How tall may my hedge be in Denmark?
The baseline is 1.80 metres — but the rules depend on where the hedge stands. Shared fences on the boundary: the height is agreed between neighbours; failing agreement the tribunal typically sets 1.80 m, and each of you may demand a shared hedge cut down to 2 m once a year. Your own fence (your side, within 1.75 m of the boundary): may stand 1.8 m plus the distance to the line — a hedge 0.5 m in may reach 2.3 m. Plant further than 1.75 m from the boundary and it counts as ordinary vegetation outside the Fence Act, where only neighbour law applies. What people miss: the Fence Act has no room for self-help — disputes go to the fence tribunal (hegnsyn) for a flat fee (~DKK 2,000), and its ruling binds.
📋 The rules
- Shared boundary fences: agreement — else the tribunal, baseline 1.80 m
- Right to demand shared hedges cut to 2 m once a year
- Own fences (< 1.75 m from the line): max 1.8 m + distance
- Vegetation > 1.75 m from the boundary: outside the Fence Act
- Disputes: the fence tribunal (~DKK 2,000 flat fee), never self-help
🔓 Exceptions
- Local plans and covenants can dictate fence types/heights — check the land registry
- Corner plots and sightlines: road rules may require lower planting
- Vegetation more than 1.75 m from the boundary: outside the Fence Act — only neighbour law's tolerance threshold limits it
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Self-help — cutting the neighbour's hedge without the right to do so — brings damages for the harmed planting, and a hedge butchered to the wrong height can take years to recover. Tribunal rulings bind: if the stubborn neighbour ignores one, the work can be carried out at their expense and the cost recovered. The case itself costs a flat fee of around DKK 2,000, which the tribunal allocates between the parties in its ruling. Behind every figure sits the most expensive item of all: a frozen neighbour dispute that follows the property into the next sale.
📎 Official sources
- Bolius · Hedges and fences on boundaries (DA) →
- Din-Bolighandel · The Fence Act explained (DA) →
- Hegnsyn.dk · The Fence Act (DA, PDF) →
❓ Frequently asked
The neighbour refuses to trim our shared hedge. Now what?
You may demand the shared hedge cut to 2 m once a year. If the neighbour refuses, take it to the fence tribunal, whose ruling binds — and if that is ignored, the work can be done at the neighbour's expense.
May I plant a 3-metre hedge on my own land?
Yes, if it stands more than 1.75 m from the boundary, since that puts it outside the Fence Act. Neighbour law's tolerance threshold still applies, though: shade that badly harms the neighbour can become a civil case.
Who pays for the shared hedge?
Establishing and maintaining a shared fence is split equally between the two owners by default. The day-to-day trimming is split physically instead: each neighbour cuts their own side of the hedge.
What does the tribunal cost?
A flat fee of around DKK 2,000. The tribunal decides in its ruling who pays it, and the decision binds both parties — it is the cheap way out of a deadlocked hedge dispute.
How tall may my own fence be near the boundary?
If it stands on your side within 1.75 m of the boundary, it may be 1.8 m plus the distance to the line. A hedge 0.5 m from the boundary may thus stand 2.3 m — the further back, the taller it may be.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “hedge height denmark”
- “fence act denmark 1.8m”
- “shared hedge rules denmark”
- “hegnsyn dispute denmark”
- “boundary fence denmark”
- “own fence distance boundary denmark”