Building limits

Building boundariesBuilding of a building and other durable structures and structures can create building boundaries. The main rule under the Planning and Building Act is that all buildings that are to be erected must have a distance from the neighboring boundary that corresponds at least to the building’s half height, and not less than four meters.
This is primarily justified by fire protection considerations, but considerations, including views, rooms and lights for neighboring properties, justify the general rule.

However, municipal plans or zoning plans may set stricter and more lenient building limits, in which case the plans will apply before the rules of the Planning and Building Act. The typical examples of this are where activities are conducted in areas that make it necessary to have greater distances between the buildings or in downtown areas where the buildings are physically placed next to each other.

Regardless of the building limits that apply according to plan and the building act’s rules and / or other plans, the municipality can still approve that the construction work should be placed closer. However, this requires that the measure concerns the construction of a detached garage, outbuildings and similar smaller measures or that an exemption is applied for.

Note that this is a brief review of public law rules on building limits, and that the article is not exhaustive. Private law may impose clauses on the property that place restrictions on the location of the construction work, and it may also violate the neighboring law, even if the municipality has granted building permission.