Neighbour refusing to cut back trees

MrsEwing

I have recently returned from working overseas to live in my property. There is a shared wall between my home and the neighbouring property (consisting of 8 houses). The trees and bushes on the neighbours side have grown significantly in the 10 years I have been away - to the point that my home no longer has any light in either the front or the back small gardens and the side where the windows are entirely now entirely blocked and grown over with bushes.
I have spoken to each neighbour I have met and kindly asked them to trim back the trees. I have invited them in at various times to demonstrate the impact of the lack of light the trees are causing. I have been polite at all times.
This morning one neighbour told me that one of their residents is refusing so they will not be cutting back the trees - they suggested I cut what is overhanging myself.
I have a few concerns:
(1) I don't think that I should be taking responsibility for cutting back their trees (its expensive for a start and I am pretty sure there will be a dispute anyway no matter what I do.)
(2) I think I need to put the request in writing next but am unsure how to word it (they have their own management committee consisting of themselves).
(3) Last thing I want is a big agro exploding with people I am surrounded by.
I have spent ten years working in humanitarian aid to assist people to get water, shelter, clothing, education and food - it seems awfully petty to me that people can be so unkind and selfish......
Any advice welcome.

Dav010

I’m not offering legal advice, just my own experience with this as neighbour on one side has enormous Lalandii trees on their side of boundary wall.

I had to pay to cut back branches on my side, but only as far as the boundary, I could not touch any part of the trees on their side, and even though the trees are very high, blocking light into my gardens, I had no right to reduce the height of the trees. The tree surgeon or cutter asked if they wanted them topped but they refused so he said he could not do it. I had no right to light.

I don’t think I could force the neighbour to cut my side.

MrsEwing

MrsEwing wrote: »

I have recently returned from working overseas to live in my property. There is a shared wall between my home and the neighbouring property (consisting of 8 houses). The trees and bushes on the neighbours side have grown significantly in the 10 years I have been away

...

I have spent ten years working in humanitarian aid to assist people to get water, shelter, clothing, education and food - it seems awfully petty to me that people can be so unkind and selfish......
Any advice welcome.

Honestly, none of your neighbours care. They’ve been living there and enjoying the trees on their properties for 10 years and you’ve breezed in and want them all to suit you.

As mentioned above, you’ve no right to a view, removal of tree shading or right to touch the tree beyond the boundary line. You will also have to pay for the costs of having the trees cut back, but they will have to dispose of the cuttings if you so desire.

Smee_Again

JayZeus wrote: »

Honestly, none of your neighbours care. They’ve been living there and enjoying the trees on their properties for 10 years and you’ve breezed in and want them all to suit you.

As mentioned above, you’ve no right to a view or right to touch the tree beyond the boundary line. You will also have to pay for the costs of having the trees cut back, but they will have to dispose of the cuttings if you so desire.

You have to offer the cutting back to the owner, but they can refuse and it’s then your responsibility to dispose of them.

NUTLEY BOY

Not legal advice just some observations on the general principles.

Generally speaking there is no right to light as far as the garden and such like goes.

However, IMHO you can acquire a right to light by prescription if you have enjoyed it for a certain period of time - maybe as many as 15 years. However, the kicker seems to be that the right relates only to the light that is being cut off from the window(s) and thus the interior of the house.

As far as trees go there is indeed a right to cut back the "trespassing" branches but as others have said above you can only offer the cuttings back to the owner as distinct from "returning" them. There is definitely no right to alter the height of the trees.

It might be argued that OP has not been interfered with by virtue of their period abroad i.e. the period not in residence. I think that the right to acquire a right to light may well go with the property.

I assume that there are no covenants in place whereby the OP's neighbour undertakes not to create or allow trees or other structures beyond a certain height. This is highly unlikely but worth mentioning for completeness.

If the right to light by prescription argument was to fly OP would probably be going against the neighbour in the tort of nuisance.

Given that these trees are potentially troublesome in possibly putting off future buyers of OP's property and or in terms of any potential damage caused by spreading roots (they don't recognise boundaries and can cause huge damage !) it would be worth OP's time in having a consultation with a solicitor to get a formal legal view on the issue. It would cost little to send a letter to the other owner requesting abatement of the nuisance. Although OP obviously prefers civilised co-existence I regard the neighbour's attitude as decidedly disrespectful but so typically modern.

Bass Reeves

It is not strictly true that you have to cut back at your own cost. You can get them cut back and charge the neighbors. However collecting is another issue.

A small light chain saw would do a lot of this work. You can literally dump the cuttings back into your neighbors gardens

Dav010

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It is not strictly true that you have to cut back at your own cost. You can get them cut back and charge the neighbors. However collecting is another issue.

A small light chain saw would do a lot of this work. You can literally dump the cuttings back into your neighbors gardens

Never knew you could charge the neighbours, cost me €3k, could you link me please to where you see this. Thanks

antix80

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It is not strictly true that you have to cut back at your own cost. You can get them cut back and charge the neighbors. However collecting is another issue.

