Unhappy With a Neighbour's High Hedge?

Originally written by Abigail Taylor, updated by the editorial team on 20th May 2026

When a neighbour's hedge becomes a problem

Tall hedges can obstruct natural light, block views and lead to disputes between neighbours. If a hedge next door has grown beyond a reasonable height and is affecting your property, you have options.

Before taking any formal steps, it helps to understand what counts as a high hedge in law and what remedies may be open to you.

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What counts as a high hedge?

Under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, a high hedge is defined as a barrier to light or access formed by a line of two or more evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs. The hedge must be more than two metres tall.

Deciduous hedges and single trees do not fall within this definition. Mixed hedges may still qualify if the evergreen or semi-evergreen component forms a continuous barrier to light over two metres tall. If your issue involves a hedge that falls outside these rules, the formal complaint process will not apply, though other solutions may still be available.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Try talking first

Many hedge disputes can be resolved through a straightforward conversation. Your neighbour might be unaware of the impact the hedge is having, or they may be willing to trim it once the issue is raised.

Put your concerns in writing if a face to face conversation feels difficult. It may be beneficial to maintain a polite tone and focus on the facts. A letter or email also creates a record of your attempt to resolve things informally.

If direct communication does not work, you might consider using a mediation service. Organisations such as the Civil Mediation Council can help you find a local mediator.

Making a formal complaint to your council

If informal approaches fail, you can complain to your local council. Councils have the power to assess high hedge complaints and, where appropriate, issue a remedial notice requiring the hedge owner to reduce its height.

You will usually need to show that you have already tried to resolve the matter yourself. Most councils charge a fee for handling complaints, and the amount varies. Check your council's website for current rates and application forms.

The council will consider whether the hedge is affecting your reasonable enjoyment of your property. They will balance your concerns against the hedge owner's right to privacy and any benefits the hedge provides. Outcomes are not guaranteed and the decision timeline can vary, often taking several weeks.

For detailed guidance on the complaints process and what councils can require, see the GOV.UK page on high hedges.

To understand your legal position and explore your options, you may also wish to seek independent legal advice or consult resources on resolving neighbour disputes.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Tree and Hedge Dispute Advisor lets you find out your rights on overhanging trees and high hedges. Takes 1 minute. Try it now →

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144 questions

Ask Problem Neighbours a Question

ProblemNeighbours Editor 21/05/2026 at 9:16 am

@C4 You make a fair point about hedges being the worst kind of boundary, since they're forever growing and shifting the goalposts. Walls and fences at least give you something definite to point at when things go sour. The High Hedges legislation under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 can help if a neighbour's evergreen hedge is over 2m and blocking light, but the council will expect you to have tried mediation first. Sadly you're right that once relations break down, they rarely recover.

C4 05/09/2024 at 5:37 am

It is obvious why rural and country detached properties attract high sales and letting costs, as they are liberation from the problems caused by many neighbours and their missplaced arrogance and entitlement.

Borders are such an area where neighbours frequently fall out, becouse disputes fall into grey areas they are hard to agree on or justify leading to an entrenchment of positions. Hedges should be clear cut but the reality is that becouse they are sometimes used as borders their growth and size can quickly lead to a dispute.

For this reason, I prefer fixed and stable structures such as walls and fences to run alongside boundaries. Neighbourly disputes lead to a terminal degredation of relations that never get better and anyone in this position knows how draining and frustrating it eventually becomes.

The best thing to do is apply tact and careful diplomacy, sometimes that does not work and if you live next to someone who will not concede ground or take in your concerns into account your probably going to fallout as not standing your ground is only going to embolden them.

Neighbours are a nightmare, and to be honest I've had more issues with them than not over the years.

Shar 11/08/2022 at 1:34 pm

I’m in the throes of having my garden landscaped. I’ve asked my neighbour twice already to get the trees and bushes cut back because they encroach into my drive. I want to erect a fence down my drive but can’t whilst his trees are hanging halfway into my drive. Last year I paid £600 to have the hedge removed on my side but unfortunately it’s all grown back again because of my neighbour’s trees. Unfortunately my neighbour is an elderly widow and I don’t wish to upset her at all soo I wait till her son is visiting to speak to him. When I spoke to him today he was very rude and ordered me off his mothers property saying you bought the house knowing the trees were there. I don’t know what to do because I am also a recent widow and he never spoke to my husband like that. I’m also ill and don’t have the ability to cut it down myself. Any ideas what I can do, I’m not at my wits end as I’ve never had bad feeling between neighbours before

Ann 20/09/2021 at 11:26 pm

We bought a bungalow 5 years ago, at the bottom of our garden the neibour has bamboo which was encroaching on the next property.
I mentioned to her 3 years ago that I wouldn’t be happy if it came into my garden, she made some comment about putting a barrier in to stop it. ????
This bamboo is now encroaching onto my property mostly at the moment behind my summer house, it is starting to enter into the roof therefore making it open to the elements.

What can I do.

Not Happy 17/06/2021 at 11:48 pm

We have had an on going boundary problem with our neighbours. This is not solved, but the main issue now is that where there is soil between our 2 driveways, where they have conifers planted, they are slowly removing the soil. The problem is that our drive is slightly higher than theirs and as they take away the soil our edging stones are becoming exposed. It will eventually mean that the stones have no support on the outer edge. Can they do this? We feel that this is willful damage to our property and it is no good talking to them as she thinks she 'knows all' and will listen to no-one. It is now bad enough that others have commented on how much soil has gone.
Thanks

Conrad Bourne 30/05/2021 at 8:03 am

My neighbour has just planted 130 blackthorn hedges along the boundary of our Cotswold wall - we have in our deeds that we must maintain this wall but when these grow they will grow over under and through our wall promoting the the wall to move, fall apart - the field is empty most of the year and he lives about 4 fields away so not sure why he has done it really....any clues what I can do?

