Neighbour - hedge problem!!!

cla666

Hi guys,

I am just checking I have the facts right here before I bump into my neighbour again.....

I have rented a house for the past 2 years. There is a hedge at the bottom of the garden. My neighbour just told me that the hedge is growing at his side and needs cut back. I said no problem at all, just cut it back. I dont have access into his garden, he was talking over a neighbours wall. His response was "how much are you paying me".

This is a 3 metre hedge and his occupation is a gardener. So it isnt that he doesnt have the ability to do it. It just seems he wants me to pay him to go his own garden? I told him I wouldn't pay him and his response was "I know your landlord". Great, so do I and I know he wouldn't take this seriously.

I have found some information on an internet forum that its not my responsibility to cut it - is this correct?

Does anybody have any advice or what to say to him? I am not being awkward - if I could just jump over a wall to cut it then I would but I would actually have to walk around our block of houses and go into his garden via his house!

happycamel_2

You should maintain it. He has the right to, if you don't, although he should give you all the cuttings. But if your hedge is encroaching his boundary then you should ask for access to cut it back to the boundary. The maximum hedge height is generally 10 feet (case law) so it sounds like you need to lower the height too.

anselld

Not your responsibility to cut it. However, I would suggest that you mention what has gone on to your Landlord in case there is some history you are not aware of.

cla666

sorry - I should of said the height of the hedge would be about 7 or 8ft. Its the length of the hedge that is about 3 metres.

Old_Git

accidently kill it

grifferz

Write to your landlord and ask if you can remove it in favour of something more manageable for you, as it's irritating your neighbour and you don't wish to cause any form of dispute. Also that if and when you move on, the lower maintenance will make it more desirable to future tenants.

Ivana_Tinkle

Can't you just go round one afternoon and cut it?

pimento

Old_Git wrote: »

accidently kill it

Yes, or chop it down. That'll give him something to really moan about.

lvm

Same situation with my parents house - 1 or 2 of their hedges belong to them, the other(s) from adjoining houses.

They have a gardener who goes to neighbour(s) gardens to do both sides.

As an owner, it's their responsibility to maintain hedges in their property no matter which sides they grow.

I'd imagine your lease would include something about maintaining the garden as part of your tenancy.

Try get your landlord to pay for it and see what he says!

cla666

Thanks for your responses guys.

I talked to another neighbour and I'm going to pay his mate a tenner to go round and cut it. Just to put an end to it. I'm just annoyed cos I don't think the hedge is bothering him in the slightest but he can be quiet if its cut. He just wants paid to do it. He offered me the other week (my first encounter with him) to do my garden and wasn't too polite when I said I didn't want him to.

Sounds silly but he isn't someone who I would want to go round too seeing as I have to go through the house (dodgy past including house breaking!)

moneyistooshorttomention

I would say that it is possible to empathise with someone who has a neighbours hedge as their boundary line. Personally, I hope to goodness that any (future) neighbour only has brick walls or fences on any shared boundary and have made the decision that I simply won't buy any property that has a boundary hedge unless it belongs to me.

There is just such a huge risk that - if a neighbour owns a joint boundary hedge - that they won't keep it trimmed down to only a few feet tall and not let its width intrude upon neighbouring territory either.

So I would say that the neighbour has only said about a possible charge to do the hedge-trimming work that it boils down to "Keep the hedge under control and there won't be any problem" and that is entirely understandable. I wouldn't think he wants paying to deal with it - he just wants to be sure that "someone" other than him deals with it and I can sympathise with that (because its not fair to expect someone to have to do "your work" for them for nothing).