A small light chain saw would do a lot of this work. You can literally dump the cuttings back into your neighbors gardens

Where did you get that, the anarchists handbook?

Op, you have very few rights, especially not an automatic right to a sunny garden. You could argue it's reducing natural light through your windows which you enjoyed previously.

Your neighbour prob doesn't want the expense or hassle of doing the work. If you offer to do the donkey work and tell him you enjoyed sunlight and it's been reduced, it might be the carrot and stick you need to have a bright garden.

Bass Reeves

antix80 wrote: »

Where did you get that, the anarchists handbook?

Op, you have very few rights, especially not an automatic right to a sunny garden. You could argue it's reducing natural light through your windows which you enjoyed previously.

Your neighbour prob doesn't want the expense or hassle of doing the work. If you offer to do the donkey work and tell him you enjoyed sunlight and it's been reduced, it might be the carrot and stick you need to have a bright garden.

It is not an anarchists view. You are legally entitled to cut any branch or foliage that crosses your bounds. As the foliage are belong to the neighbors he can have them back. You do not need to hire tree surgeons or landscapers anything overhanging is fair game

Dav010

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It is not an anarchists view. You are legally entitled to cut any branch or foliage that crosses your bounds. As the foliage are belong to the neighbors he can have them back. You do not need to hire tree surgeons or landscapers anything overhanging is fair game

But you posted we could charge the neighbours for having them cut, where did you see this? The trees. I had to cut were 40ft high, no way I could cut them myself.

Bass Reeves

Dav010 wrote: »

But you posted we could charge the neighbours for having them cut, where did you see this? The trees. I had to cut were 40ft high, no way I could cut them myself.

It was in an article I saw in I think in either the farming Independent or farmers journal about a year ago

Dempo1

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It was in an article I saw in I think in either the farming Independent or farmers journal about a year ago

I'd be genuinely surprised if anyone could charge a neighbour for this kind of job that acts as a border as such, if it were it would be a free for all I suspect.

With regard to the OP cutting back their side, I believe this is permissable but it may raise another problem, if they proceed and end up killing the trees through excessive trimming, what then, just a humble thought to had to the mix. Its perhaps not a solution but compromise is required here with hopefully a joint trimming approach. With regard to height, this only becomes an issue if there is proven grounds that the trees could cause structural damage if felled, say in a storm etc.

antix80

You're not allowed to kill the tree or leave it unsafe.

For your neighbour, height isn't a good enough reason to force them to cut down the tree, but they also have an obligation that the tree isn't dangerous.

ganmo

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It was in an article I saw in I think in either the farming Independent or farmers journal about a year ago

I not so sure bass, I was always of the belief that if you cut branches off a neighbour's tree you should offer them back to them or dispose of them yourself

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/can-we-ask-our-new-neighbours-to-trim-the-trees-blocking-light-1.3718403

antix80

ganmo wrote: »

I not so sure bass, I was always of the belief that if you cut branches off a neighbour's tree you should offer them back to them or dispose of them yourself

Yea.. it's the bloody tree council website has that nonsense about "offering" branches and now everyone on boards and every newspaper quotes them.
https://www.treecouncil.ie/trees-and-the-law

I don't know if there's a legal precedent to stop someone from benefiting from taking slips of shrubs or fruits from trees but to me it's just daft.

Red Hare

The OP says that her property borders an estate of 8 houses and it seems that the estate and tree were built while the OP was abroad for years, as stated.

We should not presume that these are giant leylandia , it might be in a city centre
where sunflowers are accused of being young oak trees, in disguise.

A photo or more details on the site and the tree/ shrub would help understand the physical problems?

MrsEwing

Dav010 wrote: »

I’m not offering legal advice, just my own experience with this as neighbour on one side has enormous Lalandii trees on their side of boundary wall.

I had to pay to cut back branches on my side, but only as far as the boundary, I could not touch any part of the trees on their side, and even though the trees are very high, blocking light into my gardens, I had no right to reduce the height of the trees. The tree surgeon or cutter asked if they wanted them topped but they refused so he said he could not do it. I had no right to light.

I don’t think I could force the neighbour to cut my side.

Wow, that is so frustrating and unfair.

MrsEwing

antix80 wrote: »

Where did you get that, the anarchists handbook?

Op, you have very few rights, especially not an automatic right to a sunny garden. You could argue it's reducing natural light through your windows which you enjoyed previously.

Your neighbour prob doesn't want the expense or hassle of doing the work. If you offer to do the donkey work and tell him you enjoyed sunlight and it's been reduced, it might be the carrot and stick you need to have a bright garden.

Thanks for this. There are actually 8 houses next door and it is only 1 householder who is the 'queen bee'/bully. I will press on but keep the forum posted.

MrsEwing

The whole fiasco is such a wind up! Its just incredible how selfish the neighbour is being given that it makes no difference to the day to day light on their side.
Here is the fun bit.
For me to get the bushes cut back (my own expense) - I need to get a cherry picker (that should be nice and cheap) and I have no way of getting that into my back garden...... I would have to get permission to put the cherry picker on their land have the contractor cut back the trees on my side.
I want to now start to put everything in writing and am keen to get any advice that might be available on how to word the first of what I suspect will be a lot of correspondence.

