Art.5:50: Is limitation period cancelled by a change of purpose?

Questioner

A few windows of an office building directly border our yard, and that has been the case for a long time, and in terms of privacy it is not an issue for us because when we were in the garden or in the conservatory (evening, weekend) there was usually no one in the office building. The destination has now been changed from office to office and residential quite recently, and the new owner is going to convert it into apartments. Can I still demand that the windows be made opaque and not hinged? After all, the change has major consequences for our privacy. We were not informed or approached by the municipality about the change of destination, not even when the building permit was granted.

Lawyer

The law does not speak about the situation you describe of a change of function of the destination: there may be points of contact in the case law of 5: 50 BW. In any case, it is the case that these types of rules from private law are not taken into account in an objection or appeal against a building permit. If desired, I can conduct a case law investigation for you. In that case, please contact info@rechtinjestad.nl