Covenants - Planting a hedge

The_Palmist

Hi Guys,

3 Bed Semi with fair bit of front lawn joined with next door's.

I want to plant some privacy hedges to utilise the front lawn space as it gets most sunlight.

However the covenants in the deeds restrict it.

It is an open plan development but I have noticed few people have change their front i.e. hedges, driveways etc.

House was built in 1990 and the Company does not exist anymore.

What the risks of just planting some hedge?

I do intend to check with my next door if she is alright with it.

thanks

Yellow circles are neighbours hedges. Pink and lines are my part of the lawn. Green is where I want the hedge i.e. between my lawn and footpath.

Fire_Fox

Covenants can only be enforced by the company who included it, or whoever has 'inherited' their rights or obligations if anyone.

The_Palmist

Is there a way to find out?
Searching for Beazer Homes reveals that it was bought by Persimmon.

Fire_Fox

Then perhaps Persimmon can enforce it, what did your conveyancing solicitor say when you purchased? You can buy indemnity policies against enforcement via your solicitor.

Ivana_Tinkle

If you're planting the hedge yourself from bare-root seedlings then it'll cost next to nothing anyway so, assuming your neighbours don't mind, I'd be inclined to just take the risk.

moneyistooshorttomention

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

If you're planting the hedge yourself from bare-root seedlings then it'll cost next to nothing anyway so, assuming your neighbours don't mind, I'd be inclined to just take the risk.

Your neighbours might not mind now - but might change their minds subsequently if you purchase the wrong type of plants for that hedge (eg ones that are going to grow very much at all)/ they subsequently decide to sell their house/the hedge encroached at all on their garden.

I cant think that its literally possible to have a hedge that won't land up taking at least a few inches off the side of a neighbours garden and that's not possible for most of us to accept (ie because most British gardens are so tiny that they darent lose a scrap of them).

I have to say that I wouldnt accept this myself in your neighbours position, as one of the reasons I would have bought a house like that (ie with such a covenant) is that I would have the peace of mind of knowing the neighbours couldnt possibly plant a hedge.

Even if these neighbours genuinely don't mind - they might sell their house to someone who finds out about the covenant and enforces it.

lessonlearned

My previous house, built in 1988 had a similar covenant in place.

My wonderful neighbour decided to plant some bl**dy leylandiis and hardly ever bothered to trim the damn things. I ended up doing it.

I checked the deeds and the covenenant was only in force for 6 years so legally I couldn't do anything.

Luckily the 2 metre rule was passed at some point so I could at least insist that the hedges were kept at a reasonable height.

Whatever you do please don't plant leylandii. They stink, they kill everything within their boundary and left unchecked they can grown to 50 or 60 ft.

Please also be aware that tree and hedging roots can spread and cause untold damage to drains and house foundations. They will suck up all moisture from the soil and can lead to subsidence. Roots can force their way through paths and driveways and even up through the tarmac on the road. You could face some very hefty bills.

If you are going to plant then make it something small, manageable and pretty, and which will have roots that do not spread too far. Lavender is cheap enough and looks and smells gorgeous and will not take over the garden. A small decorative hedge, say about 3ft might be allowed but you definitely need to consult with your neighbours.

Leylandii is totally unsuitable for small surburban gardens.

SallyG

Why do developers love open-plan - who wants it?

lessonlearned

The answer is if you don't like it then don't buy it. If you crave privacy then you buy a more suitable property with proper fences or hedges, usually an older property with larger gardens.

The covenants are designed to help protect small gardens from over-enthusiastic planting (also things like parking caravans etc).

Don't be like my selfish delightful neighbour who bought open plan and then bunged in a load of leylandii.

You see this is in countless surburban gardens and they cause nothing but trouble. Damaged properties, roads and pavements, endless neighbour disputes.

Leylandii have no place in the urban environment, they are just too destructive. They are up there with Japanese Knotweed for sheer nuisance value.

Davesnave

I think you just do what you think is reasonable and see what happens.

My Dad lived on an 80s open plan estate, and although it was a gradual process, he eventually, fenced in the side of his front garden which abutted fields. He made the bit next to the neighbour and at the front as a 40cm fence with low planting behind and she did something similar.

Almost imperceptibly, most people on that estate defined their boundaries in individual but sensible ways, and so far as I know there were no disputes.

It's a natural thing for people to define the bit that belongs to them, especially when the paper boy and others start taking short cuts, creating 'pathways of desire.' In the case of the area adjoining the fields, having a tall hedge and fence arrangement there cut strong winds down considerably, enabling better planting of the rest.

Of course nobody should plant leylandii in such a situation as you describe, but something which can be kept low, like cotoneaster simonsii, would do more for wildlife than bare grass.

Davesnave

SallyG wrote: »

Why do developers love open-plan - who wants it?

Architects. But they usually live somewhere else! :rotfl: