Ask a lawyer on the topic of Neighbor law

Neighbor dispute

December 13, 2009 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla

Hello,
I have the problem that my neighbor's tree constantly drops its leaves on our property in the fall. What can I do legally, as he strictly refuses to remove them.
Best regards,
B. Fritsch

Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla

Dear seeker of advice,

Thank you for your inquiry!

I would like to respond to your question in consideration of the situation you have described as follows:

In accordance with § 906 paragraph 1 of the German Civil Code (BGB), as a neighbor, you have a legal claim against your neighbor to remove leaf fall that affects your property if you are significantly affected by the leaf fall.

For such a significant impairment of your property in the garden to exist, the amount of leaves must be significantly outside the usual local range. The situation of neighboring properties in the immediate vicinity should be used as a benchmark for this permissible range. Therefore, if there are occasional trees and leaf fall from them, this may not necessarily lead to an obligation to remove or share the cost.

As long as the neighbor uses their garden "locally", i.e. does not operate a tree nursery or similar business, I see your chances of enforcing a corresponding removal claim regarding the leaves falling onto your property as rather slim.

I would like to conclude by pointing out the following:

The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts.

Adding or omitting relevant information can result in a completely different legal assessment.

I hope that my explanations have helped you. You are welcome to contact me through the follow-up option on this platform or via my email address.

I wish you a pleasant rest of the Sunday evening.

Best regards,

Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law

Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax. 0471/57774