The authorities turn a blind eye – the neighbor is astonished: The detached house in Bettlach was built one floor too high!

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There is an accident in the neighborhood on the edge of the village in the Solothurn district of Bettlach. A single-family home built too high has the neighborhood and authorities concerned. Neighbor Roger D.* (51) says the building was built one floor too high. He fears the value of his property will drop and has been fighting against it for almost 20 years.

The former roofer knows the construction industry like the back of his hand. During his interview, Blick repeatedly shows sections and plans of the neighboring house, explaining where the problems are and what structural limits have been exceeded. The planned height of the neighboring house was an issue that bothered D. from the beginning, but at the time construction started he could not prove that the house would be built too high.

Report exposes architectural sin

This situation changed in 2014. At that time, D’s neighbor was planning to install a solar energy system on the flat roof of his house. D, angrily, says, “The system would make the building even taller,” and objects, and he is right.

“Until that moment, the authorities were of the opinion that everything was correct. But when I prepared a report on the maximum allowable height, it turned out that the values ​​​​were actually significantly exceeded and therefore an illegal bar was created,” says D.

Specifically: According to this report, the building was built approximately 44 centimeters higher than shown in the construction plans. D. says that doesn’t sound like much, but it means the neighboring house’s minimum room height is not met, making one floor of the neighboring building illegal.

Needs disassembly

However, D.’s aim is not to harass his neighbor, as he emphasizes. His construction sin has a direct impact on his own wallet: “My property lost a huge amount of value almost overnight due to illegal construction. “This cannot be legal,” says D. He does not want to sell his property. On the contrary: One day, their children should take over and build their own future there. His only request is that everyone abide by the applicable rules.

From his perspective, the same rules meant that the neighbor lowered his house to the permitted height. However, the authorities prevent this. “Dismantling would be disproportionate,” they wrote in response to D’s renewed complaint, which they rejected even though the height had been exceeded in the same document. When asked, the community did not want to comment further on the matter. Bettlach mayor Barbara Leibundgut (60) points out that the process has not yet been completed because D.’s complaint is still pending.

Roger D. remains combative: “I am now called ‘Stürmi’ in the village. Just because I don’t want to admit that something illegal is happening beyond my garden fence.” He won’t let her stop fighting for her rights.

*Editor’s name known

Source : Blick