Caz 04/05/2021 at 3:51 pm

My neighbour recently brought adjacent house ,a hawthorn hedge has been growing there for the past 70 years.
The neighbour has trimmed it back so much that all that is left are twigs ,you can now walk into my back garden ,there is no longer any privacy

Jones'se 25/04/2021 at 4:24 pm

We have lived at our property for almost 27 years and our neighbour has hedges on the boundry line of almost 3.5 meters up to the height of our upstairs bathroom window. The weight of these bushes as pushed and bowed the fence so it now completely intrudes in to our garden. The fence is is slates of wood held together by nails and string/ rope and its collapsing on its self. The hedges/ plants are growing over our garage roof . We have over the years tried to mediate with them even offered to pay for new fencing but she absolutely refutes to do anything and simply huffs that it's our problem and tough. If we prune the bushes shrubs that hang in to our garden she shouts abuse shakes the fence and becomes a complete nuisance. As we both own our properties the council don't want to get involved and we don't have the financial means to seek action through a solicitor. It's becoming draining and bow we can't even use that side of our garden. Anyone have any similar issues or advice

Les 24/04/2021 at 7:08 am

There is a shared access driveway to our property to which title sits with the neighbour but he is supposed to provide ‘reasonable access’. There is an overgrown shrub growing across part of the driveway that makes it almost impossible to drive your car down there without scratching it. I have asked him to trim back to the border of the drive but he refuses, what are my options legally?

Jewels 21/04/2021 at 6:14 pm

My house backs up to an empty lot that has been overgrown particularly for the 30 years. I have replaced my fence between the two lots twice. I have had to replace my fence mostly because the trees and other bushes and weeds have grown through the wood of the fence, big branches have fallen on parts of the fence and knocked parts of the fence down. I have tried to find out who owns the property but I do not have an address or lot number.
I need to replace my back fence again because of this problem and the rest of my fence needs replacing because of its age. I feel that the person owning the lot behind m needs to share the cost for replacing the back part of my fence,
I have taken pictures periodically of m fence to show how the overgrowth of the lot has effected my fence.
I would like to find out the person who owns this lot and discuss this matter with him. Do you think it’s reasonable for me to ask him to share the cost of replacing the back fence?

Missgrotbags 22/11/2020 at 7:32 am

Hi
We have 7 half foot hedge planted 30 years ago it was open land behind it at the time a 3 storey house was built 4 ft from our boundary line and insufficient foundations the property has now got subsidence the builder liquidated company so therefore couldn't pursue him so insurers have requested that 3 adjoining properties remove trees and my hedge this is a nightmare as insurers have offloaded to an insurance agent who use bully boy tactics im at my wits end its affecting my health my garden is beautiful and don't want to look at a gable wall that is huge ??

Ian 15/11/2020 at 7:27 pm

My neighbour is cutting his hedge down to 2M his drive is lower in his side which would make the hedge about 1M on our side, does he have to take the 2M measurement from my side?

PAT 18/10/2020 at 1:20 pm

Hi i have lived in my house for over forty years when we moved in the lorol hedge was high and established we put a fence up some 30 years ago behind the lorol and its still there sadly neighbour died now new one wants to take fence down no problem with that but also wants to cut the high lorol down to 6ft exposing us to a row of houses and loosing all privacy as the hedge has been there for over 50 years can i claim it as ours so stopping her doing this

PAT 18/10/2020 at 1:14 pm

hi i have lived in my house for over forty years when we moved in there was an esstablished loral hedge some 30 years ago we put up a fence its still there the new neighbours are now saying the fence and hedge are obn there sise and want to remove the fence no problem with us but they also are goibg to ct the hedge down to 6ft hight as the hedge has been there for over 50 years now can i claim it as mine

Lisa 22/09/2020 at 10:27 am

We moved into our house last year into a terraced house.... the neighbour on our right had hedge just below the upstairs windows. Garden is south facing, however because of hedge sunlight away by teatime. She declined to have hedge cut to 2 metres, and so we took it into our own hands and and cut it down to just above 2 metres. She then claimed that we had killed the hedge and took us to court, demanding that a new, fully matured hedge be planted. As a result, we ended up in mediation, where we agreed to have the hedge pruned (at our expense) just to end the matter. She was to pick the gardener and send us the bill.... low and behold, she has not done this, and magically the hedge has grown! I believe she intends to let the hedge grown again to the 4 metres plus that it was before. Would I have agood case if I took this to the council?

Fed up 04/08/2020 at 3:50 pm

Neighbours hedge along shared driveway is over grown over 8 foot have asked several times to trim as also scratching cars but does bear minimum . MY SON INLAW did cut it for him one year ago but he stood there making sure not below the 6 foot and we got rid of rubbish for him no thank you or anything .We have also lost our sea view but all he said is no rights to view.

Fee 15/07/2020 at 5:46 am

I have a 14ft laurel hedge at the end of my garden that is maintained every year and has been there for more than 20 years , the landlord at the back has asked me to cut it down to 8ft as he says it restricts light to his tenant, the tenant has lived there for about 8 years and I've never had a complaint. If the hedge was cut down I would be totally overlooked by a fire escape where the above tenants stands and hang their washing etc. Do I have any rights to privacy . He has worked out 8ft using the right to light re hedges. I think the light to his Windows is due to the wooden fire escape directly above . Is there a law that if something has been there for more than 12 years it cannot change. Would really appreciate some advice on this.

Patsy 13/07/2020 at 10:49 pm

My neighbour planted a conifer tree 40years ago but what they didn't realise was they had planted it in half mine and half theres so half the trunk is in mine and half in theirs so the tree has grown that big both ways it's now killed half my garden grass because of tree the roots are very thick and run across my garden . And the tree now blocks most of the sunlight and my veiw from bedroom window but the best thing about it is their garden still has full sunlight hasnt killed any grass and still have a veiw and I had a greenhouse at one time but now it's pointless coz I haven't much sun anymore I love my garden and sit in it and look after it as my neighbours dont sit in theirs much .I have asked them if they could trim it down both ways but are not listening to me just keep brushing me off and not saying anything my garden has gone from lovely green grass and flowers to a dark dingy garden so sad to see this happen .my house is a housing association and my neighbours is bought how do I go about this tree getting cut down .i would appreciate it if someone could give me some advice.

