Legal questions about neighbour law? Get free advice

Questioner

Our neighbours next to us are building a roof extension on a flat roof on the 1st floor with a roof terrace in front of it. Both are right up against the property line. My questions are: - Doesn't the 2 meter limit apply to the roof terrace because they look into our garden? Or does this fall under side position? - may the roof extension be built against the property line? I can no longer reach the vertical edge of our flat roof. Despite having a permit for this renovation, the municipality has already informed us that granting a permit and what is legally permitted are two different things that can differ greatly from each other. In other words, the municipality only looks at whether it is acceptable to them without taking into account whether it is in accordance with the legal regulations. I would like to know whether this roof extension falls within the legal regulations.

Lawyer

These are my answers to your questions: - Article 5:50 of the Civil Code makes it clear that it is not permitted to have windows, doors and balconies that are closer than 2 metres from the property boundary and that provide a view of the property, measured perpendicular to the property boundary. If this applies to your neighbours' roof structure, then this is not permitted according to the Civil Code. - The neighbors are allowed to build on their own property, but they are not allowed to hinder you. The permit issued by the municipality is indeed separate from the Civil Code, because that permit is governed by public law.