Advice on neighbours trees (again!)

Section62

Tiglet2 said:

How many trees are there?  Could they be described as a hedge, for example?  If so, you can complain to your Council (though there is usually a fee to pay).  Read the below and see if it applies:

I think as one of the two trees (and by far the larger one) is deciduous, the council would have great difficulty enforcing the legislation that requires the hedge to be "mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen".  So if a fee is payable the OP is likely to be wasting their money.  More so because part of the problem is with the council's own tree(s), so taking borderline-legal action against the landlord could result in the council having to pay for extensive work on their own.


Most of the smaller overhanging branches (on both boundaries) up to a height of about 4m could be dealt with by one of these...
https://www.screwfix.com/p/spear-jackson-telescopic-tree-pruner-64-1640mm/236kk

...although as with all tree-related work, learning about safe methods of working is a must, along with knowing the legal rules inside out.

deannagone

Not as easy as it sounds, falling branches would need to be controlled or they will damage things/people.  Not really a DIY project.

RelievedSheff

Get a tree surgeon in to cut the trees back to your boundary.

You have given the owners ample time to sort the problem out themselves and they have not done. So get it done yourself.

Skiddaw1

Sycamores are absolute swines for growing like triffids. We had one in our previous garden (it was there before houses were built) and we had treee surgeons in every year to give it a haircut. It was a lovely tree but would go totally out of control if not managed. I agree with @RelievedSheff - get your side dealt with pronto for both trees if you possibly can (and continue to negotiate with the neighbour/LL).

Greymug

deannagone said:

Not as easy as it sounds, falling branches would need to be controlled or they will damage things/people.  Not really a DIY project.

Aye those trees are massive and definitely wouldn't do it myself. Let someone else take that risk...

HampshireH

Absolutely being too nice.

I wouldn't wait two either either.

I would email him again next with much firmer with exactly what you want done.

Don't dance around the problem with "ideally" etc.

"Tree x requires x to be done. We now require this is now done by x date. As a branch has already landed on a person and caused injury it is of huge concern that this could happen again.

We will pursue any costs for damages caused by these trees is this issue is not resolved.

As it's now been x months since this was brought to your attention, please let me know the date you have these works booked in for."

theoretica

Your neighbour landlord sounds more like they can't be bothered, than actively unwilling.  I think you need to be the one to find a tree surgeon to get quotes from and do the organising - though you may need to try and get neighbour to pay in advance!  Probably also a quote for just cutting back to the boundary so you know where you stand with what you can do without the neighbour's cooperation.

adonis

Do you have legal cover on your house insurance, may be worth contacting them for advice.

Loza2016

You may have a struggle finding a tree surgeon that wants the Job as they aren’t your trees. Without the owner’s permission some won’t want the hassle. 

I hope the neighbour sees sense and sorts them out for you. 

M00nface

HampshireH said:

Absolutely being too nice.

I wouldn't wait two either either.

I would email him again next with much firmer with exactly what you want done.

Don't dance around the problem with "ideally" etc.

"Tree x requires x to be done. We now require this is now done by x date. As a branch has already landed on a person and caused injury it is of huge concern that this could happen again.

We will pursue any costs for damages caused by these trees is this issue is not resolved.

As it's now been x months since this was brought to your attention, please let me know the date you have these works booked in for."

Thanks so much. I think I'm literally going to copy and paste this next time haha. Do you k ow if there's actually anything I can do if he just ignores this....or gives me a thumbs up again as a response? I get the impression that nothing can dealt be enforced even if I am more stern with him.