For climate protection, it is important that as many old buildings as possible get an energy-saving insulation layer. The neighbors are not always enthusiastic. Do you still have to play?
If an old building is right on the property line, an extra layer of insulation inevitably protrudes next door – when does the neighbor have to accept that for climate protection? This question has been occupying the Karlsruhe Federal Court of Justice (BGH) since Friday in a case from Berlin.
Most federal states have created special regulations to make renovations as easy as possible. In the capital, however, the affected neighbors are expected to be particularly hard. That could be unconstitutional.
In other countries, it is prescribed, among other things, how much space the insulation may take up – in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, 25 centimeters. In Berlin, there are no such requirements.
Here it says simply: “The owner of a property must tolerate the development of his property for thermal insulation purposes if the building to be insulated already exists on the neighboring property.” The only provision is that he is to be compensated with a cash rent and can demand the removal of the insulation layer if he later wants to build on the boundary wall himself.
Is the Berlin regulation unconstitutional?
During the trial, the presiding judge, Bettina Brückner, pointed out that there might not be enough space for bicycles or garbage cans in a very small inner courtyard due to the insulation. Nevertheless, that should be accepted. Your Senate has to decide whether the Berlin regulation violates the fundamental right to property. If the highest civil judges consider the paragraph to be unconstitutional, they should not apply it, but would have to involve the Federal Constitutional Court. The decision is to be announced on June 23.
At the moment the judges are still hesitating. Brückner said that climate protection serves the public good and now even has constitutional status. The more differentiated regulations of the other countries have the disadvantage that they are more likely to lead to disputes.
In this specific case, it is a more than 100-year-old apartment building whose gable towers a few meters over the neighboring building. A layer of insulation no more than 16 centimeters thick should be installed on this surface. The local and regional courts had sentenced those affected to the toleration. During the process, an expert came to the conclusion that – more expensive – insulation from the inside of the house was out of the question. (Ref. V ZR 23/21)
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
