Garage approved, but carport built

You don’t see it. I think "Julia - the liar" already feels attacked.

On the one hand, it is interesting and good to see how solidarity also works on the internet; on the other hand, the HbF is currently not a wish concert either.

What is so unrealistic about only realizing all this after 15 years?

We repeatedly find—Dirk confirmed in his post—that existing buildings change over the years; not always with approval. With a new build, 20 cm may not necessarily catch the eye; I would even go so far as to say that 50 cm are not necessarily noticeable. 1.00 m, on the other hand, certainly is. The OP writes: "WE had a garage + ancillary rooms approved for our single-family house 15 years ago. As already stated above, only the ancillary rooms were built and instead of the garage, a carport." That means there was an approval plan and very likely also a preliminary location plan; at the very least, a scaled cadastral excerpt. Since the encroachment has not yet been noticed by the building authority, the application was probably submitted at the time via the simplified approval procedure. Furthermore, the OP writes: "In the course of the sheet metal garage issue, I went out with the tape measure to measure and see that the carport was 1 meter wider than the garage would have been." Now there are two possibilities—either the OP and her husband built the carport themselves or it was completely bought finished and placed on the point foundations; in both cases, the OP and her husband paid for it. Either way, there was also a plan showing how much space was available for the carport.

I think it is possible to respond here in a "normal" tone even if topics repeat and repeat. I see no problem with that.

I would not know where I misstepped in tone or personally attacked the OP. I would most likely have reacted differently as well (perhaps not at all; these kinds of questions are always very well answered from the users’ collective experience), making the OP aware that she made a mistake 15 years ago—whether consciously or unconsciously, that does not matter. What bothers me is the formulation "That is how it IS NOW" with the unspoken implication—which then triggered your and other users’ solidarity—that the OP claims to have only noticed it now. With that, the topic is closed for me as well. You gave the OP a good piece of advice in your last post; there is nothing more to add. Rhenish greetings

Oh dear.... I work daily with educated people who occasionally have to estimate lengths, heights, and areas but often get it quite wrong. To me, 12 sqm is smaller than 16... others see 20 in it! And I don’t believe my husband knows what dimensions of carport I ordered, nor can he estimate the current length (it’s only 5 meters, not the standard measure of 6 meters). We won’t have to talk about it either, so in 10 years, he will still think it’s 6 meters. Well, please leave out your designated nickname – I don’t see any trick in your question, and there’s no need to see one either. Have a nice weekend

We are here in an online forum where everyone can hide behind a pseudonym. What is true or constructed is not verifiable anyway. In this respect, one can either accept the (valide) question or not. Whether it is theoretical in nature does not matter at all and changes absolutely nothing.

if the office still hasn't noticed anything after 15 years, it is probably advisable to just keep the matter under wraps. if it eventually comes out, of course, you can say you knew nothing. normally nothing will come of it after such a long time anyway. if anything, it's just unlucky coincidences. as already said, it would be interesting to know whether the carport as it stands is eligible for approval. the width of the carport is initially irrelevant, as long as you do not misuse more than 9 meters of the property boundary (or keep more than 3 meters from the boundary) and comply with the respective permissible average height. otherwise, take a look at the building regulations.

if the office hasn't noticed anything after 15 years, it's probably advisable to just keep the matter covered up.

That presents a certain problem – the OP is at least considering the possibility of selling her property. That's a bit like a small patched-up parking scratch on a used car... simply "keeping it covered" I consider a certain risk.

if it ever comes out, of course you'll claim to have known nothing. normally nothing will come of it after such a long time anyway. if anything, it's just unlucky coincidences.

We clean up such things every day. Ignorance doesn't protect against "punishment" here either, although usually it goes quite moderately. But there are also extreme cases that somewhat easily contradict your statement that "normally nothing will come of it anyway."

Regards
Dirk Grafe

Of course, our lawyers are once again in favor of the completely 100% correct method. That our politicians are the biggest liars and stretch every law as they see fit – that probably doesn’t matter.

When it comes to selling, it is naturally a bit more critical, although here again the buyer has to prove that the seller knew about the matter, so that it becomes grossly negligent. There are also statutes of limitation, etc... it’s not that simple either.
It is definitely not the proper way to sell your house and say nothing. But as long as all regulations of the federal state are complied with, nothing major can happen anyway.