Neighbors tree

btcp

My neighbors garden is filthy and full of weeds. Normally the weeds just die out in winter but one of them grew next to the house and my fence (it’s a terrace house), and it looks like it’s a proper young tree. I know that having trees close to the foundation is not good and it can damage theirs and mine, as it is literally a meter from my fence. Is that a fair ask to remove it, is that their responsibility? There is no damage yet but it can be when the tree grows bigger. I am not sure how much they care as their property is owed by council, I am a freeholder of mine.

owen_money

btcp wrote: »

My neighbors garden is filthy and full of weeds. Normally the weeds just die out in winter but one of them grew next to the house and my fence (it’s a terrace house), and it looks like it’s a proper young tree. I know that having trees close to the foundation is not good and it can damage theirs and mine, as it is literally a meter from my fence. Is that a fair ask to remove it, is that their responsibility? There is no damage yet but it can be when the tree grows bigger. I am not sure how much they care as their property is owed by council, I am a freeholder of mine.

What did the neighbor say when you asked them about it?

btcp

I did not ask yet.

kazwookie

Well go and knock on the door, and ask them about it, maybe they don't go out into the messy very often, and don't know about it.

CakeCrusader

Just ask them. Some trees are self seeding and appear from nowhere. They grow massively during the summer, but the roots should still be pretty small. They can soak up a lot of water though. If it's on your side of the fence it's your responsibility, if it's on your neighbours' side of the fence it's theirs. You could just ask them if they need some help with their garden, not everyone has green fingers (or the time), so it may not be the case that they don't 'care'.

btcp

I know I can ask them. What I am trying to figure out is if that’s really damaging to the building and my next step in case they refuse to deal with that. I have reasons to say they don’t care, there are many of them living there and partying day and night. I had a confrontation about noise at night before and trying to avoid difficult conversation if I don’t need to have it. Taking out the weeds that are meter long and cover the entire garden does not seem like the priority for them, and it is their choice. But if that tree can potentially affect my property I need to have a conversation.

CakeCrusader

If they are renting there may be something in their tenancy agreement about keeping the garden in good repair. If they are difficult to deal with it may be wise to contact the housing department to check to see if the garden is part of their tenancy agreement, if so, they can pop and check the garden and have a word with your neighbours about cleaning it up.

Aylesbury_Duck

btcp wrote: »

I know I can ask them. What I am trying to figure out is if that’s really damaging to the building and my next step in case they refuse to deal with that. I have reasons to say they don’t care, there are many of them living there and partying day and night. I had a confrontation about noise at night before and trying to avoid difficult conversation if I don’t need to have it. Taking out the weeds that are meter long and cover the entire garden does not seem like the priority for them, and it is their choice. But if that tree can potentially affect my property I need to have a conversation.

The simple answer is that yes, there is a possibility the tree could affect your property.

If they refuse to deal with it, you should contact the owner (the council?) and ask them to deal with it.

btcp

Thank you, I will surely try to talk to them first and take it from there. It may take a bit of time though until they respond, another reason I am trying to figure out steps ahead.

Davesnave

btcp wrote: »

. What I am trying to figure out is if that’s really damaging to the building and my next step in case they refuse to deal with that.

One step you don't appear to have taken is to identify the type of tree. That will tell you (and us) much more about the likely threat it poses, if any.

Also, the likelihood of damage is heavily influenced by the age of the house.

If the tree is still small, it could be years before it could cause damage and it would probably need to present a genuine risk for the council to take action.

btcp

The tree leaves look like maple shape, the height now is a bit over 2 meters and I only started to notice it this year as it hits above my fence. It looks thin, the top branches are thinner than a finger, probably self seeded as others here commented.
The building is a terrace, built in 60th, probably purpose built as it is a mixture of council tenants and freeholds.