Man bills German neighbour €3,500 for leaves falling into his garden
Most people accept that a garden comes with a certain amount of sweeping, raking and clearing up. But one homeowner […]
A homeowner in Germany is seeking over €3,500 annually from his neighbor to compensate for the leaves falling from nearby oak trees onto his property. The trees, which are 25 meters tall and have canopies spanning 18 to 24 meters, have three of their trunks just one meter away from the complainant's house. The trees, estimated to be around 200 years old, are owned by the neighbor, who has not agreed to pay the requested amount.
The dispute has gained attention online due to the large sum demanded for an issue that is typically seen as a natural part of living near trees. The homeowner claims he has to collect around 250 wheelbarrows of leaves each year, as well as repeatedly clean his gutters and dispose of the garden waste. The majority of his €3,540 demand is for gutter cleaning, which he estimates takes 36 hours annually at a rate of €40 per hour.
This amounts to €1,800, plus €1,440 for raking and clearing leaves for nine weeks, and €300 for removing six containers of garden waste.
The issue has sparked debate over property boundaries and responsibility for tree-related maintenance when trees are located close to a neighbor's garden.
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