Freddy 19/06/2020 at 10:04 pm

My laurel is roughly 20ft high and at least 60ft away from the back of ours and our neighbours house it is at least 6 ft into my garden away from the boundary he has only a mesh fencing up he receives complete sunlight from first thing in the morning until 6 pm when the shade comes over. His garden is so unsightly mostly consisted of scrap materials but he wants our laurel cut down. We moved in 4 years ago all plants and trees where already here. My question is where do we stand. As i dont want to be looking into his view. The laurel has lots of birds that nest there too.
Thank you

JH 06/06/2020 at 9:44 am

1. Live in area of bungalows. Rear Garden goes back 8 meters. 30 meters wide. All other bungalows have trees on the boundary At the required 2 meter height. Except our rear neighbour ...
2. 7 years ago a line of evergreen hedges at height of 3 meters and a new hedge was planted in addition plus beaches. It is growing each year faster than being trimmed and is now 6 meters high.
3 blocks most of the light in our back garden. Looks unsightly.
4. Dried up the soil, I’ve replaced 4 fence plinths as of the force on the fences and dryness of the soil.
5. One conifer was overhanging completely on our side - 4 feet into our garden I had to chop back to the fence line. Neighbour shouted at me that I should not have done that. She can’t see the tree as it’s right up on my fence. Neighbour shouts at me saying don’t touch the hedges. I have tried to reconcile and explain Over the last 7 years but nothing is working. She also planted beach-trees on the fence line now.
6. We want our back garden back into a condition we purchased the house for.
7. Received a letter as she has spoken to the council. Saying how nice she is to us I wrote back explaining to the council all the facts. Council wrote back to me saying talk to the neighbour first. Despite explaining we have for the last 7 years.
8. Unfortunately neighbour is not of sound mind and cannot move forward at all on this.

What do We do ? Nightmare situation. Help !

Sent from my iPad

jay 01/06/2020 at 7:49 am

We have two bungalows at the bottom of our garden. One has conifers and one has a private hedge about 4 feet deep with another tree like thing growing in the middle. 20 years ago we spoke to both neighbours about keeping the height down, as we have a small garden. Both have passed away. The bungalow with the conifers the son has taken over and like his parents he has so far kept the conifers down they area approx 7ft high. The bungalow with the private hedge we have trimmed our side and the top for 20 years as the elderly couple asked us to. A year ago another couple moved in. We came back from a holiday to find they had run a fence between them and their neighbour the length of the garden but the concrete post is in our garden and a small part of the fence. We were not happy but the builders ignored us when we pointed it out. We were trimming the hedge when the owners came bounding up and said they wanted privacy it is their hedge. We said it was overhanging and we were trimming it. It is over hanging by about two feet now. The height we kept to about 6ft. It is now 8/9ft. The neighbour said they cant get up to trim it that was weeks ago when it was only about 7ft.Ibelieve the family who have the conifers have said we want the hedge kept timmed. The tree like thing in the middle of it is thick and dense and we have to use loppers to get it cut back Our neighbour who also has the hedge at the bottom of her property paid every year for gardners to keep it trimmed. She has MS so she can't even trim the overhanging. Wha can we do if anything?

Sherry 16/05/2020 at 7:53 pm

I own a 89 acre farm my house is in a valley at the top of my hill someone has purchased the land and is building a very modern house l story almost all glass front it looks like a office building or some kind of modern business we live in a 160 year old farm house it does not blind with this farm area we do not want to look at it nor do we want the people in the house sit outside and watch us we feel like we are in a fish bowl. So 've have planted a privet hedge for privacy it is 20 feet from the border totally on our land we are in a land conservancy to keep all farm land and open land to be forever farm land or undeveloped land this woman says she will she us because it will spoil her view of the mountains an she said she has the money to do it and will go to the state not the local council what do you think

Tony 06/04/2020 at 12:56 pm

Neighbour at bottom of garden looked over fence, said Mum at
Property had died and he was son and property was under probate and now vacant.
He then said that the conifers on my side where to high and I needed to cut them down I told him no and nesting birds where in the trees, he said he would report me to Council.
What can I do next

Plod16921 13/01/2020 at 7:27 pm

Have dispute with neighbour on evergreen hedge height( some 3-4 mtrs high. Have been informed by local council that we have no right of view ( house overlooks Thames estuary) told by tree officer to forget complaining as he will not back complaint. He has not had formal complaint yet (supplied photos by third party) and responded to a request of what we can do, he made it quite clear NO claim!?

slim 17/09/2019 at 10:15 am

I have, with three other properties a boundary hedge between us and a Trust field open to the public. It consists of semi evergreen trees and shrubs. It grows at about 2 metres per year. The Trust says it can only trim the hedge once every 3 - 5 years. In the past both us and our neighbours at our expense have trimmed the hedge. The Trust has said we must not in future trim the hedge. Cutting it back at its present height (after our last trimming) is about 3 metres high and we can just trim the foliage over our property; if it grows higher i.e. another 6 - 10 metres over the coming years it will be impossible for us to trim that over our property without enduring considerable expense. .

Mich 02/08/2019 at 2:05 pm

My brother tryed to cut our neighbors butterfly bush, it was over hanging our 6ft fence and leaning on the shed roof. He came out and used a raized voice over fence, saying it was leaving gaps in it and no argument it's finile but my brother was not given a chance to explain and was not in the wrong. The front garden greenary is now over 6ft too. What can I do?.

Lam 18/07/2019 at 7:14 am

I have 5.5 foot laurel trees at front of my property kept within the boundary. A neighbour has requested that I cut them back as, when reversing off their driveway they cant see on coming traffic. I think they can. What do i do

Bo 11/06/2019 at 8:03 am

We live on unadopted road therefore residents pay into a fund for the upkeep of road and hedgerows. The particular hedgerow in question runs along side of road with a property behind it. From our side, there are five bungalows (bedrooms at front) which face the hedgerow with the road being single lane shingle track, between our front garden and hedgerow
The neighbour behind hedgerow has said the GPS shows his boundary runs through the middle of hedgerow and he wants to put a fence up. We went and saw it from his perspective and requested he gave the hedge a foot before putting his fence up and then suggested he trim back to his fence anything overhanging.
As he didn’t want to lose a foot of his two thirds acre, he has hired a jcb and torn out two trees (one being Laurel). Plus pulling out anything that was over his GPS boundary. This now leaves a very thin hedgerow, which in part is also dying most likely of disturbed roots. Worried also that any high wind blowing from behind will topple what is left into the road. He hasn’t left us any space either to plant and infill.
The hedgerow has regularly been maintained from our side. Advice would be appreciated. Council don’t appear to want to know.

