Neighbours' rights/protection of neighbours; Dispute settlement

Trees and shrubs, habits, sounds, cats, dogs and last but not least, of course, the children: There are many occasions for the neighbouring community to become a tangible dispute. Many roads lead back to peaceful coexistence. And for many cases, there are clear rules.

The Arbitration Office - as an honorary activity - is set up to settle disputes in matters of neighbouring law (i.e. civil disputes). The Arbitration Office should always be involved if the regulations taken by the responsible specialist office (e.g. Building Regulations Office, Public Order Office) are not sufficient and the neighbouring situation threatens to escalate.

The Act on the Regulation of Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution also stipulates that in disputes under neighbouring law, a legal action can only be brought if the parties have previously visited a so-called conciliation office and tried to reach an agreement there. Quality bodies in this sense are, on the one hand, the arbitration offices. On the other hand, lawyers can be recognised as a conciliation body. Of course, they can only act as a conciliation body in a dispute under neighbouring law if they do not themselves represent one of the parties as a lawyer.

Arbitration offices have been set up at all cities and municipalities in Hesse.

Information on addresses and consultation hours can be obtained from the municipal administrations, the district courts or the police stations.

For legal questions, advice from a lawyer may be recommended.

See also