Construction site of neighboring construction site besieged with container and cement

Caution! Do not simply remove things on the property. Someone else's property, even if it is stored on your own property, remains someone else's property! You should definitely keep your hands off it yourself.

Talk to the builder and try to find a solution. Waving the police stick right away will not be beneficial for your future neighborhood. If they don't give in, you can still wave the stick. But maybe the other builder doesn't even know about it. In our development area, it is completely normal for things to be stored on neighboring properties. It was the same with us. We informed them shortly before we started construction and they cleared the space.

Hello,

What right do I have? - ???

The question should rather be "what duties do you have." You can find information about this, among others, in § 823 of the Building Code or also § 4 of the Federal and Soil Protection Act. Simply put, as an owner, you are liable for any damage occurring on your property; whether caused by incoming pollutants or injury to persons.

I would not necessarily immediately bring out the "club," because living next to each other is hardly feasible once "the child is in the well"; maybe your future neighbor is not aware of the consequences of their actions? That would not surprise me, considering "just" some statements here in the forum. Since you yourself seem to be right in the middle of the construction preparations, I would find the property owner "yesterday." Since there is a construction sign at every building site, this should not be too difficult; otherwise, the building authority or the land registry office can provide information. Arrange for the prompt and swift clearance of your property, indicating that otherwise you will have the property cleared at your expense under police supervision.

That should suffice and not unduly burden your hopefully good neighborhood relationship in the future.

Rhenish regards

Caution! Don’t just remove things on the property. Other people’s property, even if stored on your own land, remains other people’s property! You should definitely keep your hands off it first of all.

You don’t remove other people’s property, you secure your property against potential dangers. Ownership entails responsibility.

Talk to the builder and try to find a solution. Immediately threatening with the police will not be beneficial for your future neighborhood. If they don’t give in, you can still threaten later. But maybe the other builder doesn’t even know about it. In our building area it’s completely normal for things to be stored on neighboring properties. It was like that with us too. We informed them shortly before we started building and they cleared the space.

They won’t give in. I mean, what else do you want!? The OP has made it perfectly clear to the builder that he wants to clear his building plot of trees and prepare it for his own construction and receives nothing but dumb remarks from the builder – who on his part didn’t even think it necessary to quietly ask whether the storage was possible. At that point, I would just put the insulation right in the middle of the street or the builder pays me daily in cash rent for the storage. After all, the OP has suffered a hindrance to his construction project because of his neighbor’s builder; he can’t get any further. And just as the builder didn’t ask if he may store his materials there, I wouldn’t ask him what he thinks about finding his materials back on the street if I already give him the chance to clear the materials himself.

Best regards Dirk Grafe

I would be cautious with Dirk Grafe's recommendation to simply place the items by the street. A relative had a similar problem that was, however, settled in court. He was not allowed to remove the foreign objects from his property either, until the court ordered the owner to remove them. Before you take any action, consult a lawyer!

Hello Dirk,

At that point, I would simply place the insulation right in the middle of the street or the neighbor responsible for the construction work (BU) pays me daily rent in cash for storage. After all, the original poster (TE) has suffered impairment of his building project (BV) due to the neighbor's BU; he cannot proceed. And just as the BU did not ask if he could store his materials there, I also wouldn’t ask him how he feels about finding his material again on the street if I already give him the opportunity to remove the material himself.

If the TE followed your personal approach, he would not be well advised.

Even if foreign material is stored on his property without his consent, he may not dispose of this material as he pleases. On the contrary, if he follows your advice and the material is damaged as a result, the TE can be held liable.

Therefore, in such cases, a written warning should be issued first and only after the warned party still does not respond can the property owner have the material removed at the neighbor’s expense and cost. Any other approach can have unforeseen consequences.

Best regards from the Rhineland

Hello Dirk,


If the OP were to follow your personal approach, he would not be well advised.

Bauexperte. The moment you even start loading the insulation material onto a trailer and the neighbor's construction workers start messing around on the builder's site, within seconds the foreman will be standing there because he is afraid for his material. Understanding in the form of an explanation that you want to clear your property of trees – and that tree felling also carries some risk of damage – apparently does not exist with the builder, so you simply have to speak in a language the builder understands. And they certainly all understand the difference between "material there" and "material gone."

Legally, of course, this is not quite clean – on the other hand, the builder does not have permission to enter the property (possibly trespassing), no permission to store anything there, and probably cannot even prove that the material actually belongs to him. In court, something like this usually fails like the Battle of Hornberg, and there will be no lawsuit anyway, since the builder himself initially acted unlawfully.

Alternative: block access to the property/material and then simply demand a loose €500 rent. Per day.

Then you will have a quickly cleared property, which ultimately is the goal.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe