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Neighbour asked us to trim the hedge


Recently moved into our new house. The neighbour knocked our door on Sunday and asking if we have any plan of trimming the hedge in our front garden.
The hedge is about 1.4m high and it grown slightly over to my neighbours side, like around 5 cm. The neighbour is complaining that it affected them getting on/off from their car.
I checked a lot of information online but most of them repeating the same info that neighbours can trim the hedge on their side if it overhang in their boundary. I want to know if the owner has to trim the hedge on their neighbours side.
Do I have to trim the hedge on my neighbour’s side? Can I ask my neighbour to trim the hedge themselves but only the bits that is in their boundary? What’s the common rule?
Comments
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They can, but don't have to.
You can, but don't have to.
Seems like a trivial thing to start an argument about by refusing and asking them to do it though.1 -
As CSI says.Bear in mind that if you set a precedent for doing this, it'll be more tricky to absolve yourself from the responsibility later on.Your neighbour has presumably asked you to do this through ignorance rather than a sense of entitlement, but who knows. (My neighb expected me to repaint his side of my fence when I replaced it recently as I'd offered to do this the first time around 15 years ago. And his visiting ex-wife asked me - quite tetchily - to hurry up with my fence replacement as her dawg was getting through to our garden, but hey).Your neighbour has a number of options, including hedge trimming his own side or putting up a fence on his side. Or falling out with you over this. Or accepting the rules and remaining friendly.You have similar options
I guess a possible one is to inform them of the facts, but to offer to do it 'this time' since as a friendly gesture.
I had to tell my expectant neighb - when I replaced my fence recently - that I no longer had the luxury of time to paint his side, like I did the first time around. The fact that the guy has his grown up families living nearby who visit on a near daily basis, both much younger and more able than I, and who do now't to help him, added to my decision to say 'soz-non'. And also because it was clear that he asked through a sense of expectation. I did, however, put a hurry-on with my fence replacement as his ex-wife is well scary...4 -
Depends if you want to get off on the wrong foot with your new neighbours for the sake of a few minutes work3
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Just tell your neighbour that they are welcome to trim anything that is overhanging their side. See how they respond. They might assume that only you can trim it as it is your hedge.2
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Will you be trimming your side of the hedge from time to time? Will you be getting a fancy hedge trimmer? If so, you could say to them they're welcome to borrow your trimmer for a couple of hours whenever they feel it's intruding too much into their driveway.
Of course - if you trim it - you have control - if they trim it - they might make a right hash of it.1 -
Why do you feel the need to ask people on the internet, it’s clearly a moral judgement.
Your hedge that is causing the problem, a simple enough task to rectify, and be a good neighbour.
Or absolve yourself and let the neighbour cut back the 5cm plus another 20 cm to delay the overgrowth. And get a bad neighbour in return.6 -
Get a cheap corded electric hedge-trimmer and it probably take an hour to trim and clean up the trimmings for the entire hedge (assuming it’s not a 100m long monster). It is far easier to do a little often, then leave it and fight it.
Also be careful if it is coniferous as typically only the outer 6” is green and if it grows to long over footpaths or driveways, then you trim back the leaves won’t regrow and you will ultimately need to replace.
Don’t let them start overhanging any public paths, as they quickly obstruct wheelchairs and pushchairs.1 -
Is the hedge blocking sight lines for them driving off their drive?
Bottom line though, if your hedge is causing your neighbours problems the polite thing to do is to sort it.2 -
If would answer with "yes we do plan to cut it back but not sure exactly when yet, but they didn't want to wait for you they they are welcome to cut their side, otherwise you will happily do their side the same time you do yours".
This way you are saying you will maintain your hedge but nicely letting them know they can cut it back if it's bothering them.3 -
Just go and do it, it is the nice neighbourly thing to do, and will take you less than an hour. Who knows what favours you may need from your neighbour in the future, so it is better to start off being friendly and a good neighbour3
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