does cost money—money that could otherwise significantly improve the original poster’s life. On the other hand, a spoiled relationship with a neighbor can have a seriously negative impact. Sometimes, you just don’t have the best seat in life. As long as it’s limited to a garden fence, the person can only be congratulated. Okay, so someone who already has the excavator in the garden, the offer in hand, has dismissed the hedge outright, and only wants a “yes” for whatever from their new neighbor is considered more constructive than the new neighbor, who has an idea but no fixed plans? That’s hard to understand.
And no, I’m not a yes-man who agrees to everything just for the sake of peace. I am happy to have a factual conversation with transparency about costs and scope. Then I can agree. But a simple “Will you pay half the costs?” does not get a “yes” from me.
Musketier schrieb:
Or just make constructive suggestions and turn the whole thing to your own advantage. If the original poster wants a hedge, then suggest that to the neighbor. Maybe the neighbor will agree to cover half the costs for the hedge. If you then propose taking care of the planting from your own side after moving in, the neighbor won’t need the landscaper and can start arranging their side right away.
Keep in mind that a hedge needs to be trimmed from both sides. He already dismissed my hedge suggestion with: "You can have it, behind the boundary fence." So the hedge issue as a shared border is basically off the table.
To conclude: I will talk to him and ask to arrange a meeting with the landscaper. Then we can discuss the options and what each of us envisions. Ideally, we’ll both find something we like.
But as I said, he already has an offer for the entire fence and the excavator is in the garden. So it’s already clear what he wants, and the landscaper is probably already commissioned, otherwise the excavator wouldn’t have been there since yesterday.
If that turns out to be the case, I will pay for half of the chain-link fence.
From your description, I think the neighbor’s approach is unfortunately quite unfortunate. As I said, I know well the feeling of being steamrolled and recognize some aspects here. I also understand that the neighbor is at a different stage with their project, but I am familiar with that urgent need to set boundaries even before really getting to know each other; a shame!
As I mentioned, the circumstances are different here, but the procedure was similar and also frustrating, because the assumption was that you should build directly on the property line according to their wishes. Whether we liked it or not, we were supposed to pay only half of the costs, which we neither wanted nor needed.
Ultimately, the challenge for you will be finding the “jack of all trades” solution, and I find many of the thoughts shared here quite appropriate. I think it is absolutely fine if you tell him that you don’t want an expensive fence installation because your focus is on planting in front of it to minimize how much of the fence is visible. And for something you won’t really see afterwards, you don’t want to have unnecessary costs that would then take away from your landscaping budget.
In my old house, we arranged it so that one party dug the holes while the other set the posts and sleeves, and then we shared the wooden fence. Honestly, I don’t like joint ownership of things because that often leads to disputes sooner or later; I’d rather pay for it myself.
If the option he already discussed is too expensive or complicated for you, I would also tell him that, but that you would be happy to share the cost of a more ordinary, simpler fence. Maybe he will still be annoyed, but at some point, it won’t be your responsibility anymore.
In the end, you should look at it long-term; if necessary, it may cost a bit more, and you’ll see to what extent you want to engage in shared projects in the future. You are not an exception but probably rather the norm in residential developments.
Today we have a fence on one side, they are satisfied with it, and I can live with it and have my plants in front of it. In general, our contact with the neighborhood is quite reserved, but everyone gets along as much as needed.
Choose what suits you best from the previous suggestions and follow that path; you’ll probably be wiser after that anyway. For me, the priority would always be that I am absolutely willing to share a practical solution and would even implement it myself if needed.
Interesting topic—keep us updated.
As I mentioned, the circumstances are different here, but the procedure was similar and also frustrating, because the assumption was that you should build directly on the property line according to their wishes. Whether we liked it or not, we were supposed to pay only half of the costs, which we neither wanted nor needed.
Ultimately, the challenge for you will be finding the “jack of all trades” solution, and I find many of the thoughts shared here quite appropriate. I think it is absolutely fine if you tell him that you don’t want an expensive fence installation because your focus is on planting in front of it to minimize how much of the fence is visible. And for something you won’t really see afterwards, you don’t want to have unnecessary costs that would then take away from your landscaping budget.
In my old house, we arranged it so that one party dug the holes while the other set the posts and sleeves, and then we shared the wooden fence. Honestly, I don’t like joint ownership of things because that often leads to disputes sooner or later; I’d rather pay for it myself.
If the option he already discussed is too expensive or complicated for you, I would also tell him that, but that you would be happy to share the cost of a more ordinary, simpler fence. Maybe he will still be annoyed, but at some point, it won’t be your responsibility anymore.
In the end, you should look at it long-term; if necessary, it may cost a bit more, and you’ll see to what extent you want to engage in shared projects in the future. You are not an exception but probably rather the norm in residential developments.
Today we have a fence on one side, they are satisfied with it, and I can live with it and have my plants in front of it. In general, our contact with the neighborhood is quite reserved, but everyone gets along as much as needed.
Choose what suits you best from the previous suggestions and follow that path; you’ll probably be wiser after that anyway. For me, the priority would always be that I am absolutely willing to share a practical solution and would even implement it myself if needed.
Interesting topic—keep us updated.
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