Demolition is compulsory in case of encroachment, even slight, on the property of others

A couple built a house that required, due to the terrain, the installation of tie rods encroaching into the basement of the neighboring parcel belonging to a civil real estate business (CRE).

At first instance, SCI obtained the demolition of the structure. Having appealed that decision, the couple pleaded an abuse of the business’s property rights. In particular, the owners of the house complained about the clear disproportion between the high cost of the demolition works (EUR 5.9 million) and the practical interest that the SCI could derive from them. Indeed, it does not encounter any real inconvenience on its encroached land. The Court of Appeal, however, ordered the couple to remove the disputed ties, since the right to property was absolute and perpetual.

The Court of Cassation upholds the appeal court’s decision and dismisses the couple’s appeal. It points out that even the smallest encroachment is a manifestly unlawful interference with the property of others and must be stopped. The Court states that the cessation of the disturbance therefore requires the removal of the anchorages, the disproportionate nature of the restoration measure cannot be relied on.