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Hedges as a controversial topic between German neighbors
Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / dpa
Anyone who goes to court to demand that a neighbor's hedge be pruned, but who does not follow the rules themselves, can be excluded from the right to have it pruned. This applies if the plaintiff neighbor has individual plants on the property that violate neighbor law, as the regional court in Frankenthal in Rhineland-Palatinate announced on Wednesday.
Specifically, it was about a hedge right on the property boundary. The Ludwigshafen district court had sentenced the owner to cut back in the first instance. The Frankenthal regional court has now overturned this decision.
According to current neighboring law, anyone with a hedge on the neighboring property must ensure that it does not exceed a certain height, the judges explained. This claim can also be enforced in court. However, anyone who violates the rules cannot necessarily rely on this claim. In this case, the plaintiff neighbor also had individual plants on the property that violated neighbor law.
The neighborly community relationship is strongly influenced by the so-called principles of good faith, which requires mutual consideration, it was said. Anyone who does not adhere to the rules is excluded from claims against their neighbors in good faith.
czl/AFP