Whose hedge is it?

ThePants999

This is an old post, I've just bumped with an update, no need to write a reply to the original question!

Hi folks!

I own the house that's highlighted in this title plan and in the bottom left of this satellite image. Orientation is similar, so hopefully you can relate the two.

The houses above mine are a set of what I believe to be sheltered housing bungalows; the open space is private and for the communal use of those bungalows.

As you can just about see in the satellite imagery, there's a hedge along my border with the road. This hedge then continues past my boundary, and goes a little way along the first bungalow row - it borders a private path for accessing those bungalows. It's outside my property at this point - that little building nestled in the hedge's right angle is a shed that's at the corner of my land, and you can see my fence running down and beyond the line of the hedge - the hedge is on the other side of it from my land. Sadly, looking at the plan, it doesn't appear to be part of anyone else's property either.

The lady in the first bungalow asserts it's all my hedge (or at least, the important bit, my responsibility to maintain it), on the basis that (a) it's "all one hedge", and some of it is clearly mine, and (b) "it's not on her lease" (I've no doubt she's right on that). I assert that my responsibility ends at my boundary - and in any case, I can't access the debated piece of hedge except via the private path, on which I'd effectively be trespassing.

What's the best way to figure out whose responsibility it is? I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever maintains the green space shared between all the bungalows is supposed to be maintaining this area as well. But my house is ex-council, so perhaps it's still the council's.

ChrisK....._3

You can only be responsible for the part of the hedge that's on your property and then only if that same boundary is deeded for you to maintain

eddddy

I don't completely follow you description, but the hedge will belong to whoever's land it was planted on.

So if part of the hedge is planted on your land, that part of the hedge belongs to you. (And if another part of the hedge is planted on somebody else's land, that part of the hedge belongs to them.)

Also, if a neighbour's hedge is growing onto your land, you have the right to cut it back - although you're supposed to return the clippings.

And, FWIW, there's no reason why a lease should mention a hedge. And/or maybe the hedge was planted after the lease was created.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The right angle return part of the hedge clearly looks to be within the boundary of the sheltered housing.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You say this housing is leasehold with a shared garden, so there will be a freeholder who owns the garden and will be responsible for the hedge. They probably charge the sheltered housing leaseholders a service charge so the lady in the 1st bungalow will probably end up paying a share of maintaining the hedge.[/FONT]

ThePants999

Thanks - so I guess I want to find the freeholder to remind them that they're supposed to be maintaining this (now rather overgrown) hedge.

I'm a bit confused, though, as I've just looked up the bungalows on the Land Registry and they're all showing as freehold. Perhaps they're all actually let to the occupants, and she didn't mean "lease". Sadly the Land Registry site is currently playing silly !!!!!!s so I can't buy a title copy to see what's going on :-)

rtho782

Strictly speaking there is probably not a requirement for them to "maintain" this hedge. Perhaps they want it or like it overgrown, which is perfectly valid.

Nobody is required to trim a hedge if they don't want to, unless there is some covenant or contractual obligation on them!

ThePants999

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=408 suggests otherwise!

That said, the real crux of this is that the neighbour wants it maintained, because it's encroaching too much on the path to her bungalow. And I'd somewhat like it maintained, because it's now over three metres high and looks stupid, and to the casual observer not in possession of my title plan, it appears to reflect badly on me But I neither want to do the maintenance myself, nor get into a dispute with a neighbour who thinks it's my responsibility, so figuring out who's actually supposed to do it so that I can redirect the neighbour to them would be the ideal!

sheramber

Is there any mention of the hedge in your house information.

My son bought an ex council house with a hedge surrounding it and it stated , as part of the sale, that he was required to maintain the hedge.

I f the hedge is outside your fence it might still be under the council responsibility. Have you asked them about it?

ThePants999

Thought I'd come back and update, cos the resolution was quite amusing.

After talking to the council, the housing association and the neighbour, nobody had a clue. But I proposed removing the hedge at my expense, and everyone was happy with that. Turns out it was a good thing I did so. I'd thought that my fence continued down the side of my shed, and this hedge was planted on the other side of it. But it actually stopped at the shed, and the hedge was planted to continue down the fence line, right next to the shed. So it was actually my hedge - the neighbour was right all along! Over the years, it had grown way out onto her land. Maybe it was designed that way, since this was all council-owned originally. Anyway, now there's a slightly more sane fence down the boundary instead, and the neighbour has a few more square metres of land!