Concept of foliage rent
The leaf rent is due to property owners who are bothered by emissions of leaves from the neighboring property. The term refers to compensation payments that property owners have to pay to their neighbors if the use of their property is impaired by the accumulation of leaves. Foliage rent must therefore be paid by the property from which the foliage blows or is emitted in some other way. The leaf rent is reflected in Section 906 Paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code. However, the right to compensation only exists under certain conditions. The decisive factor is the existence of a significant impairment of the use of the property. Beate Heilmann, lawyer and chairwoman of the tenancy law and real estate working group, told myHOMEBOOK as a specific example of the significantly increased cleaning effort of the property owner due to leaves blowing in from the neighbors.
Prerequisites and enforcement difficulties
According to Section 906 Paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch), there is a claim if the local use of the property or the income from the property is impaired beyond a reasonable level. The claim is independent of whether it is a private or public owner. As a rule, the impairment of use must be unilateral, significant and permanent. If only a few leaves are blowing over to the neighbors, this is not enough, emphasizes Heilmann. The situation is different, however, when drains such as a gutter become clogged and professional cleaning is then required. However, the property owner always has to prove the additional cleaning effort, which often proves to be difficult. However, the claim for damages always requires an individual examination by the courts. However, a process can be very lengthy and expensive. It is therefore advisable to settle the dispute out of court. In addition, it can often not be ruled out that the leaves will blow in the opposite direction when the weather changes, so that the one-sided impairment no longer exists. For comparison: file number V ZR 102/03, file number V ZR 8/17.
aspiration level
The calculation of the amount of damages is always based on the individual case. The focus here is on the cost of removing the leaves. The more leaves land on the neighbor’s property, the higher the leaf rent. According to Heilmann, if the leaves are removed at your own expense, the amount of the claim can be calculated based on the number of hours worked. In principle, there is the possibility of engaging a lawyer to examine the claim. However, due to the previously mentioned hurdles in pursuing a claim, an out-of-court settlement with the neighbors is preferable in most cases.
M. Wieser / Editor finanzen.net
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