Ivy spread to neighbours house

maisonette

I'm considering putting an offer in on a house which has ivy growing up the front of it, the ivy roots are at the far right hand corner of the property I'm interested in and have spread right the way accross the full frontage of the house it's attached to on the left.

One of the first things I'd do on moving in would be to get rid of the ivy, but as the root is on 'my' property I'd then be leaving a dead plant attached to my new neighbopurs house! Having read up on ivy removal it seems it's difficult to do and is likely to cause damage when removing it, so even if I offered to pay for removal of the neighbours segment too it may cause damage.

Any thoughts... would you expect your new neighbour to pay for ivy removal on your house? If yes would I be better off giving them the money for them to arrange themselves rather than potentially be liable for damage caused if I paid someone to remove the ivy from both houses.

Keezing

Remember that when you remove the ivy it will leave behind little feet that are often embedded into the bricks. Depending on how deep they are you may never be able to get rid of them, and they will be very noticeable.

It may be preferable to leave the ivy in place. Opinion is split on whether ivy is a positive or negative aspect to a house, with some experts saying it adds insulation and actually protects the fabric of your property from the elements.

of course you always have the option of replacing it with a less invasive climbing plant.

I think it would be best to talk to your neighbour and let them know that you plan to kill the plant. They might appreciate it anyway.

maisonette

Keezing wrote: »

Remember that when you remove the ivy it will leave behind little feet that are often embedded into the bricks. Depending on how deep they are you may never be able to get rid of them, and they will be very noticeable.

It may be preferable to leave the ivy in place. Opinion is split on whether ivy is a positive or negative aspect to a house, with some experts saying it adds insulation and actually protects the fabric of your property from the elements.

of course you always have the option of replacing it with a less invasive climbing plant.

I think it would be best to talk to your neighbour and let them know that you plan to kill the plant. They might appreciate it anyway.

The ivy has to go... or I won't be offering on the house - it's not the ivy I object to, but the insects that live within it, I'd have to keep my windows shut 365 days a year!

silvercar

We had horrendous ivy on this house when we moved in 10 years ago. We cut it off at ground level and removed as much of the stems and greenery as we could. What was left we painted along with the wall. 10 years later we still have painted ivy remains. Doesn't seem to make much difference to the wall.

Personally I would do what you want with your ivy. If it leaves your neighbour with dead ivy leaves they can remove them or plant something else on their land to replace and camouflage. After all, they knew it was your ivy when they allowed it to encroach.

maisonette

silvercar wrote: »

Personally I would do what you want with your ivy. If it leaves your neighbour with dead ivy leaves they can remove them or plant something else on their land to replace and camouflage. After all, they knew it was your ivy when they allowed it to encroach.

Ideally I don't want to have to pay for their removal, plus the fact removing it may damage their wall and look unsightly but in the same breath we're not going to get off to a good neighbourly start if I just pull the ivy of 'my' house meaning their side will die and look unsightly.

Chanes

I would say speak to them but you may draw their attention to it and they may think it is a problem they never noticed before. Hmmm, tricky. Sorry, not much help!

G_M

Good grief! Is this for real?

1) Insects are good. They've more right than you to their home as they've been there longer. Leave their home alone!

2) Talk to your neighbour. He might be of the same mind as you. Who knows?

3) If the neighour loves the ivy (and the natural life within it which in turn supports the local bird population), find a compromise. Follow the main stems across your frontage to his. Leave those intact so that the ivy on his frontage continues to survive, and cut back the rest on your frontage. OK, you might be left with 15% of what's there now, but could you not live with that?

4) choose a sterile house in the centre of town, with either a paved garden or none at all. Smother it in insecticide and then scrub it, inside and out, with bleach. That should sort out those pesky non-human life forms!

maisonette

G_M wrote: »

Good grief! Is this for real?

1) Insects are good. They've more right than you to their home as they've been there longer. Leave their home alone!

2) Talk to your neighbour. He might be of the same mind as you. Who knows?

3) If the neighour loves the ivy (and the natural life within it which in turn supports the local bird population), find a compromise. Follow the main stems across your frontage to his. Leave those intact so that the ivy on his frontage continues to survive, and cut back the rest on your frontage. OK, you might be left with 15% of what's there now, but could you not live with that?

4) choose a sterile house in the centre of town, with either a paved garden or none at all. Smother it in insecticide and then scrub it, inside and out, with bleach. That should sort out those pesky non-human life forms!

Yep, it's definitely for real... as is my fear of creatures of the 8 legged variety, not strictly insects I know but I couldn't even bring myself to type the word!

I haven't even offered on the house, I'm just thinking ahead to how I'd feel if my brand new neighbour moved in and did something to destroy the appearance of my house... which is essentially what I'd be doing.

I've managed to live for 30 odd years in a regular non-sterile house with actual real life grass but I won't willingly move into a house covered in what is essentially a nest for my phobia!

Maybe I'll pop round with cake (and a large pair of secateurs) if/when I buy

G_M

Talk to the neighbours now. Not after buying, or even after offering.

My instinct is that this property is not for you (see option 4 above!). A cake will not repair the damage done by the secateurs if the neighbours love the ivy, and your relationship will never recover.

anselld

Cut through at roots. Let it die and go brown before removal, then it is relatively easy to remove with a scraper, etc.

Dig the roots out if you want to stop it from coming straight back.

Forget the insects. Ivy can seriously damage brickwork. I don't really see the point in neighbour consultations if you have already decided it has to go.

G_M

Well I know I'd be bloomin furious if the facade of my beautiful house was destroyed by some new incoming neighbour without a by-you-leave.

Granted if they simply came round with a cake and told me their plans, I'd still be bloomin furious, cake notwithstanding (and you guys know how I feel about cake!), but if they were prepared to discuss options and compromises, I might be somewhat mollified.

Just be warned that neighbour disputes can escalate rapidly and unpredictably........