Soph 30/05/2019 at 7:58 am

My neighbour had a hedge hat joins our garden- we have kept this for well over 2 years now- it’s is half over our boundary but they never trim or cut this- we have too or it looks so untidy- because it’s on my property isn’t it their responsibility to trim the whole hedge- or at least the top and we do our side? Can we cut the hedge in our boundary and place a fence?

Scooter 13/05/2019 at 3:29 pm

I and my neighbor back onto each other her conifers are twice the height of our homes one already came down last year smashing through my green house, I have had response from the council they say it’s the tenants responsibility she has no money and is on benefits I said is it not their responsibility and did I need to take them to court I’m happy to compromise and if they’d just cut them down to a manageable size I would look after them, he even admitted they are oversized and infringe on the house next doors light... any suggestions

Mario 04/10/2018 at 8:41 am

We have lived in our home for over 35 years. We live next to a very popular public school that has grown in pupil numbers over those years , as we are on the western boundary and the eastern boundary is near the town , we on the western boundary have all their field activities taking place , together with all the noise that goes with it ! Shouting players and teachers ! We note the eastern boundary is not used often ? Also there is a small wooded area against our home owned by the school that is now being used for lessons together with all the shouting that goes with it ? The noise at times is such that we cannot use our garden as we would like . What are our rights , how can we stop it ? Thanks in anticipation of your help and advice.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 12/09/2018 at 10:48 am

Talk to the highways department - if they neighbour's hedge is obstructing the highway/pavement they can take steps to force its cutting back or get the work done themselves and re-charge the cost to your neighbour. In the meantime, take things very slowly and maybe invest in a blind spot mirror.

STUART 11/09/2018 at 8:31 am

I have spoken to my nieghbour regarding her trees , 4 intotal are evergreen 2 pine and 2 conifers all taller than my house and 7ft away , they have lifted and cracked the concrete panels on the fence and the branches are over hanging by around 6ft , when we first moved into our home i paid for them to be cut back 8 years ago , one of them is also blocking light into our kitchen so we have to keep putting the light on i spoken to her and her son about this and reducing the height but they dont want to know .

Traceyschicks 04/09/2018 at 2:42 pm

My not door neighbor has got a hedge which is over 2mtrs high and very wide causing I feel a danger to the public as I cannot see when coming out of my drive any one walking on the path until they walk straight in front of my drive. I have asked last year for them to reduce it, that was ignored sor contacted my local council who requested they reduce it but now it's ad high and wide as before

Shebs 19/08/2018 at 5:33 pm

A developer purchased my neighbours back garden to build 2 houses. our boundary has a hedge and during the course of the building works the developer has excavated and exposed the roots of the hedge. Subsequently the hedge is dying and we have substantial gaps along the length. I have spoken to the developer who, although initially agreed to replace the hedge with a fence, now is disinclined to undertake any works to the boundary. The last correspondence I had with him was a meeting on his site which he threatened me with legal action for the loss of his profit if I raised a dispute and then told me to leave. Although I have tried to contact him since to find an amicable solution he refuses to respond. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 30/07/2018 at 3:02 pm

If you can't agree between you, you may be able to take action under the above legislation. The article tells you what you need to do.

Greenman 27/07/2018 at 2:10 pm

Our neighbour has a row of 30 ft high conifer trees in her backgarden. Also there is a 25ft buddlia and other overgrown trees and shrubs.
To the side of the house is another row of 25-30ft conifer trees. The trees completely block any light from our window. Moreover light is further blocked in conservatory and debri dead leaves and dust from buddlia fall into our patio area, leaving it looking unsightly. We have spoke to our neighbour about the above, but the response we got was cost and they offer security. Where do we stand in regard to having these trees cut to a more sociable height?

Nas 04/07/2018 at 5:30 pm

84 ennerdale drive hedges are taking over the pathway I can’t go with my pushchair I have to walk on the road plz do something about it as a lot of people have to walk on the road because of the hedges

amalfifi 12/06/2018 at 11:06 pm

There are 3 hedges forming the south boundary of my property. One is, in my opinion, shared responsibility as it sits on the boundary and was agreed by the former owner with my neighbour. The second is behind a party wall erected by the neighbour when they built an extension right up to the boundary. I then planted a hedge to mask it. The third and largest is the neighbours hedge, 90% on their side but overhanging my garden by about 12", which I maintain my facing wall only. Very tall very old and pleasant as it masks most of the neighbour. I caught the neighbour cutting back the party wall hedge so clearly reaching over the wall to trim my hedge. I asked them to stop and they claimed it was an accident. The shared responsibility hedge they just reached over and cut the top off on both sides. They had previously just cut their half of that hedge. The neighbour has previously threatened to remove the hedges completely to prove where the boundary is. Where do I stand legally on the trimming hedges or trying to remove them and build something else?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 12/06/2018 at 12:25 pm

You can of course cut back any overhanging growth on your side of the boundary but that may be too onerous now the trees have grown to this stage and you won't be able to cut anything from the height. The above legislation should help you. Make sure you make a list of valid reasons as to why the trees' height and breadth should be reduced. The link to government guide is provided in the article above.

