Prepare the plot

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding the preliminary work on the property. We bought a property that was leased to a farmer. With the purchase, the lease ended, but he has already sown wheat on it. Should this be mowed down so that we don’t have wheat all over the garden for the next few years, or is it rather unproblematic since the topsoil will be moved aside soon anyway and most of the wheat will be destroyed in the process? Furthermore, we are building in a gap between houses, with houses on the left and right, a street in front, and fields behind. Now, the neighbors’ hedges on our property have of course never been trimmed back. Are we allowed to simply cut off the overhanging bushes, or does the neighbor have to do that? We don’t want to make ourselves unpopular straight away and say you have to do this and that, so we would also do it ourselves if that is okay. And then one more question about land modeling, although this probably doesn’t belong in this section. Does anyone know to what extent one is allowed to raise a property without causing problems? I think this is always somewhat vaguely formulated, or is there a clear legal guideline? The terrain drops by about 1.5 meters at the street at approximately 27 meters. Here we would like to create an area in front of the house that is almost level, either with a steep slope or a retaining wall. Hence my previous question. We have to raise the land anyway because we want the house to be above street level due to water. Many thanks in advance. P.S.: Should anyone in the Hof/Upper Franconia area have excess excavated soil, we need about 200 cubic meters.

Hello, Gerd!

Hello everyone,

And then immediately another question about terrain modeling, although this probably does not belong in this category.
Does anyone know to what extent it is allowed to raise the ground on a property without causing problems?
I think this is always somewhat vaguely formulated, or is there a clear legal guideline on this?

The crucial question is which planning basis applies. If there is a development plan, there may be stipulations or a framework specified there within which changes can be made without explicit application. More can be done, but it must be explicitly applied for/approved. Above all, one must be careful with local fill, because these are considered independent components and may trigger building encumbrances.

Your architect can answer all these questions and explain the various possibilities.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding the preliminary work on the property.
We bought a property that was leased to a farmer.
With the purchase, the lease was terminated, but it is now the case that he has already sown wheat on it.
Should this still be mowed down so that we don’t have wheat growing in the garden for the next few years, or is that rather unproblematic since the topsoil will be moved aside soon anyway and most of the wheat will be destroyed in the process?
Furthermore, we are building in a building gap, there are houses on the left and right, a street in front, and fields at the back.
Now, the neighbors’ hedges have obviously never been trimmed back on our property.
Are we allowed to simply cut off the overhanging shrubs, or does the neighbor have to do that?
We don’t want to make ourselves unpopular right away by saying you have to do this or that, so we would do it ourselves if that is okay.

I cannot address the purely legal aspect here. Therefore, my answer is based only on common sense:

Cutting bushes/hedges: Talk to your neighbors. You can ask if they want to trim it themselves or if you should take care of it. If they allow you, they cannot be upset if it’s not done 100% exactly how they would want it (e.g., if you accidentally cut a little more than the owner would have done).
Wheat: It depends on how much time there is left until construction begins. If there is still some time—talk to the farmer to see if he wants to harvest the wheat (maybe you can get a little payment for that). Regardless, you will probably have a crop (if grain kernels have already formed) – unless you send a flock of birds over that feast after the harvest/the cutting. (But I’m not from the countryside either.)

For the vegetation, has already given you the correct advice. Nevertheless, you should know: the owners of the hedges and plants, even if they hang/grow on your property, are the neighbors. If you prune the bushes, as you call them (hm, since when is a hedge bushes?), it would be property damage according to §303 StGB. Regards Yvonne

Okay, thanks so far.
At some point, I will take a picture of the vegetation and post it. Thicket is certainly not the correct technical term but probably the ideal description of the condition.
Regarding piling up: as far as I know, there are no building encumbrances in Bavaria, only easements. However, I do not understand what piling up has to do with that. There is also a development plan, but it is not regulated there. Our architect has made a proposal on how the site could be modeled, but that is too uniform for us; we would like harder, clearer edges in the terrain. But I will simply ask him about that directly. Many thanks for now,

Regarding the growth, has already given you the correct advice. Nevertheless, you should know: the owners of the hedges and plants, even if they hang/grow on your property, are the neighbors. If you prune the brushwood, as you call it (hm, since when is a hedge brushwood?), yourself, it would be considered property damage under §303 StGB.

Regards, Yvonne

Not necessarily. You have to look at the relevant regulations in neighbor law or any local statutes that may apply to see how and what is regulated. Hedges/trees usually have to comply with their own boundary distances so that the neighboring property is not affected. There is also quite a bit of information online about overhanging branches and hedges; the key point is always how and whether you can prove that your own property is affected. Then you have to give the neighbor a reasonable period to fix the issue themselves; if they do not comply, you may eventually take the scissors in hand in the presence of a lawyer and a landscape gardening expert and trim the tip of a twig.

With an invitation to a cold drink and a hot sausage, it usually goes much faster, of course.