Advice on Planting Bush on Border Between Properties

Adrift

Looking for some helpful advice/opinions here.


We have a semi-detached home with no divider between any of the properties as far as front gardens are concerned. I.e. no wall/fence etc.

There's a few issues involved with the neighbours on the detached side, we feel if we planted some bushing along a small patch between properties (There's nothing but a few small plants there at the minute) some of these issues could be resolved. As it's a rented property, would clearing it with their Landlord be sufficient?

The_Conductor

Depends- to be honest.
Is it freehold or leasehold?
Is there a management company involved?
What is the nature of the dispute with the neighbour?
Is a boundary/border- going to exacerbate the dispute further?

As a first step- talk to the landlord- but you could be causing more trouble than its worth.

Adrift

Leasehold as far as I'm aware and there's no management company involved.

There's numerous issues with these particular neighbours all small really but when added together can cause a bit of stress for us. The two issues we'd really like to resolve are

1. Stopping their dog wandering onto our property. They're one of the few in the area that allow their dog roam freely about the place. We simply don't want it on our property and we've a young child. We've spoken to them about it but they don't care.

2. They never take their bins in and they seem to be always overflowing.By saying they never take them in, I mean they leave them in the front garden on the makeshift divider. They're actually stored closer to our front door thean their own and we're frankly sick of looking at their garbage.


Why do you say that contacting their landlord could be more trouble than it's worth?

Ray Palmer

Of the two issues you mentioned I am not seeing how this will prevent the problem.

As a LL I would say no because I would have to maintain this after you leave.

AlanG

Legally if you plant it so it is slightly more on your side of the divide then there is nothing they can do. They can only cut back to the boundry if they don't like it. That said you should really plant it far enough on your side so that you can cut their side back to the border without making it look really bad. You should also cut their side whenever you do your own.

Adrift

Of the two issues you mentioned I am not seeing how this will prevent the problem

A decent size bush will mean that they can leave their overflowing bins wherever they want, we won't have to look at them anymore. The bush would also prevent the dog wandering between the two properties.

a LL I would say no because I would have to maintain this after you leave.

We're not going anywhere, it's the Landlords tenants causing the problems.

Adrift

Legally if you plant it so it is slightly more on your side of the divide then there is nothing they can do. They can only cut back to the boundry if they don't like it. That said you should really plant it far enough on your side so that you can cut their side back to the border without making it look really bad. You should also cut their side whenever you do your own.

Good advice and that was the way I was thinking of pitching it to their Landlord, that we would pay and maintain it in full.

The_Conductor

Adrift wrote: »

we would pay and maintain it in full.

After the tenancy is over (whenever this might be- 10 years down the road, or whatever)?

Many landlords will not want the hassle of the upkeep on a hedge (which they would then be legally obliged to keep in good order).

Dublin_Mom

AlanG wrote: »

Legally if you plant it so it is slightly more on your side of the divide then there is nothing they can do. They can only cut back to the boundry if they don't like it. That said you should really plant it far enough on your side so that you can cut their side back to the border without making it look really bad. You should also cut their side whenever you do your own.

Just curious, whether this cutting their side is the norm?
Our neighbors have a very long established huge hedge running the length of the garden dividing us and them. Frankly its a pain in the ass, I hate it as its so much maintenance (gardens are very long) The entire growth is on their side of the boundary but they have never cut or offered to cut our side.

I have thought about giving them the clippings when we cut our side, on the grounds that its their flippin hedge and they should have to dispose of it. Can we do this legally I wonder?

P. Breathnach

Dublin_Mom wrote: »

...
I have thought about giving them the clippings when we cut our side, on the grounds that its their flippin hedge and they should have to dispose of it. Can we do this legally I wonder?

Yes.

Many people just toss the clippings over to the owner's side. Depending on the personality of the owner, this might or might not cause bad feeling.

Del2005

Adrift wrote: »

A decent size bush will mean that they can leave their overflowing bins wherever they want, we won't have to look at them anymore. The bush would also prevent the dog wandering between the two properties.



We're not going anywhere, it's the Landlords tenants causing the problems.

Get onto their LL about the bin and dog. Bins could be littering, they should only be out on bin day. The dog is an issue for the dog warden, not that they'll do anything. But ultimately the LL is required to make sure that they aren't being anti social.

Doop

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Yes.

Many people just toss the clippings over to the owner's side. Depending on the personality of the owner, this might or might not cause bad feeling.

Dont know how this action could not cause bad feeling. Personally I find it petty.
But of yes they are legally entitled to do it.