Jam donut 12/06/2018 at 1:58 am

I am a high hedge victim. The neighbour at the back got 15 feet high Leyland but as I'm on a slope it's more like 18 feet high as my property is set lower than the nneighbour with the leylandii. He says he will cut it annually but doesn't bother .
I find this overbearing and spoils the enjoyment of my garden. It also leaves me feeling worried as he may just let it grow higher and higher still.
What's happens if I want to sell my house. I have spoken to him 3 times in 4 years but just fobs me off.
Is their a template anyone can send me so I can post it through his door with photos from my side of the garden. I want to put some pressure on him to get something done

tony 09/06/2018 at 10:43 am

When I moved into my house 12 years ago my neighbour had already planted llyandyer conifers to the rear of my garden right against the boundary fence. At that time they were only 4m high and not a problem. However, over the years they have grown to over 25ft and now the roots of the conifers have spread into my garden and bulging above the surface absorbing all moisture from my grass that the soil and grass has dried up. Also, the branches from the trees extend way into my garden creating a canopy covering 50% of my lawn.
The neighbours who planted them moved out 2 years ago and I asked the new house owners to cut them down. I have been advised by a tree surgeon that they should be removed completely as once cut they will loose their greenery and look ugly and the roots will get worse into my garden.
I have tried to ask the neighbours if I can can cut the trees or bring them down to a reasonable height so they don't obstruct natural day light. They said I can give them a small trim and I have to pay for it.
They say they are not liable as I failed to do anything in the years before they moved in and therefore not their responsibility.
I am considering whether a remedial notice to the council is my only option? Any advice would be much appreciated. P.S I hand delivered a letter from from one of your templates advising them that if we can't resolve the matter amicably than I would go to the council.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 16/05/2018 at 11:22 am

There are no laws about the height of shrubs. If the fence belongs to your neighbour however, you must not let your shrubs grow against it; make sure they are free standing or grow against a self supported trellis. If any branches grow over your neighbour's airspace, they can cut them back as far as the boundary.

Mark 14/05/2018 at 7:53 pm

We have scrubs over there 6ft fence in our garden the neighbore has threatened us with legal matters if we don't cut it down to the 6ft fence hight were we stand with it in the eyes of the law there 3 shrubs and one bloosems if that makes a different and not evergreen regards

ProblemNeighbours Editor 11/05/2018 at 2:10 pm

The simple answer is to try...first of all, talk to the neighbour and ask if they will reduce the height of the trees. If they refuse, the above legislation may help.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 11/05/2018 at 1:51 pm

Check the details in the above article, it's not just daylight that is considered with cases dealt with under high hedges legislation. We have no idea why your neighbour is reluctant to get the work done.

Chuckyjimbo 10/05/2018 at 12:00 pm

Hi I bought a new build house with an 8m south facing garden. Our rear neighbour has a 5m high row of tress that blocks out all our light in the garden. If we raise a dispute will it matter that the house was built with the trees/hedge in-situ. Outside of this point we believe we have a case for requesting it be reduced to a more reasonable height to give better light.

Jam donut 09/05/2018 at 11:41 pm

Hi my neighbour at the back of me has eight leylandii and 14 feet high.
He makes one excuse after another why he hasn't had it cut.
Just lies to me.
It's like he's doing this to wind me up . He is about late 70s and he comes across
A bit rude to talk to. When I knock his door.
I am very polite when I talk to him. I get the impression his letting it grow to annoy his neighbour. I could be wrong as it maybe a money issue as its expensive getting the hedge cut. I have offered him money to help in the past but he says no it's ok they are my responsibility and I will sort them. But he fails to get it cut annually and makes excuses up.
Does anyone know what this problem is about as its doing my head in looking at a giant green wall everyday. I could get the council involved but it's not blocking light into my house yet but it's a very high hedge for such a built up culdasac.

Army 01/04/2018 at 7:44 am

Our there is a hedge between us and the neighbour says its his now half is dead but still stood and the other is pushing 3.2 meters as i say he says the hedge is his but when i look down the line of the front wll to the cavity of the houses it looks like its on the boundary .now we have a dog and we would like it to have roam in our garden when we are outside so i would lile to build a wall on our property but his hedge is overhanging and i dare say some of it has grown on our side i would say its about 50 years old privit how do i go about solving this we have had a asbo on the chap in the past so he is beyond talking to

ProblemNeighbours Editor 28/03/2018 at 2:30 pm

If you use the above legislation to complain that the hedge detracts from the reasonable enjoyment of your property or garden, the council will consider all relevant factors, including light, views and the need for privacy.

Lopper 26/03/2018 at 10:57 pm

Bought my property a few years ago.
Neighbour at the back of me has 8 Leyland trees and 14 feet high.
He fobs me off when I ask him to get it cut . He let it grow for 3 years and only then got it 2feet cut off the top and told me he couldn't have anymore off which is total rubbish. I have a six foot fence and then a wall of conifers to look at everyday 7-8 feet high on top.
It's driving me insane and I can only think why he is doing for the reason to be nasty. It does not block the light coming into my house but it is very overpowering in my small garden. There is. No need for it to be that high . None of the other neighbours have hedges they are looked after and consider their neighbours but I guess I'm the unlucky one with a inconsiderate neighbour.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 23/03/2018 at 11:51 am

If you keep the hedge to a reasonable height this should be fine. In general a neighbour can pursue an action of the hedge is a significant barrier to light or access and rises to a height of more than two metres above ground level. It might be worth a call to your planning authority to make sure there are not locally imposed conditions on hedges/fences in your area (your deeds might also make mention of this).

Leesa 20/03/2018 at 4:02 pm

I am moving into a grade 2 listed house that has only a front garden (large). There are two other houses that face the side of my garden which leads directly on to the road. At the moment, this is an open plan garden, with no fence or hedging to mark the boundary. As this will be my only garden, I want to plant a hedgerow (just a meter or so high) to outline the entire garden and allow me some privacy. The hedgerow will run, on one side, along the front of their houses. Do I have to ensure that it sits below their windows so that they receive the same amount of light into their homes as they always have? The garden is not listed, only the house and the land registry records clearly show the entire garden as belonging only to my house.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 14/02/2018 at 9:55 am

There really isn't much you can do about the piled up soil/clay and weeds - but if there is no food there, it's no more likely to attract vermin than a field, wildlife meadow or even garden. Farms do attract mice and even rats unfortunately. If the hedge grows over the road or pavement, the farmer has to cut it back and as you know, the council will follow this up for you if you raise a complaint.

marianne 12/02/2018 at 3:07 pm

For years we have had problems with neighbours hedge. This he allows to overgrow so our exit view (by car) is obstructed. Last year-after several calls to local authority he finally cut it. However, he also has piled up clay (on which a variety of weeds now grow) and which also attracts vermin. It also affects view from our window.

