Neighbour's trees and ivy is destroying our fence

pushing40

Hi everyone.  I'm not sure if this is in the right topic area (please advise me where else I can post if not).
Our alcoholic neighbour's wife left him a few years ago.  Since she's been gone, he has done very little to maintain his property and his lack of effort is plain to see.  He hasn't been pruning anything in his garden and as a consequence, two enormous conifers and ivy have practically destroyed our fence.  The ivy is SO invasive - it has worked its way through every tiny gap in the fence and has weakened it, and now the weight of the conifers branches are doing the same.  We regularly cut back what we can from our side but it's obviously getting worse, not better.  The weight of the ivy is crushing the fence that we can't easily access (the fence behind our own shrubs and trees).  I think (though I'm not 100% sure) that the fence is ours (its a newish build and it's the left hand fence in the back garden as we stand inside our house looking out).  We have legal cover on our home insurance.  Can we pursue him through insurance to pay for a new fence? 

JJ_Egan

Yes contact your insurance company claims dept and see what they say .

theoretica

A few years?  How old is the fence, what is the expected lifetime of this type of fence and have you been carrying out the manufacturer's recommended maintenance (eg painting it yearly) to make it achieve this lifetime?  I doubt your insurance would take this on. 

Sandtree

Potentially, if your legal protection includes property disputes but to gain funding you'd need them to deem:
1) There are reasonable prospects of success (generally deemed as 51% or more)
2) Costs are proportionate... they won't spend £10,000 in legal fees to try and get £500 compensation for you

The main problem here though is that replacing the fence won't solve the issue as the ivy will repeat its actions. If you are on speaking terms with the guy why not discuss them allowing you to come round to remove the ivy at least or share the cost of a gardener doing it?

MalMonroe

First I would check to find out whether or not that fence is definitely yours. If it is, do you think you'd be able to talk to your neighbour about trying to sort out his conifers and ivy - because if you do put a new fence in without anything happening to the overgrown foliage, won't you soon have the same problem again?

You could try to pursue him for payment but a request for payment arrives on his doorstep out of the blue, without you even attempting to have a word with him, that may just make him dig his heels in. Or is that just me?

Also, as JJ_Egan has suggested, you could contact the insurance company and see what they say but I don't think you're going to get far if your neighbour sees this as an aggressive move by you.

You've judged him already, too - instead of just saying your neighbour, you've classed him as alcoholic - which may be true but he may also be ill, or have valid reasons for overdrinking - if indeed he is. 

TELLIT01

I suspect the branches of a large conifer are a greater immediate problem than the ivy.  The ivy can be cut back, although I appreciate their is a problem getting to it behind the fence.  You definitely need to find a way to remove tree branches which are overhanging your garden.  There is rarely a legal requirement for somebody to maintain trees, unless they become dangerous.

pushing40

theoretica said:

A few years?  How old is the fence, what is the expected lifetime of this type of fence and have you been carrying out the manufacturer's recommended maintenance (eg painting it yearly) to make it achieve this lifetime?  I doubt your insurance would take this on. 

It's about 10 years old - the same age as the fence on the other side of my garden that looks brand new.  Both fences are painted annually and well looked after (by us).  The fence between us and the neighbour has taken years of being battered by a football by his sons and now the trees and ivy weighing it down and growing through every tiny gap.

pushing40

TELLIT01 said:

I suspect the branches of a large conifer are a greater immediate problem than the ivy.  The ivy can be cut back, although I appreciate their is a problem getting to it behind the fence.  You definitely need to find a way to remove tree branches which are overhanging your garden.  There is rarely a legal requirement for somebody to maintain trees, unless they become dangerous.

It can be cut back - but only by him.  We try and cut back what we can from our side, but ultimately it's got to be his effort.  And, unfortunately, as I said, he's got absolutely zero interest in maintaining anything in his garden.  It's become like a jungle since his wife left him.

rs65

pushing40 said:

We have legal cover on our home insurance.  Can we pursue him through insurance to pay for a new fence? 

Legal cover on home insurance is usually to pursue or defend a claim following a dispute (usually with a reasonable prospect of success).  Has the matter been raised with him?
The legal cover might include a helpline to get advice on the best course of action   

theoretica

pushing40 said:

TELLIT01 said:

I suspect the branches of a large conifer are a greater immediate problem than the ivy.  The ivy can be cut back, although I appreciate their is a problem getting to it behind the fence.  You definitely need to find a way to remove tree branches which are overhanging your garden.  There is rarely a legal requirement for somebody to maintain trees, unless they become dangerous.

It can be cut back - but only by him.  We try and cut back what we can from our side, but ultimately it's got to be his effort.  And, unfortunately, as I said, he's got absolutely zero interest in maintaining anything in his garden.  It's become like a jungle since his wife left him.

Does it have to be his effort as a philosophical thing?  Or just someone on his side of the fence?  Have you asked him if he would mind if you came round and did some pruning?  I disliked a neighbour's tree for years and it turned out he didn't like it either and was very happy for me and another neighbour to tackle it - I wish I had asked him earlier!

coachman12

A very common neighbour dispute. They happen everywhere everyday. You can talk with your neighbour in a polite way and try to sort it out. You can take him to court ( or at least get a solicitor to threaten that----sometimes the threat is enough ). You can at least find out whose fence it is , instead of guessing.  And if you have always cut back the branches overhanging into your garden, why are they still destroying the fence ? And if you have done all you can on your side of the fence, why is there still ivy visible, when you should have pulled it out by now, or sprayed it ?
So many questions. No easy answers. But so long as you keep any parts of your "alcoholic" ( has that been medically verified or is it libel ? ) neighbour's trees or ivy overlapping on to your property , either over or through the fence, I'm finding it hard to understand the seriousness in this case.