Neighbour removed my ivy

time2deal2

Hello,

I'm a long time poster (time2deal) but I've forgotten my login! Hope to get some help with a neighbour issue.

We have Ivy on the back wall of the garden in the flat we rent out. The wall is the neighbours side wall. It's been there for at least 15 years, in a tiny garden in London. Anyway, they appeared last week and decided they didn't like it and I got a message saying they were removing it. There is no evidence it was damaging their wall, but I don't mind if they want to remove it. They have never said a word to me before, or tried to contact me.

However, apparently they just hacked at it, and I got the following pictures just sent to me. What do I do about this? Surely they can't just do this and leave me with the mess, and probably broken fence to deal with?

Any advice. I've no idea what to do, and it doesn't help that I'm in Australia. There is no access to the garden other than through the flat, so removing it is going to be a nightmare.

(Sorry - can't post the links properly - remove the space after http to see them)

time2deal2

If someone would be very nice - I'd love if you fix and re-post the images!

EssexExile

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qsb5hy.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/10zbhw9.jpg

Aylesbury_Duck

I'm not sure you can do anything. The ivy is on your land and has grown up the neighbour's wall. They have the right to detach it from the wall and leave it in your garden. After all, it's your ivy.

marc81

Our next door neighbours ivy is completely covering our first adjoining fence panel on her side and came over our side and up the wall of the house, high enough to be trying to get in to the bedroom windows! It's horible stuff... I removed it all off the house, our side and hers but had the courtesy to ask first... she was glad of it gone! It's very stubborn to remove and gets full of black fly. I don't think there's much you can do now, but it would have been nice to have been asked/told before they did it.

Doozergirl

English Ivy can and does damage walls if it gets into joints and cracks. Yours isn't even managed, it's just allowed to grow. It is a nusiance generally when it gets into gutters, across windows etc.

If you allow your foliage to cross over your boundary, then the 'done thing' is for neighbours to cut back and throw the spoil back over the fence.

It doesn't look great now and I can see to a degree why you are bothered about mess if you didn't see it as a mess before, but I can definitely see how your neighbour should not have to suffer your plants growing up their property, round their drainage and up over their roof, or even actually just crossing over their boundary. They should not have to suffer the cost of removing it either. That ivy has clearly been left unchecked and if brutally honest, you have been antisocial. This is your responsibility.

time2deal2

Ok ok - I hear ya! I'll get someone out to remove it all. To be fair I left it pretty neat and tidy, and when we lived there we would regularly cut the 'arms' to make sure they died and pull them down. But it grows so quick and I didn't leave specific instructions for the tenants.

If they had just knocked on the door I would have sorted it out in a few days. But in less of a mess!

Head_The_Ball

time2deal2 wrote: »

..If they had just knocked on the door I would have sorted it out in a few days. But in less of a mess!

Unless I am missing something, they have done some of the work leaving you with less to do so you are better off than having to do it all.

time2deal2

Head_The_Ball wrote: »

Unless I am missing something, they have done some of the work leaving you with less to do so you are better off than having to do it all.

True - except it's fallen on the fence and caused damage which could have been avoided. As well as leaving my tenants in a mess for a few extra days, when it could have been started and finished in a day in an orderly fashion.

But I'm hearing the MSE wisdom! I was just in a bit of a flap when I got the pictures and no real idea how to address it remotely. I've called the agents who manage it for me and asked them to sort it out. I normally self-manage and just use them as a rent collection service, but they can earn their money this time and actually organise something.

sparrie2k

Is it not the case that they have to offer you the cuttings back, but dumping them on your land is fly tipping if you don't agree?

Had this trimming back a neighbour's tree that was overhanging my garden - I cut the branches (with permission, however I can see that if ivy was causing damage permission couldn't reasonably be denied anyway), but had to dispose of the cuttings myself.

lstar337

If they have damaged your property (fence) in the process then I believe the situation might be slightly different.

While they were entitled to remove the Ivy and pass it back to your garden, I expect they also have to maintain a level of care.