Legal Assistance for Trees on Property Boundaries

Questioner

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, We bought a house with a backyard in 2017. In the back garden the neighbours, who are the owners, have planted a row of pine trees on their own initiative, according to them on the property line. This happened shortly before our purchase, it is stated that this happened with the permission of the tenant, who had left before our purchase. He did not say anything about the permission of the owner. We already objected last year, but nothing changes. The neighbor says that the pine trees are common. We don't want pine trees on the property line, they grow fast. Also our garden will be reduced by this, we want to place a communal fence on the property line instead of the pine trees. Can we demand that the trees be removed because the previous owner did not give permission? What is the best way to claim this without going to court? More generally, what is the best thing we can do?

Lawyer

Valid co-ownership can only occur after explicit consent. This consent must be recorded by a notary in a deed and registered in the land registry (art. 5:60 BW). You can easily ask the land registry and your neighbor about this. Article 5:60 of the Dutch Civil Code states: Joint ownership arises when immovable property is jointly owned by the owners of two or more properties and is designated by them for the common benefit of those properties by a notarial deed drawn up between them, followed by its registration in the public registers. If this notarial registration is not there, there is no legally valid joint ownership and you can therefore, strictly speaking, demand that the pine trees on the property boundary be removed. There are currently good experiences with neighbourhood mediation. You can call in neighbourhood mediation via your municipality or the police. The neighbourhood mediator will first talk to you and then to your neighbour. It is the task of the neighbourhood mediator to get you together at the table to have a substantive discussion under the guidance of that mediator in which the mutual interests are expressed and respected and what both parties consider a reasonable solution is sought.

Lawyer

additional: Freestanding dividing walls, hedges or fences are also shared (automatically) if they run lengthwise under two properties of two different owners. (Article 5:62 paragraph 1) In that case, no notarial deed is required.