There is a dispute with the neighbour about the fence, noises or an access. At the same time your Austrian house is to be sold. For the preparation neither a dramatic character description nor a soothing “It’s just personal” is sufficient. The responsible legal and sales advisers need an orderly statement of facts with a recognisable procedural status.
Present subject matter and course of events factually
Our editorial recommendation: Describe what the dispute is about, which plots or uses are affected and since when the specific question has existed. Separate observation, the other party’s demand, your own reply and any existing administrative or judicial decision.
A personal impression of the neighbour does not become a legal fact. Conversely, a polite conversation does not automatically render an existing letter or procedure irrelevant. Collect the actually relevant documents including attachments and subsequent responses.
A general norm does not decide the individual case
§ 364 ABGB contains, among other things, a principle of consideration and requirements for prohibiting certain effects emanating from neighbouring properties. [ABGB-364] Which rule, which special title to rights or which decision is decisive in the concrete dispute cannot be read off from it without further examination.
This article does not deal with the definitive enforcement of a neighbour’s claim. Nor does it generally determine what information must be disclosed in every sale. These questions belong, together with the factual circumstances, in individual legal advice.
Prepare an invented access dispute
A seller thinks the dispute concerns only the neighbour’s storage habits. However, when collecting the documents he finds a letter that at the same time disputes the use of an access strip. He therefore does not submit only a summary of his annoyance.
The advice receives plan references, existing deeds, prior letters and the last confirmed procedural status. It should examine the actual connection to the object of sale and the appropriate further handling. An offer with unrestricted free access is not drafted solely on the basis of his habit.
Explicitly name two advisory tasks
The first question concerns the conflict itself: What is alleged, what has been decided, what is open? The second concerns the planned sale: Which description, communication and structuring is appropriate at this stage? Both questions may be related, but should be visible as concrete tasks.
If talks about a solution are ongoing, note their actual status. A proposal is not to be described as already bindingly completed. Existing agreements are to be submitted in full for review; a handwritten short note should not replace them.
Deal with new developments
Specify who passes on new letters to the competent parties. A document arriving shortly before completion should not remain in a private message thread. The factually approved presentation of the sale will be updated with the advice if necessary.
This way you cannot talk the conflict away nor inflate it unnecessarily. For the sale a concrete, verifiable process with its actual limits is available. The parties do not have to work out from emotional individual stories whether they are talking about a neighbourhood atmosphere, a right of use or an ongoing procedure.