Dav010

MrsEwing wrote: »

Wow, that is so frustrating and unfair.

To be honest, I didn’t find it frustrating or unfair. The trees are there, they give privacy and are a nice feature. The way I look at it is, you can’t make trees grown on one side only and I prefer them to be there than not be there, I didn’t have a problem with it once I decided to cut back the branches on my side, it benefits me, not my neighbour and I was amazed how much extra garden I now have, which is a real bonus.

The reality is, if I went away for 10 years, I’m not sure I could blame my neighbour for how much his trees grew in that 10 years. As I said, my understanding is that I am free to cut what is on my side, at my expense.

Irish_peppa

Should their not be a cap on tree height in Urban settings where housing is in close proximity (housing estates etc)? Ie a chap i know has two massive leylandi in their front garden right up against the boundary wall.(surprised the wall has not been affected or house as they are so near) The trees must be 30 years old plus. They are now taller then the 2 story semi-ds, looks like the top of them reach the top of the apex of the roof. The neighbour regularly chops back the overgrowth he can reach on his side. But it looks ridiculous from both sides. From my friends side he has two huge trees half cut down the far side. And from the neighbours side he has this unsightly dark brown bare tree with dead growth. There should be no reason in fairness to have trees taller than a two story house surely. Yes they are great for privacy but there wont be many people sunbathing on their roofs

dubguy45

I sympathise with OP. I have a long gargen and the resident behind me has giant leylandia on their side of the boundry railings, one of which is leaning towards me and will fall eventually. They were politly approached to address the issue. There response was to errect a fence at the back of their garden in front of their trees and then claim to me that these trees are not actually in their garden and was not their problem.
What chance have you got with people like that.

Dav010

dubguy45 wrote: »

I sympathise with OP. I have a long gargen and the resident behind me has giant leylandia on their side of the boundry railings, one of which is leaning towards me and will fall eventually. They were politly approached to address the issue. There response was to errect a fence at the back of their garden in front of their trees and then claim to me that these trees are not actually in their garden and was not their problem.
What chance have you got with people like that.

If you cut back the branches on your side, the tree, if it falls, will fall on the side with most weight, away from your house.

Also, if they deny owning them, just tell them you are going to have them felled on safety grounds.

Deagol

Dav010 wrote: »

If you cut back the branches on your side, the tree, if it falls, will fall on the side with most weight, away from your house.

Also, if they deny owning them, just tell them you are going to have them felled on safety grounds.

Even better, you could leave them there except for trimming them - add some stuff of your own and eventually claim adverse possession of the space (I think it's called that)? :D

antix80

Deagol wrote: »

Even better, you could leave them there except for trimming them - add some stuff of your own and eventually claim adverse possession of the space (I think it's called that)? :D

If he had in writing that his boundary was up to the fence he could possibly claim it but i doubt the neighbour would put it in writing.

riffmongous

antix80 wrote: »

If he had in writing that his boundary was up to the fence he could possibly claim it but i doubt the neighbour would put it in writing.

It would be a funny way to force the issue though

Eleven Benevolent Elephants

Smee_Again wrote: »

You have to offer the cutting back to the owner, but they can refuse and it’s then your responsibility to dispose of them.

Bollocks.

Throw them over your neighbour's wall.
It's their mess.

Caranica

Irish_peppa wrote: »

Should their not be a cap on tree height in Urban settings where housing is in close proximity (housing estates etc)? Ie a chap i know has two massive leylandi in their front garden right up against the boundary wall.(surprised the wall has not been affected or house as they are so near) The trees must be 30 years old plus. They are now taller then the 2 story semi-ds, looks like the top of them reach the top of the apex of the roof. The neighbour regularly chops back the overgrowth he can reach on his side. But it looks ridiculous from both sides. From my friends side he has two huge trees half cut down the far side. And from the neighbours side he has this unsightly dark brown bare tree with dead growth. There should be no reason in fairness to have trees taller than a two story house surely. Yes they are great for privacy but there wont be many people sunbathing on their roofs

There isn't though. A private members bill was moved about 2 years ago but stalled. As it stands trees can be any height.

Meeoow

I feel your pain OP. I called to my neighbour and was going to offer to get his trees topped. He said he was going to do it, but I'm still waiting over a year now. I told him they were blocking my sunlight.
I got the overhanging branches cut and disposed of them myself. Not much else I can do.

mrslancaster

Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »

Bollocks.

Throw them over your neighbour's wall.
It's their mess.

Neighbour in our estate had this same problem with next doors trees. They were told if they threw the cuttings over their neighbours wall it is the same as fly tipping and an offence. Is that true?

antix80

mrslancaster wrote: »

Neighbour in our estate had this same problem with next doors trees. They were told if they threw the cuttings over their neighbours wall it is the same as fly tipping and an offence. Is that true?

I guess if you cut them and they fell into the neighbour's garden it might be debatable