Evelyn Gräfenstein-Griffiths

The high level of importance accorded to property ownership in Germany requires a large number of neighbour regulations that govern the legal relationships between landowners and play a major role in the approval or modification of construction projects. When it comes to negotiating and concluding neighbourhood agreements that take into account the interests of all parties, our experts have wide-ranging expertise acquired over a number of decades. In many projects, and in particular high-rise building developments in Frankfurt, we have been successfully working in the field of neighbour law for many years.

Conferring listed status on a building has far-reaching and restrictive implications for the owner. That’s because once this status has been granted, all construction work carried out on and within the building – and in some federal states even mere changes of use – require a special permit from the relevant authority that deals with listed buildings (known in Germany as the Denkmalschutzbehörde). We advise and assist clients when liaising with the listed building authorities and other competent authorities and go through their options for dealing with any restrictions imposed under listed building law.

The high value placed on property ownership in Germany necessitates a considerable number of neighbour regulations that govern the legal relationships between landowners. In both public and private law, there are a whole range of regulations that attempt to strike this balancing act and play a major role when it comes to approving or revising construction projects in particular. Since neighbour law is notorious for its high potential for conflict, it is often a good idea to come to an arrangement where a satisfactory settlement is reached in the interests of both parties. We have built up considerable experience over a number of decades in the negotiation and conclusion of such neighbourhood agreements. This can particularly be seen in the neighbourhood agreements covering many of the high-rise buildings in Frankfurt am Main, for example.

With sustainability in mind, there is a trend in the construction industry towards preserving and repositioning existing properties. Existing buildings are gutted and modernised. When a building is refurbished, part of the existing structure is usually preserved, but in contrast to renovation works, much of the interior architecture is removed. As a result, the technology, room height or insulation can be updated. Such processes require careful technical, professional and legal coordination with all parties and particularly with the licensing authorities. We have successfully been involved in countless such refurbishments of all sizes throughout Germany and have outstanding expertise in this area.

Every construction project must have a secured access route before it can be approved. This is mainly to ensure that the fire brigade can access the site and waste can be disposed of safely. With site developments in particular, access roads usually still have to be built, which in practice is usually done by the developer on a contractual basis (by means of an Erschließungsvertrag, or land development contract). Drawing on our decades of experience in advising clients on site developments of all sizes, we help to conclude such land development contracts and provide support with all related issues.

As pioneers in the development of solutions specifically for the healthcare sector and nursing homes to safeguard the operation of healthcare businesses on long-term leases (takeover arrangements / restructuring of leases, call options, etc.), we have considerable experience in advising clients and drafting contracts in the event of hospital and operator insolvencies involving healthcare companies and assist with the entire transfer and restructuring process.