This is entrance to a far. There is no point in trying to talk to said farmer. Despite several complaints to council and health authorities nothing has been done. Advice appreciated.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 29/01/2018 at 2:04 pm

You can cut them back to the boundary. It's probably best to discuss this with your neighbour, they may agree to remove them or allow you to do as you say and render them bare on your side etc.

Marco 27/01/2018 at 11:37 am

We bought a new-build property and out neighbours moved in to their property six months later after their completion date.
They planted conifers in their front lawn along the front to border on the pavement and also to the left-side, bordering on our 9ft wide driveway, only 10cm away from our border.
These conifers have started to 'take root' and are now nearing 3ft diameter, which is encroaching onto my driveway by nearly 18", thus reducing my driveway width and ease of getting in and out of my car.
What rights do I have to cut these conifers back? If I have to trim them back, they would then be like 'semi-circle conifers' which will be green on the neighbours side and bare branches on my side.
I bought this house with a 9ft driveway and intend it to stay that way.

Bushel 20/01/2018 at 12:31 pm

Our neighbour has planted laurels about 3 inches from our fence, and they are pushing it over, can we do any thing about it?considering how strong they will grow.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 15/11/2017 at 12:21 pm

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do really...it's a generally accepted priniciple a land owner cannot protect the view that he has from that land. You could check your deeds to see if anything relates to covenants which apply to you and nearby neighbours which could possibly used in a court.

ponytail 14/11/2017 at 11:30 am

I have new neighbours who have decided to make our lives here a misery. We bought this rural plot 8 years ago for the sea view, a selling point if whenever we sell. Last year we got new vulgar neighbours. You wouldn't think they could be a problem as house is to the left app 100m away. Their land spreads along in front of ours with a public footpath running between. It used to have horses on etc. They have decided to randomly plant of all trees sycamores and leyland. This is in response to loosing a boundary dispute right in front of our property. An old sycamore hedge which we prune to keep our view but thickens to keep our privacy and theirs. A nice hedge in summer totally see through in winter. They were trying to prevent us pruning it each year and lost. Out of spite 5 sycamores or more have been planted on their side of the boundary which we cannot touch and will in years to come ruin the view. It is not garden its fields and looking at what they plant and how shows they have no idea on gardening. They will not talk to us and their seems to be no rules to prevent us keeping the view. I don't understand why they bought it if they are privacy mad as the footpath runs through their property. I think it may come under antisocial behaviour act but the council have been no help at all despite all the restrictions on our new build height etc.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 11/10/2017 at 1:01 pm

If it's not your hedge, you are under no obligation to maintain it. As the neighbour has allowed you to reduce the height of the hedge, you should probably remove any clippings too. If the neighbour makes it dificult for you to enter his property, it would be unreasonable if he then took action to get you to remove the clippings.

Harvey 10/10/2017 at 2:13 pm

Hello there, my neighbour asked for us to cut our hedge to 2m or he would file a dispute. We didn't want to cut it this low so offered to trim it by 2ft between Oct and Christmas. We have carried out the work already (Oct) actually taking 5ft off (took photos) After sending a letter (Neighbour doesn't actually live at the property - it is empty but is a registered business address for his two businesses and we have no other means of contacting him) to request permission to enter his garden to retrieve any lose bits that fall his side. He replied by letter wanting to know when we were going to carry out the work. Unfortunately we received this letter on a Wednesday and we planned to complete the work on the Sat. We went round to our neighbours on the Thurs and Fri evenings trying to inform them but the property was unoccupied. On the Sat we cut the trees ensuring that as much as possible, nothing went their side but inevitably a few bits did. We then sent a letter explaining that we had tried to inform them but they weren't there and we were obviously not going to trespass. Now the following Tues we receive a letter explainig that he was there all day on the Sat asking why didn't we go round. I have been round to ask why he didn't let us know that he was there, either by knocking on our front door or by coming out into his garden and then we would have gone through and finished off / tidied up. I am really cross because we have taken reasonable steps to resolve this amicably between us and had he made us aware of his presence on Saturday we would have gone into his garden to clear up as stated in our previous letter. My husband and I work and are unable to now go his side to clear up. He is also requesting that we trim the hedge his side when he has always maintained it for the past 9 years. Do we legally have to go and pick up the stray bits fallen his side (even though we would have done had we of known he was there) and do we have to maintain the hedge his side? Many thanks.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 08/08/2017 at 1:55 pm

The access to neighbouring property legislation really only applies to property and not to land/garden unfortunately. On the other hand a hedge owner does have a responsibility to maintain a hedge so that it does damage a neighbour's property...the law is a bit ambiguous when it comes to hedges!

clipper 06/08/2017 at 9:25 am

I have a fourty year old hedge clearly planted on my property which is well maintained on my side. It forms a boundary with my neighbour. They are not maintaining the hedge on their side. I would like it clipped at least twice a year and would be happy to do it and clear up but the neighbour will not grant me access. As a result the hedge is acquiring a more open habit. I am anxious that it does not deteriorate further. What rights do I have to maintain or order the maintenance of my hedge?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 04/08/2017 at 10:34 am

It sounds as though the legislation described in the above article will be relevant for you. Hopefully it's clear what you can do from the article. Let us know how you go on.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 02/08/2017 at 10:35 am

It's feasible, especially if the property has benefitted from that view for some time. Could you plant strategically to provide privacy and maintain their view? It would be for a judge to decide whether this constituted antisocial behaviour.

charlie 01/08/2017 at 4:17 pm

We have a 5ft retainer wall behind our property and have a laurel hedge on top of the retainer wall ( the land behind us is sloped)and is owned by a man who lives further along the street, about 10 houses away. He planted the same type of laurels behind the laurel hedge we had already there and behind this hedge he also planted a further row of conifers as a hedge. About 300 metres behind these hedges on higher ground he has also planted has a row of laurels which are now 40ft high. So there are now four rows of hedges behind our property,one ours and three his. Our back garden is in complete darkness from September to March. Five years ago when we went to trim our hedge which was about 6ft high at this time, he objected saying they were intertwined with his and we were cutting his hedge as well and he wanted to find out how he legally stood. Five years on he refuses to communicate with us about lowering the height of his three hedges and objects to us cutting our laurels as well.The three hedges bordering our property are now 14ft high on top of a 5ft retainer wall and the hedge further behind on the slope are now at least 40ft high.