Re op: you own the property yes? then plant away on your side. not sure why people are referring to when you leave? The decent thing is to maintain both sides but in any mature areas where bushes are prevalent generally people look after their own sides. You wouldnt have to ask the other landlord at all. But I guess if you want to plant on the boundary line then you should.

The_Conductor

I think I got confused when I saw 'landlord' mentioned in the first post- and presumed both properties were rented- of course the way its phrased, the OP mentions the neighbours property has tenants in it- not that he doesn't own the property himself. Me bad.

Del2005

Doop wrote: »

Dont know how this action could not cause bad feeling. Personally I find it petty.
But of yes they are legally entitled to do it.

Re op: you own the property yes? then plant away on your side. not sure why people are referring to when you leave? The decent thing is to maintain both sides but in any mature areas where bushes are prevalent generally people look after their own sides. You wouldnt have to ask the other landlord at all. But I guess if you want to plant on the boundary line then you should.

Keeping the clippings is technically theft, you don't own the item just because it crossed your property line it still belongs to whoever owns the land it's growing on. Why should I have to pay to dispose of someone else's property.

Adrift

you own the property yes? then plant away on your side.

Yes, my bad, I don't think we made it too clear at the start.

See that's the problem, there isn't really a side to the "division" between front gardens. If we were to plant in this area we'd literally be taking over the whole spot there. In my mind the bush going down is win win for everyone, we get a bit of piece of mind and we're not on to the landlord complaining every 5 minutes.

djimi

Adrift wrote: »

The bush would also prevent the dog wandering between the two properties.

A hedge isnt really going to stop a dog from wandering into your garden in fairness; if it really wants to get in (and its used to going into your garden so sees it as part of its territory so to speak) then it will find a way through a hedge.

pacman1989

why not just put up a fence . far less hassle to be honest and easier to maintain . grow some creepers up it if you want the bush effect . would also be easier to take down in the future

Adrift

hedge isnt really going to stop a dog from wandering into your garden in fairness; if it really wants to get in (and its used to going into your garden so sees it as part of its territory so to speak) then it will find a way through a hedge.

Agreed, but the idea would be the boundary between properties is clearly defined. We'd have more of an arguement with both tenant and Landlord if the dog continued to wander onto the property.

why not just put up a fence . far less hassle to be honest and easier to maintain . grow some creepers up it if you want the bush effect . would also be easier to take down in the future

Yeah, I guess. I hadn't really looked into that to be honest, not many here have done that.

pacman1989

Yeah, I guess. I hadn't really looked into that to be honest, not many here have done that.[/QUOTE]

Ya i just think the fence would take up less of the garden if you went down the route of putting the hedge all in your garden to avoid issues with the landlord. therefore you have more garden for yourself plus dog wouldnt be able to get through the fence i would hope :-)

Ray Palmer

pacman1989 wrote: »

Ya i just think the fence would take up less of the garden if you went down the route of putting the hedge all in your garden to avoid issues with the landlord. therefore you have more garden for yourself plus dog wouldnt be able to get through the fence i would hope :-)

If they let the dog out it will just walk around the fence. Big fan of dogs and I get other people aren't but realistically if a dog has a sniffing pattern on what he sees as his territory a fence won't stop him. You would need a full gated garden.

Dogs even like to walk particular routes on particular days to check their territory. They also like challenges so a fence might actually cause them to dig under the fence.

I really don't think a fence or a bush is going to solve the problems.

The_Conductor

Pop into Woodies or any garden centre and get some dog/cat repellant- its very cheap, mostly cayenne pepper- and very effective. You won't damage anything with it. Vis-a-vis the bin- your hedge or fence........

deandean

if you want something cheap to keep that dog out, by a roll of sheep wire and a few stakes, you'll have a fence up in an hour. It is also easy to remove if/when you leave.

D3PO

deandean wrote: »

if you want something cheap to keep that dog out, by a roll of sheep wire and a few stakes, you'll have a fence up in an hour. It is also easy to remove if/when you leave.

and you will have an ugly as hell front garden then too :rolleyes:

the_syco

Adrift wrote: »

The bush would also prevent the dog wandering between the two properties.

How? A hole will appear in the bush, and the dog shall use it...

Get a fence if you want to stop the dog. Just have a foundation so it can't dig under the fence.

Del2005

The_Conductor wrote: »

Pop into Woodies or any garden centre and get some dog/cat repellant- its very cheap, mostly cayenne pepper- and very effective. You won't damage anything with it. Vis-a-vis the bin- your hedge or fence........

I can hardly wait for the OP's young child to get some on their hands, then into their eyes. No point in keeping the dog out if the child can't make use of it.