21-02-2025
What is a hedge? Neighbourly dispute occupies German high court
A dispute between two German neighbours over the height of a bamboo hedge occupied the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on Friday.
Two neighbouring property owners in the western German state of Hesse have been locked in a dispute about the hedge.
First planted in 2018, the bamboo has since reached a height of 6 metres.
The plaintiff in the case is demanding that his neighbour trim her hedge below 3 metres in height, even though it currently complies with all rules laid out in local law, which require that hedges over 2 metres in height must be set back at least 0.75 metres from neighbouring property.
At the heart of the case is the existential question: What is a hedge?
That's because stricter distance rules apply to trees and shrubs, raising a fundamental question about the nature of the garden bamboo.
The plaintiff argued that a hedge is characterized by the fact that it is maintained and regularly trimmed - so if it exceeded a certain height, it could therefore no longer be considered a hedge.
The defendant's side, on the other hand, did not consider the height of the hedge to be the determining factor, but emphasized the many advantages the bamboo hedge offers.
It was a "living element of horticulture" and also offered ecological value, the woman's lawyers contended.
Whether the hedge is a source of pleasure or a nuisance is "a matter of perspective," Peter Wassermann, the plaintiff's lawyer, retorted after the hearing.
For his client, the hedge was an inconvenience, he said, adding that the plaintiff's view is blocked by a bamboo wall when looking out the window.
"When it rains or snows, the precipitation weighs additionally on the leaves, causing the bamboo plants to bend over onto his property," Wassermann said, adding that the bamboo made the man feel "stifled."
If the woman must cut back her hedge, the judges are also being asked to decide the proper height, since the man's property is lower than his neighbour's. He wants the height of the hedge to be measured from the lower elevation on his side of the property line.
A decision from the BGH is expected on March 28.
