Legal situation

When your neighbor’s ripe fruit actually belongs to you

Please note: It makes a difference whether the foreign fruit is hanging over, rolling down, which branch it is from, etc.(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Kzenon)

Autumn is harvest time - and the neighbor's fruit is falling again. If apples, pears, plums and the like end up on your land, who does it belong to? Who is allowed to cook, bake and eat it, and who has to remove all the rotten leftovers from the garden? What is the legal situation? We've done the research for you!

Let's be honest: if your neighbor's leaves fall on your own land, it's practically a cheek. If it's good fruit, perhaps even your own favorite variety, then that's something completely different - then it belongs to you too. Or does it? It depends, says Viennese lawyer and author Martin Bleckmann. He also explains other misunderstandings among neighbors.