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
tomtom79 schrieb:
And here comes the neighborhood dispute. Just wait if the concrete wedge from the curbstones is placed on the wrong property. No, we don’t have any dispute. As I said, he can do whatever he wants on his property, which he has done. So for me, the matter is settled.
However, the concrete wedges of his curbstones do extend about 15-20 cm (6-8 inches) onto our property. I don’t really mind though, since soil will be placed on top and the root probably won’t be affected.
But just out of curiosity: what would happen if I wanted to put up a fence there myself? You can’t simply remove the wedges... As I mentioned, we had thought about installing some privacy screening about 3-4 m (10-13 feet) along the house, but that will have to be different than originally planned. Would it be possible to drill into the concrete wedge to fix something in place?
HGZT2025 schrieb:
The concrete wedges of his curb stones are actually about 15–20 cm (6–8 inches) on our property. But I don’t really mind, soil will cover it and the roots probably won’t be affected. I felt the same way—that this was taken for granted or done without asking, which bothered me. Over time, it’s faded from my mind and no longer affects me. Still, I maintain that this is basically intrusive and should be addressed promptly if a neighbor might be affected in any way.
That’s my ideal way of interacting socially. I think you’ll probably feel the same soon enough.
HGZT2025 schrieb:
Just out of curiosity—what if I wanted to put up a fence there myself? You can’t just remove those wedges... as I said, we had considered installing a privacy screen about 3–4 m (10–13 feet) along the house, but that will have to be handled differently now. Could you drill into the concrete wedge to secure a post? That could tie courts up in litigation for years, wasting both time and money through multiple levels. If it were the only viable option, I would of course drill into a concrete block located on my own property. The real question is how you can “make use” of your neighbor’s advance without upsetting them. He’s already built a fence, which isn’t a disadvantage for you; the underground concrete wedges there I would consider irrelevant. I believe there are many options that don’t disadvantage either party or open a new dispute.
If needed, post a photo and we can offer further suggestions.
M
MachsSelbst31 Mar 2025 13:48tomtom79 schrieb:
And here comes the neighborhood dispute. Just wait until the concrete wedge from the curbstones ends up on the wrong property. You might find that amusing, but in my case, the neighbor’s workers actually tried to pour a 40x40cm (16x16 inches) thick slab for the fence posts onto my property. I noticed it just in time and explained to them as clearly as possible that while I’m okay with 10 to 15cm (4 to 6 inches), I don’t accept a 40x40cm (16x16 inches) concrete puddle just because they didn’t want to build formwork and had dug the hole way too large.
If it’s agreed upon beforehand, fine, no problem. But if nobody asks me first, then no concrete wedge goes onto my property—not even a millimeter.
Arauki11 schrieb:
I also felt that this was taken for granted, or that you simply shouldn’t do something like that without asking first. By now, it’s out of my mind and doesn’t bother me. However, I still feel that it’s fundamentally intrusive, and it should be addressed in good time if the neighbor is affected in any way.
That’s just my wishful thinking for social interactions. I believe you’ll get over it quickly as well. Yes, I think the same. I would have preferred if it had been addressed in advance, but oh well. Maybe he was also upset that he couldn’t enforce his plan to cover the costs and decided not to bring up the conversation about the concrete on our property. Who knows... to be honest, it doesn’t matter much to me anymore. But the whole thing does leave a bit of a bad taste...
Arauki11 schrieb:
You could tie up courts for years through multiple appeals and waste both time and money. If it were the only viable option, of course I would drill into a concrete block on my property. The question is rather how you can “use” the neighbor’s move to your advantage without upsetting him. He has now built a fence, which is not a disadvantage for you; I would consider the underground concrete wedges irrelevant. I think there are many options that don’t disadvantage either side or open a new dispute.
If needed, post a photo and then more ideas can follow. It’s not worth it, and I’m not planning to build another fence in front of it now. The money will be invested in beautiful plants instead of gray concrete and fences 🙂 And as you said, I’m happy with the boundary between the properties that will be clearly marked eventually, and the concrete wedges probably won’t affect my plants. We’ll see the rest next spring when we work on the garden.
Out of curiosity, I was just wondering if this is generally allowed.
Arauki11 schrieb:
If needed, upload a picture and more ideas will follow.This is how it looks right now. Our L-blocks are 280cm (110 inches) from the house.
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