ANESKA 29/07/2017 at 5:36 pm

Our neighbour's property is surrounded by our garden. It is on the hill and we have a sea view. The owner of the mentioned property rents it out as a holiday house. Basically their little garden with the view of the sea is surrounded by our lawn-field and the boundary is a low wire fence. It is as not private as it can get. I wanted to plant a hedge to make my garden private as every week new people stare at it and the back of my house, they also set their dogs loose in my garden, but that's another story. I received a letter from my neighbour's solicitor saying that a hedge would be seen as an act of antisocial behaviour as the key point of the rental of that in-land property is the sea view. Any advice? Many thanks.

meggie87 20/06/2017 at 8:34 am

Hi

I have a real pain of a neighbour that last year told me to cut down all my bamboos because the roots where growing into her garden. On this occasion I hired a gardener to place a barrier in the soil so the roots no longer grew into their property and repaired the damages. Now she has come over and demanded we get a gardener in to trim back a bush in the front garden that is growing into her garden do I need to do this as im sure that they are free to trim the hedge on there side ?

Thanks for any help

ProblemNeighbours Editor 19/06/2017 at 2:08 pm

They are correct - in that it's not their responsibility to cut these down. You are entitled to cut back any branches that overhang your side of the boundary if you wish. The above article shows you how you can use the high hedges legislation to help.

sian 15/06/2017 at 7:39 pm

Hi my neighbours have 2 90 ft to 100 ft trees (Christmas tree type).
Tall they over hang my garden by 5 ft or more.
It cuts all my light out from my garden is causing my garden to die.
I spoke to council they said they ain't doing anything but I can cut my side back I laugh cos that's a grand for something that's not mine.
Where legally do I stand this is greenwich council who won't do anything.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 23/05/2017 at 12:52 pm

In terms of fences in rear gardens most regions have a 2m rule. This doesn't always apply to hedges but if it becomes extremely tall and unruly you could follow the advice in the above article.

Awesome 22/05/2017 at 8:40 am

My neighbour put a hedge up when we went to the cinema one night. He has since moved and the new neighbours are totally neglecting the hedge. This is about 1.5 metres but it is right next to our house blocking the light. We have asked them if we could trim it and they didn't say yes. They don't seem to have any intention to do it. Is there anything we can do.

Mas 24/04/2017 at 6:32 pm

My neighbour continuously mows his garden especailly on weekends when we are in the garden. He is doing it deliberately. I have mentioned it a few times but it continues. I contacted the council and they said I have to lodge a ocmplaint which comes with a fee. If I pay the fee and they act and my neighbour is found at fault am I legally allowed to reclaim the fee? Must I have to go through the council to get action?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 06/02/2017 at 2:35 pm

Speak to your neighbours first. Find out how tall the trees are going to be. If they are ever green trees and there are more than two of them, the high hedge act detailed in the article might be relevant.

Lynz 04/02/2017 at 3:57 pm

Our neighbours have recently planted 9 6foot trees all along our back fence which is 5 foot. They all have canes in so I presume they are intended to grow large. They will totally block our light making our whole garden dark and we won't be able to see any sky as a result due to how our garden and house is built (the house is lower than the garden and built into it)
Is there anything we can do?

Sunny 25/01/2017 at 11:41 pm

I have bought bungalow in year 2000, and new neighbour moved in 2005, and for last 11 year lived with him as good friendly neighbour, he constructed extension about 1 & 1/2 year ago, his end wall of his new extension is where my conifers begin, which are there for last 25 years, I cut these every year and maintain up to 2 and 1/2 meter, without talking to me he is sending messages from other neighbours that he is going to complaints to Bradford council if I do not bring height down to 1.8 meter.

The sunrise now days at 8:30 am, being winter time there is two story high house at the back of my and his bungalow, which initially blocks sunrise day light, but funny enough we hardly get any sunshine in this country which is source of light, by 9:45 am sun goes to his garden and then goes down in west in front of his bungalow, which clearly means none of conifer hedge of 2 & 1/2 meter blocks his light.

I recently got fractured my right knee, admitted to hospital, and unemployed, do not have luxury of enough money or saving, just enough to buy food and make ends meet, one of my neighbours volunteer and brought height down from 3 & 1/2 meter to 2 & 1/2 meter as from last 16 years since I have inherited it always maintained at 2 & 1/2 meter.

My question is he built his extension only one and half years in 2015, he never bothers me and never ask me to cut down, now without having meeting or any conversation or amicable solution he is threatening through other neighbors message passed down to me saying that how will complaint against my conifer height as these conifer hedges block his light as matter of fact we have cut down conifer and thining the width and reduced height but not as six foot down as he wish, I have taken picture before and after conifer cut down, also taken picture of sun shining in his garden at 9:45 am.

In this regards please give me right advice as what else should I do, I have however passes the message through other neighbours that talk to me I will resolve any issue arisen due to my conifer hedge.

Thanks with kind regards Sunny England.

justDoSomething 07/01/2017 at 7:35 pm

Get a drill (1/2" dia) drill hole 2 to 3" deep. Get a high concentration glyphosates mix, Gloves, syringe. Cheap night vis goggles.

Don 19/11/2016 at 11:53 pm

I bought my house 14 years ago, it was a new build and I went for this particular plot because the back garden had a south/west facing, meaning I got the sun all day and into the evening. The neighbour at the back planted a tree in the corner of his garden and then moved two years later. There has been two other families in the property since and neither of them have bothered to maintain this tree. It is now so tall that it blocks the sun from my garden from tea time onwards in the summer (I used to enjoy sitting out after work in the sun), it also overhangs into my garden, causing me a lot of work in the autumn picking up leaves. I have also noticed that the roots of this tree have come through into my garden. The most recent family now in the house (they moved in 1 year ago) have obviously put some sort of stone display (instead of grass) along the side of their fence (which backs onto my rear fence), however, these stones are pushing through into my side and I have not been able to put my lawn mower or strimmer along the back fence for all the stones instead I have to cut the grass in this area with a pair of shears, causing me more work. I haven't said anything to them so far but I am really sick of the extra work that there garden is causing me and I want to know where I stand legally before I have a moan at them. I know it wasn't them that planted the tree but surely they are responsible for maintaining it. I am worried if I ever decide to sell my house in the future that people might be put of seeing tree roots and stones spoiling the look of the garden. where do I stand with this situation?

