My husband and I live in a villa in a small village in East Jutland and have done so for almost 30 years.
Our neighbor, who moved here about 2 years ago, must have built an addition, and in doing so he has discovered that the back of our garage is 2 meters into his property, and that the hedge between the properties is 3 meters into his property.
Our neighbor now wants us to remove the garage and move the hedge so that it will be where he believes the boundary is.
What should we do? We don't think we've done anything wrong, as the hedge and garage are where they were when we bought the house. We're both retired, so we don't have the money to take legal action.
When there is a dispute or doubt between two neighbors about where the boundary is, a boundary dispute can be held.
This is done by having a land surveyor mark where the boundary is according to the cadastral map. Once you know where the boundary is, the land surveyor can also decide whether you have won a claim on the part of your neighbor's land that lies between the boundary according to the cadastral map and the boundary as it results from the daily use of the property that you have exercised for the last 30 years.
In order to be able to claim, you must have used the area for more than 20 years as if you owned it, that the neighbor has not used the area at the same time, and that there is no agreement with the neighbor that you have the right to use the area.
Since the above conditions must be considered fulfilled, in my opinion you have won a claim to the area up to the hedge, which is why the area now belongs to you and not the neighbor. Therefore, you cannot be forced to remove the hedge or the garage.
Completing a separation agreement can be a costly affair. You should therefore start by contacting a lawyer who can apply to your insurance company for legal aid to complete the separation agreement on your behalf.
In this way, your costs of a settlement transaction are limited to only 10% of the total costs. If your total income is low enough, the lawyer can also apply to the local State Administration for the State to cover the costs of the settlement transaction once the settlement transaction has been completed.
I regularly conduct boundary transactions, and you are therefore very welcome to contact me again if you would like assistance in the matter.
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