Boundary dispute

Anywat_son

I'm looking for advice on a boundary issue.
We live in a terraced block on a hill where the houses step down in height so our left hand neighbours roof is a couple of feet higher than ours. Our neighbours have become very very unpleasant over the years complaining about numerous issues- always anonymously but we know it's them. None of their complaints are justified and the people to whom they are complaining have always dismissed them.
They are very territorial people. God forbid if my car is parked on the road cms over the boundary. If this happens they spend weeks making it impossible for me to park in front if my house.
A hedge runs along the boundary of the back garden. It is about 12 feet high and is becoming too high for us to clip. The neighbour insists it is his hedge and we can not reduce the height. As far as I'm concerned it's a mutual boundary. The hedge casts no shade on our garden but is becoming difficult to manage. Recently on clipping our side if the hedge the neighbour complained saying we were cutting over the boundary between the property so technically into his space. A ridiculous arguement.
I find myself awaiting his next complaint.
In the meantime he erected a satelite dish on the party wall overhanging our roof. He did not ask our permission and to be honest I'm all for live and let live. However this latest hedge rant has pushed me over the edge. For a man so twitchy about boundaries he doesn't seem to care about other peoples.
What I'd like to know is, next time he complains about our trimming our side if the hedge do I have any leg to stand on in pointing out his satelite dish is technically over our boundary?

phill99

Why wait for the next hedge trmming episode? The satellite dish is effectively trespassing on your property and you have every right to have it removed.

moneyistooshorttomention

Yes - ie you DO have a leg to stand on.

Neighbours are not allowed to trespass into your "air space". We are all deemed to own the air up above our properties up to a certain height (think its roughly equivalent to a tall tree?). Presumably that's so that neighbours cant have overhanging "bits" to tangle up with any trees we decide to grow on our property?

That is why people are allowed to trim back trees/etc that have branches overhanging our property - provided we offer the trimmings back to the owner of the tree.

pollypenny

Our neighbours at the bottom of our garden, down hill from us, have cut the hedge so that it has a large gap just by our sunny patio.

We're struggling to find something to plant in the gap as it's around a huge oak and digging a big hole would interfere with its roots.

I can appreciate that the hedge seemed high to them, but we've maintained it for years, keeping it about five foot high.

Davesnave

I don't think the satellite dish is much of an issue here, as it's not preventing you from using or enjoying your property and might simply be in the best place for reception. Having the ugly thing there instead of on the face of the building might even be a bonus.

If you have a good head for heights, you could always slack off a bolt and give it a nudge, rather like the kids used to do with the whiteboard projectors at school, but that's what it would be: kid's stuff.

The hedge is the main problem, so don't let other things distract you. Tell the neighbour it's too high to manage and let him know you are going to take your side down to a level which is practicable. Don't debate this, and if he becomes abusive just, re-state the facts and walk away.

Then do it.

The worst that will happen is that the neighbour will rant at you. The next thing that will happen is that he'll probably take his side down to match, because the rest of the hedge will be floppy and unstable.

How do I know? I used to be on the downhill side of a tall hedge. I became fed up with teetering on the top a ladder every six months, so one day I just took my side down by 4'. That was ancient privet, which will take any amount of clipping or major surgery.

What is the hedge? If it's leyland cypress you have more of a problem, but maybe a different solution.

Mojisola

Anywat_son wrote: »

What I'd like to know is, next time he complains about our trimming our side if the hedge do I have any leg to stand on in pointing out his satelite dish is technically over our boundary?

If you don't say anything about it now but bring it up in the future, you're going to look petty and awkward.

When you have problems with neighbours, you need to keep on the moral high ground otherwise the officials who might be able to support you will label the situation as "six of one and half a dozen of the other" and not be very helpful.

Ms_Chocaholic

I had a similarly ridiculous neighbour some years ago - I don't suppose you live in Poole do you? Anyhow we had a dividing hedge on the boundary line, in fact encroaching over it, which was very very bushy and right next to our lounge window. We trimmed the top off, only about a foot or so.

The stupid man got his camera out and came to the front of the house to film the hedge, in hindsight I do wish I'd exposed myself at the time lol. Anyway he called the Police and the Police officer was just as stupid, they paid us a visit, suggesting it might be criminal damage. NFA was taken though and I thank my lucky stars he's since moved away.