Build a terraced end house with an additional unit (GÜ) on your own

Hello everyone,

some of you may have already read one of my threads in which it is about us having to or being allowed to build our end terrace house independently – depending on the point of view. This means that we are buying an end terrace house plot (215 sqm) in a new development area in the Rhein-Neckar district and will build it ourselves – but in consultation with our two terrace neighbors.

The wish of the municipality, which sold the plots through a local resident model, was actually that ideally one applies as a complete house group with several families and then builds accordingly with a general contractor (GU), construction manager (GÜ), or architect. Of course, this did not really work out, so there are only individual applicants and now also builders.

After we were awarded the contract, the addresses of the other terrace neighbors were exchanged to discuss certain things, such as the roof shape, basement yes or no, etc. It was immediately noticeable that everyone would prefer to do their own thing. However, it was agreed that the house group would be built as a gable roof with a roof pitch of 35 – 40 degrees. Within these 5 degrees you can adjust.

As an end house, we will build without a basement, whereas the middle house and the other end house will have one. This, of course, poses the problem that we would have to do a deep foundation or simply skip it, and the middle house would then have to compensate for us, as we will start building first. However, the current status is that we have agreed with the middle house that we will do the deeper foundation at their expense, as a later compensation of our house for the neighbor would be significantly more expensive.

We are currently just before signing with the construction manager (GÜ), the notary appointment for the plot is at the end of June, and hopefully construction will start this fall, since several freely planned house groups are still being built around us in the development area, which could again get in our way with their cranes.

I will document the progress here from time to time – such a self-planned terrace house does not come along that often.

Today we unfortunately learned that our middle house neighbor will not be buying the property after all - too many compromises.

He wanted to build with a basement, we with a slab. But since we start first, in Baden-Württemberg the neighbor has the right to demand footing underpinning from us at his expense, which technically would have been the ideal and "cheapest" option, if one can call about €15,000 cheap.

Now we wonder how it will work if the new middle house neighbor is only found after we start construction? On the one hand, underpinning is always significantly more expensive and according to our construction manager not optimal, since you then have different types of subsoil, causing the slab to settle at different rates. This would eventually cause our house to get a slight "list."

Does anyone know for sure whether in Ba-Wü one must always agree to underpinning in principle?

Sounds exciting. I'll subscribe to you then

Sounds exciting. I'll subscribe to you.

I would prefer something more relaxing...

However, it was possible to agree that the house group will be built as a gable roof with a roof pitch of 35 - 40 degrees. You can move within these 5 degrees.

How is that supposed to work? Are the houses all offset? If not, it would look strange, right? The municipality really screwed you over there. Many have already written this, but such a type of construction belongs in the hands of a property developer.

Does anyone know for sure that one must always agree to underpinning in Ba-Wü?

In your other thread, you already quoted the Neighbor Rights Act, according to which consent must be given. Perhaps there is even some special constellation under which the underpinning could be prevented, but I have no idea what that might look like. That would also be a very far-reaching interference in the neighbor's property rights.