Neighbours trees, are they responsible for the up keep?
Question:My neighbour has some lovely trees, however they are so over grown and not maintained, they are now coming over to my garden and blocking a lot of sun light. Do they have a responsibility to keep them maintained? how do I go about getting them to do this? can I just cut them back?
Answers:
you cant cut them back, those dodgy firs are often a problem, ask them 1st, then the council
youll have trouble getting this done but DONT cut them yourself or youll end up in court
Yep, the rule is, if its growing onto your land, you can cut it back and throw the cuttings back onto their garden, if they complain, theres not much else they can do!
I think anything on your property you can wack off.
You can cut them straight up the property line. However, a friend told me something he says works. He says you dig down and find a root of the tree in your yard and then cut it and put the part heading back to the tree in a jar of plant poison. Keep the jar filled and soon the tree will die.
You should be REAL quiet about this... SNEAKY is the word on this type of maneuver
Speak to them about this and ask them if they will trim the tree!! Or if it is ok of you trim back the tree on your side of the fence. Yes they are responsible for the maintenance of trees in their garden, but at the same time if any plants or trees grow over your side of the fence then you are allowed to cut it back. I would let them know of your plans before cutting back the tree on your side if you do decide to do it yourself - it is just polite to do so, and should prevent any problems later on.
Sammi. Check with your local council or whatever you call the local body in your neck of the woods. Here in New Zealand, we can prune back neighbours trees, and then throw prunings back for neighbour to remove. It is a legal obligation for them to do so. Have you asked neighbour to cut them back? Better to check laws first. Save you a law suit. Good Luck!
I think you should talk/write you your neighbour first and try and get it sorted amicably.
It is their responsibility to maintain them. I can't advise you on the law, in Scotland you would give them 7 days written notice and the cut them back, leaving their cuttings in their garden beside the tree.
If at all possible don't enter their garden but do it all from your side of the fence.
The best way round this is (if you are on good terms) ask your neighbours if they are willing to let you trim the trees to make them a little easier to be in the garden or would they mind doing it for you. As far as I know, the trees are the property of your neighbour, also I think you must show what you have trimed. It's a very sensitve area, if they become nasty you may seek advise from your local council. Good luck.
You can cut them back to the boundary line of your property and no further. You can also throw the prunings over into their garden as the prunings are legally your neighbours property.
However, the best way to deal with this problem and not completely fall out with your neighbour is to talk to them about the maintenance of the trees.
They don't really have to have them pruned unless they want to, but it would probably be beneficial to the trees to have them crown lifted or crown thinned - which would give you more light - but not much.
Ideally they need to be pruned by a trained arborist as you or your neighbour could be seriously injured if you do it yourselves.
firstly ask them if they would mind if you trimmed them your side as they are blocking your light, also say to them you will get rid of the trimmings,if they don't like this idea ask them if they would do it, if nothing is done after a week ask again, after another week send a letter to say you wish them to remove some of the branches as they are blocking your light after that it up to you whether you trim them yourself but you must put the trimming over the fence in to there garden as they can have you for theft[it happen to me] or you get hold of your local council for them to deal with it. best of luck.
You can cut overhanging branches.Leave the cuttings in their garden.The trees are their responsibility.You must write a letter to ask them to keep them under control.If they fail to comply you can report them to the council.If they are left to grow the roots can undermine garden walls,house foundations and fences.They cannot expect you to put up with loss of light the council will be on your side on this one.They are careful to ensure whether the trees are on a preservation order.You could also ask advice from your insurance company.We have recently had a problem,our insurance company have insisted the neighbours remove their willow tree because it is encroaching on our House Foundations,they cannot ignore the law.Good Luck.
I think once it reaches your garden, you can trim down the offensive parts. I think your neighbour would have noticed his tree was growing into yours?
Unless he thinks you like the foliage as shade or decoration or whatever, he should have spoken to you about it in passing or neighbourly talk to test your reaction to it.
Until then, you could speak to him in jest "Your tree is growing into a stronghold in my garden...I'm afraid it's not too good for the little shrubs I have" He should get the point.
Go over and talk to them about cutting the trees back and then if they want to be a--es about it then call your housing authority or your county and they will come out and look at them and tell the ppl to cut them back if they dont then they will get a fine . good luck
Keeping good neighbors is sometimes a hard task. Likely they do not realize they are overgrown... right??!? You are within your rights to lop off all branches that encroach onto your property. However, a kind word of explanation to the neighbor before you do this will keep MUCH better relations!
ask their permission before you do the cutting
You can cut them back as they are overgrowing into your garden. Ideally they should keep the tree maintained but you are well within your rights to cut the branches that are in your garden
From the other answers you will see that you have the right to cut back any branches that are overhanging your property. There is a legal requirement to offer the cuttings to your neighbour but no more than that. However, if the trees are evergreen or semi evergreen and there are two are more of them then if they are affecting the enjoyment of your garden, i.e. blocking light by virtue of their height, then you may have a case under the High Hedges section of the Anti Social Behaviour Act. If this is the case then contact me either through this site or on my website below and I will give you some free basic advice.
i would talk to the people next door if no joy go to the council
You can cut back to the boundary, don't throw the clippings over the fence as the law has changed over the past few years,you can be prosecuted for this.
It would probably be best to speak to your neighbour first.
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