Building plot evaluation and house orientation

Hello everyone,

we are currently planning to buy a plot of land. It is located in a new development area. It is a corner plot.

We are currently struggling with whether we can really build well on the plot and if so, how.

Floor area ratio = 0.3
Eaves height = 4.5m
Ridge height = 9m

We would like to build a 1.5-story house with a gable facing the garden.
The driveway is planned from the longer street side. This would mean that our driveway is directly next to the neighbor’s garden. However, the neighbor has built up the land quite high (above street level). Our entire plot is also below street level. However, we would only like to go up to street level and not higher. So that we don’t have any problems with the ridge height and the house can be placed as close to the street as possible. On the other side of us is another plot which has not been built up at all and is therefore below level like ours currently.

I now have several questions:

1. Do you think it is a problem that the neighbor has built up so high if we have our driveway next to it and do not build up that high? He is about 20cm above street level and our plot is about 70cm below street level currently. We would then put a concrete wall or something similar next to our driveway.
2. The next problem is that our other neighbor on the long side to the back is too low. So our plot is between one that is too high and one that is too low. What do we need to consider here? That would basically be our garden next to his yard.
3. Do you think the orientation of the house makes sense?
4. We are currently considering making the yard wide enough for 2 cars side by side or narrower in order to have more garden and instead have one parking space lengthwise in front of the house. I just don’t know if parking there would always be that easy.

Info about the pictures. The two circles are sewage and rainwater shafts.

How about the orientation? Why don't you draw in the street and neighbors?

Above all, a scale drawing would be helpful. The representation is distorted, which is not very advantageous if you want to get an overall picture. For example, the garden at the back should be much smaller compared to the house and driveway, since the 10 m in the plan are almost as long as from the house to the property boundary at the driveway.

Sorry, here is another attempt. I am mainly concerned about the differences in elevation. I will discuss the question about the orientation with the developer again:

By the way, we are building in Lower Saxony.

Neighbor A next to our carport is slightly above the level of our street (+0.2 approx.).
Neighbor B (at the top of the long side) towards our garden has just started, but our developer thinks that they probably orient themselves to the other street since the driveway is there. They then lie below our property.

The plan would currently be to reach zero level of our street under the house with the bottom edge of the floor slab. That is about 60cm higher than currently. How should we behave towards each neighbor?

We then have the problem that we set our property higher than Neighbor B’s, but we have to be higher because our street is higher and Neighbor A is higher. I once read somewhere that you are not allowed to build higher than the neighbor, is that true? Then we would not be allowed to build higher than Neighbor B? But our reference point is our street, isn’t it?

Are there also any other difficulties with our house if the property is raised that much?


I also have a question about the floor area ratio:
The floor area ratio is 0.3 for us. There are no further restrictions in the development plan. Does this mean that we may exceed the floor area ratio by 50% with the ancillary facilities? The regulation states for all ancillary installations "below ground surface". What exactly does that mean?

Neighbor A has to retain his 70 cm with L-bricks or he has to let his property slope down to yours by means of a embankment.

You have to retain your embankment towards Neighbor B or let it slope down by means of a embankment. What does the development plan say about this?

Since Neighbor A will not be amused and you don’t want to ruin the neighborhood, it may come down to sharing the costs with Neighbor A.

but we have to be higher because our street is higher and Neighbor A is higher. I once read somewhere that you are not allowed to build higher than the neighbor, is that true? Then we would not be allowed to build higher than Neighbor B? But our reference point is our street, isn’t it?

You don’t have to do anything. It is always recommended to be at least at street level, but I have to honestly say that almost all houses on the dike to the Elbe are built lower.
The reference point is often the street... that should all be in your development plan.

You have to intercept your embankment at neighbor B or let it slope down with a wall. What does the development plan say about this?

Since neighbor A will not be amused and you don’t want to spoil the neighborhood, it could come down to sharing the costs with neighbor A.

The development plan doesn’t say anything further about this. Only that you are not allowed to be higher than 0.5m above the reference point.

But it’s all complicated. I never understand why this is not simply regulated.

How wide does such a wall have to be?