Building boundary / Fencing - What am I entitled to demand?

Hello.

I'm getting back in touch with the forum after a long time.

First of all, we have now bought a used bungalow (Münster, NRW) and are very satisfied. Through acquaintances, we were able to purchase it inexpensively. We have been living in the house for about 2 years now. Now I have a question regarding the building boundary or enclosure.

The situation is as follows: We have a covered terrace area in the garden and want to tear it down soon and plan something else. Some time ago, I noticed that my neighbor removed his enclosure and is practically using my wooden cladding as an enclosure. So if I remove the terrace, I will have no privacy screen. In addition, he is even using the area that my previous owner had as a distance to his old enclosure. He filled the distance area with soil and planted it. The problem is that all the soil was pressed against my wooden cladding, causing it to rot.

For simplification, I marked a picture with Paint.

Blue = Our house
Gray = Covered terrace
Red = Wooden cladding
Yellow = Distance (THIS IS NOW USED BY MY NEIGHBOR. IT IS FILLED WITH SOIL AND PLANTED)
Green = Building boundary

The building plan states the following:
In the area of the garden courtyard houses, enclosures up to a height of 2.75 m may be permitted for demarcation of the garden courtyard.

For demarcation of the house gardens, enclosures up to a height of 1.00 m are permitted. For the parcels xxx and xxx of district xx (area for supply facilities - switch house and gas control station) a higher enclosure is exceptionally permitted. For demarcation of the properties between each other, enclosures up to a maximum height of 2.00 m may be permitted if they serve as privacy screens for residential terraces and the like.

Walls are not permitted as enclosures outside the building areas with garden courtyard houses.

I am not concerned about the old construction. I will tear it down anyway. I am only interested in the enclosure and who is responsible for it, etc. As mentioned, there was apparently a fence along the building boundary before. It is no longer there.

I would be very happy about a few tips.

Best regards

Terrace up to the building boundary? Was this approved in the building application?

Otherwise, the neighbor must refrain from anything that could damage your property.

Is there an agreement with the neighbor regarding the encroachment? Possibly from the previous owner?

Terrace up to the building boundary? Was that approved in the building application?

The building application was approved at the time. It was built entirely on the owner's own property, including the wooden beam construction, and finished with profile wood in a tongue-and-groove system.

Otherwise, the neighbor must refrain from anything that could damage your property.

Normally, I could claim damages for that. But that’s not my concern since I will tear it down anyway.

Is there an agreement with the neighbor regarding the encroachment? Possibly from the previous owner?

There is no agreement, neither with the previous owners nor with me. I spoke with the owner today and am allowed to notify the tenant this evening to dismantle it. As soon as I plan the demolition, he will take care of the enclosure.

Can I require him to build the wall since it serves as a privacy screen??

As I said, there used to be a privacy screen, since the fixtures are still on his house wall. Why it was removed, I cannot say. Maybe it was damaged and he figured my wooden cladding was sufficient as a privacy screen.

Best regards

You can only insist on compliance with the regulations. We do not know what is stated in [eckigen Klammern]. It often regulates what is permissible. If not, then there is nothing you can demand. That is the neighbor's choice. If you want something special, then you should come to an agreement. Ideally with cost-sharing.

Was this really not approved as a boundary construction, meaning with the 25cm distance??? If not, there would be no building permit for it. I would keep a low profile on that for the time being,... No one is obligated to provide privacy screening, especially not the neighbor, just because something would be permissible.

I see it the same way. Here it is common that everyone marks their right boundary at their own expense, with a fence or hedge, or you agree to leave it open. But you have to pay for a privacy screen yourself.