Trees overhanging into neighbours garden

lisssa

Hi

Hope someone can help me or point me in the right direction for advice . I bought a house back in September that has two large ( and I mean large) conifer trees that are are the bottom of my garden. They have prob been allow to grow for about 40 years and I suspect largely unkept . I did enquire recently about getting the height reduced on the. But was told because they had been let to get out of control I only really had two options - leave them be or have them removed completed which would cost over £1000 and tbh I don't want to lose them as I like the privacy . The tree person ( sorry can't remember his title) also said he wouldn't recommend taking them down and quote they are not going anywhere so just leave them be.
Anyhow came home today to a letter from a housing association who obviously owns the house that backs onto my garden , this letter states

"Due to a recent visit to our property one of our property surveyors noticed a tree from xx address was overhanging the rear boundary line and causing a health and safety concern. We would appreciate your cooperation in removing this issue. Alternatively if I do not hear from you by x day we will make arrangements for our contractor to cut the tree back at the boundary .

Obviously If the tree is dangerous I do not want to run the risk of anyone getting hurt, but where do I stand legally. This tree has been there for years and no doubt overhanging the boundary for a number of years . Am I liable for the cost of the cutting back of the tree, or is it just a case of saying , yep no problem, happy for your contract to trim tree back however you see fit, but I don't accept the cost of doing do.
I'm not trying to shirk my responsibilities but just want to understand where I stand on this matter.

Thanks in advance for any information / help

lxpeanut

they are entitled to chop off any bits overhanging their property.

DTDfanBoy

lxpeanut wrote: »

they are entitled to chop off any bits overhanging their property.

But they are not entitled to pass the cost of this back to you.

princeofpounds

And technically they have to offer you the cutting back as they remain your property. So don't be surprised if they all end up back in your garden.


Obviously the best thing to do is talk about it, though the neighbour might hope you will share some of the cost burden. Or you could just confirm they are welcome to cut back to remove any overhang on their boundary.


Unless they are conifers, I am surprised the tree surgeon said the only options were remove or leave them be. That is not normally the case. Even if the height can't be reduced, the crown normally can be. What are they?

pmlindyloo

This link may help as it demonstrate that there is no legal requirement for you to prune trees that overhang a neighbours garden.

https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Environment%20and%20Waste/Trees.aspx

Scroll down right to the bottom.

Slinky

princeofpounds wrote: »

Unless they are conifers, I am surprised the tree surgeon said the only options were remove or leave them be. That is not normally the case. Even if the height can't be reduced, the crown normally can be. What are they?

OP says they are conifers

Keep_pedalling

They can however, dump all the cuttings on you side for disposal, because they are your property.

The treesmay not be all that old, leylandii grow at an astonishing rate.

Once trimmed they might look a bit scruffy, and because all the branches on one side could be removed if the tree is right up on the boundary line then they may be somewhat unstable so you may end up having to remove them anyway

princeofpounds

Slinky wrote: »

OP says they are conifers

Second time I've done that in a week. Guess I stayed up too late watching the election. Thanks - that makes sense then.


I'd probably cut them down then and replant with less anti-social trees!

moneyistooshorttomention

The neighbour is indeed legally entitled to chop your trees back in line with the boundary.

I've seen some leylandii that had obviously been trimmed bang in line back to the boundary by the neighbour and they looked extremely odd (ie the whole of one side of the tree missing). The trees didn't stay like that for very long - as the owner of them obviously hated the look of them and removed them totally.

I would guess this is what will happen in your case - so might as well remove them now and plant something more attractive and less antisocial instead imo.

lisssa

Hi cheers for the info. If it was a private house then I would happily speak to neighbour and negotiate , however as it's housing association think I will just ring them on Monday and advise I'm happy for the housing association contractor to cut back at their own cost and confirm I do not wish the branches back , I've just read somewhere that they have to offer them back but can not dump them on their land . If they look awful after being trimmed , they I will consider having them removed but don't have a spare £1000+ in the short term , plus I really don't want to lose the privacy they give.
Will let you know how I get on after speaking to them Monday - thanks again

G_M

If the conifers are trimmed back hard ie to the boundary, that side will be totally brown showing just wood and twigs. It is unlikely to regrow green.

Frankly it will look awful. Whether you'll be able to see that side, or care, is another matter.