Cost coverage for fencing that is not desired

  • Erstellt am 2025-03-20 17:54:19

HGZT2025

2025-03-20 17:54:19
  • #1
Hello everyone,

we have attached our semi-detached house in Fulda (Hessen) to an already existing, completed semi-detached house. We are currently at the shell stage and the windows are supposed to arrive in 3 weeks. So far, our property was undeveloped. Now our soon-to-be neighbor has approached us, saying that he would like to put up a fence between the semi-detached houses and has already spoken with the local landscaping contractor. He intends to fence his entire property and now wants to start soon so that the garden can be used in the summer.

He has approached me and said that it is common for neighbors of semi-detached houses to share the cost of the fence in the middle and would like to have a joint discussion with me and his landscaping contractor regarding the type and design of the fence. I can hardly imagine that he wants anything different in the middle than what he chooses for the rest of his property.

Honestly, I feel overwhelmed. I am in the shell construction phase and garden planning is still quite far away. To be honest, I neither have the time nor the financial capacity to also take care of garden planning now. One must consider that his house is somewhat elevated compared to ours, so terrace/level of the garden play a role.

In Hessen, there is apparently a fencing obligation upon request of the neighbor...
"
According to the Hessian Neighbor Law, the owner of a developed or commercially used property is obliged at the request of the owner of the neighboring property to fence his property, as long as the boundary 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 obligated to cooperate in the erection of the fence (§ 14 HNRG)"

But now the situation is that we do not want a fence at all, and if anything, rather a hedge or something similar, but no usual fence (which is also a possible fencing option in Hessen). I also wonder if the neighbor can really put us under pressure just because he wants to start NOW. Let him do whatever he wants on his property, and I also would never have thought to charge him for the cost of privacy screen or hedge that I would like.

Maybe someone in Hessen has already experienced something like this?

Thanks
 

nordanney

2025-03-20 17:58:02
  • #2
Read further in the paragraphs: You are therefore only to use a usual fence, alternatively a chain-link fence. But that can be demanded. If his fence costs 7 times as much, he just has to increase his share significantly.
 

HGZT2025

2025-03-20 18:04:43
  • #3
Thank you for the response.

I need to find out what is customary here. Then I will just pay for 12m of chain-link fence /2. Does anyone know by when this has to be done? I mean, does the fence have to be erected RIGHT NOW immediately? I can't find anything about time limits.
 

chand1986

2025-03-20 18:12:22
  • #4
Well, honestly, a fence that has to be there anyway is not a plan you need to worry about in detail. And that, with a semi-detached house, usually something ends up on the boundary between neighbors is clear beforehand, right? If I read the source from correctly, there is something 1.2m high, for which you pay 50% of what the whole thing would cost in chain-link fence. You just have to decide whether you want something opaque or not. Then you’re in a good position if he takes care of the rest?
 

HGZT2025

2025-03-20 18:18:16
  • #5
Basically correct, but as I said, we have different levels of the house and the property. We will still need to do some filling because we want a ground-level terrace. The neighbors have a podium terrace, but their house is also higher. And if I think a bit further, I have to take that into account.

Can I actually, in return, demand that we build the desired fence in such a way that it includes the privacy screen we want anyway on the two houses? So first a high privacy screen that then transitions into a regular fence?
 

chand1986

2025-03-20 18:23:16
  • #6
I don't know if you can demand that. But if the neighbor is pragmatic, he will see the advantage of doing it all at once. I want to reproach you a little, not personally meant: If there are these level differences and you are filling up, and moreover privacy screen is planned, then the fence planning belongs right at the beginning!? Especially with a semi-detached house. That it caught you unprepared now is unfortunate, but in my opinion your strategy has taken you by surprise.
 

Similar topics
06.03.2017Single-family house or semi-detached house?37
18.03.2017Semi-detached house on a plot with rising ground10
09.11.2022How much does a semi-detached house cost? Is it much cheaper than a single-family house?50
04.04.2018Semi-detached house with rather small children's rooms100
20.06.2018Plot selection for a semi-detached house - Which one would you choose?21
18.01.2019Purchase of a semi-detached house with a north-facing garden - which side?10
12.11.2019Semi-detached house yes or no65
27.02.2020Is it sensible to build a new semi-detached house without the KfW standard?36
15.05.2020Floor plan: Semi-detached house 8x12m. Opinions and creative ideas welcome :-)123
03.08.2020First floor plan draft semi-detached house 90m² floor area15
04.05.2021Recommendation for terrace partition for a semi-detached house wanted16
25.05.2021Financing for 124 sqm semi-detached house – too tight?40
10.05.2021Evaluation of a newly built semi-detached house in the Rhein-Erft district45
16.05.2021Privacy screen / windbreak on terrace / street - ideas?26
28.05.2021Floor plan for narrow semi-detached house - basement + 2 upper floors + attic without knee wall53
02.10.2022Floor plan for 2 semi-detached houses - wide and narrow or square25
01.07.2022Looking for an idea for a beautiful privacy screen for the terrace in front of a duplex house10
07.12.2023Purchase decision small semi-detached house 100 sqm from 1930205
06.01.2023Solid house or prefabricated house? Semi-detached house, approx. 160 sqm, pros and cons22
10.05.2024Floor plan complete renovation of semi-detached house into a 3-story family house10

Oben