Maximum height of conifers of neighbours: Important to know

Questioner

what is the maximum height of conifers from the neighbors

Lawyer

Behind the so-called front facade building line, right against the border of the neighboring property, a dividing wall may always be placed on your own property up to two meters high, provided that the property is not located on a public road or public green. For a property boundary in front of the house, one meter is the maximum. Your municipality may stipulate otherwise in a By-law. The neighbours' plants may not cause you disproportionate nuisance (see Civil Code 5, article 37). The owner of a property may not, to an extent or in a manner that is unlawful according to article 162 of Book 6, cause nuisance to owners of other properties, such as by spreading noise, vibrations, stench, smoke or gases, by withholding light or air or by withdrawing support). If there is a great deal of nuisance (for example because you no longer get daylight in the home), you can request the court to impose measures. A few hours less sun in the garden per day and nuisance from leaves or blossoms are usually insufficient reasons to have measures imposed.

Lawyer

So: there is not one maximum height, there are different heights in different situations: (1) in the front garden: usually a maximum of one metre high, so that traffic and yourself (entering and exiting the driveway) are not hindered and/or a house is still visible from the public road (2) in the backyard: a. on or near the border with the neighbours: maximum 2 metres high b. further down the garden: higher, but up to the point where your neighbours are completely in the shade or otherwise experience nuisance. We also call this 'green nuisance'. However... if a situation deviates from what I describe above and has been so for many years, it may be that the rules under (1) and (2) no longer apply, because the situation has become legally okay due to limitation. What is also possible is that a conifer or other planting (bamboo, flowering tree or something like that) sticks out 5 meters above the property line with the neighbors and nobody finds that annoying. Then there is nothing wrong. Not every situation that deviates from the rules under (1) and (2) means pruning or sawing down immediately. If you are experiencing any nuisance, first talk to your neighbours. A good conversation and some neighbourly help can often go a long way.