Joe 07/11/2016 at 9:15 pm

If a neighbour is in contravention of High Hedges Scotland Act 2013, whereby 2 or more evergreen trees are blocking sunlight (are in excess of 60 feet) why should a council tennant be liable for cost to raise an action.

robin 13/10/2016 at 9:00 pm

Who is this neighbour that's got all this god given right.To have his other
nieghbour or who ever it concern's to be subjected to rules and regulations.There his trees which are obviously intruding on another mans property. The law is to one sided. There are to many complaints about trees and the nieghbour who has all the right of way.Once you become a complaint with your trees YOU have to deal with it. Sunlight daylight hanging over branches. A slight alteration That's all it takes and if you keep maintaining instead of ignoring your bill wouldn't be so big.

Mummyberry 13/10/2016 at 8:52 pm

After 19 years of living in my house I have new neighbour's - they have, without recourse to me, cut back a hedge that was planted on the boundary line by myself and the old neighbours, the have removed bushes and climbing plants on their side of a wall that is on my property and attached fencing and trellis to my wall, they have effectively reduced the height of the hedge and by removing the climbing plants allowing headlights from traffic to shine directly into my lounge as the road is higher than the level of my garden. Some years ago I added a fence to part of my boundary to stop my dog crawling through to my neighbors garden, this was erected about 9in from the original chain link fence that was the true boundary, the new neighbour has removed the chain link fence and erected a 2m high fence which they have attached to my fence with blocks of wood and screws, effectively weakening my fence which has gaps in it to allow the wind through, theirs is a closed board fence. We live in an extremely exposed and windy location and the new fence will damage mine. Can I legally remove firstly the fencing and trellis they have attached to my wall and remove the screws and blocks of wood they have used to attach their fence to mine? This is not the first time I have had problems with them, they have removed ivy from their side of a dry stone wall, killing off what was growing on my side causing the wall to become unstable where they have pulled the ivy off. I am a widow, on my own and frankly I feel intimidated by their blasé approach to my property. Any advice greatly appreciated.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 11/10/2016 at 2:25 pm

Your solicitor is wrong, you can offer any cuttings back to your neighbour but she can refuse. She is not obliged to contribute towards the cost of cutting the branches back either unfortunately for you.

MrSwivel 10/10/2016 at 5:28 pm

Hi. At the back of our garden is the neighbours Holly bush, a fence and behind that fence is an adjoining property which is our neighbours. We have been in the property for around 9 years, same time as them but their holly bush always causes us problems, its around 30 ft high, now overhangs our garden by at least 2/3 metres and the falling leaves have caused us a lot of trouble, especially with our kids in the summertime, they are very sharp and over the last few years, we have paid out to get this cut back and we've had enough. I've spoken to our neighbour and she doesn't want to contribute to cut them back and isn't bothered and has been very unhelpful and blunt, so what can we do? The neighbour said she doesn't want any of our cuttings back on her boundary side. I've spoken to my solicitor and he said that anything cut could be pushed back on her side, so what do you recommend? Many thanks in advance for your help.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 14/09/2016 at 11:35 am

The council does not have to pay for its removal. The tenant agreement will most likely include maintenance/tidiness of the garden as the responsibility of the tenant. If your friend feels strongly about the hedge she should follow the advice in the above garden and use the high hedges legislation.

R 12/09/2016 at 2:57 pm

enquiry for a friend. The neighbour next door is the tennant of a council house. The Leylanndi hedge which borders my friends very small garden has,over the years grown considerably in width (height has always been dealt with by my friend with the tennants agreement) My friend would like the hedge removed now as it is having an impact on her small garden shed and almost impossible to prevent it further considerably encroaching the boundary of the properties. Several years ago the tennant enquired from the council if they would pay for its removal but the council said that it was not their responsibility. My friend wishes to know if she should complain to the council and expect them to remove the roots and foliage of the trees now growing on her property.

la 09/09/2016 at 11:01 pm

Looking for some advice.

Neighbour has a large tree close to the boundary. Over the course of 10 years this has now grown out of control and is higher than a house and overhangs a large proportion of our garden. This tree now blocks light in the morning to midday, seems to have damaged fences we have erected including the concrete posts, and seems to be ruining our garden potentially through root damage.

What can we do about this ?

We have approached this many times with the neighbour but to no avail.

Thanks

ProblemNeighbours Editor 09/09/2016 at 2:14 pm

Report it the police as an obstruction if you are unable to get out of your own driveway.

Jules67 08/09/2016 at 8:43 pm

Our neighbours have only lived in the house next to ours for about 10 months. In that time they have or friends have continued to park half way across our drive and some have even parked on the drive behind my car. I have trouble getting in and out of my driveway. A friend of hers came today parked across drive and got in another car and drove off. My husband did the right thing and wrote a note asking them not to park word for word that he got of the council website. When i went out later in the day i got a mouthful of abuse from the occupant of the house next door. What can i do about her abuse?

Karina 27/08/2016 at 11:15 am

Our neighbour agreed we could take our the hedge which technically is there's but they said just get rid of it because we won't have to cut it then. About 6 months ago we started taking it out and put up a fence which is below 6ft 6" then today out of no where he came out of the house and started having a go at me saying we agreed to 5ft, a height was never discussed and said I was a liar and called me a few other names. What do we do now? The fence isn't finished.

Dick 23/08/2016 at 7:07 pm

For over 12 years we have put up with noise in the garden from an autistic child living 3 doors away. We all have quarter acre gardens but we can still hear him in our conservatory and kitchen, with all doors and windows closed. As he gets older the noise is getting louder. Whilst we appreciate how difficult it is for him and his family, we and other neughbours feel we also have the right to enjoy our own gardens and especially not to still hear the noise within our own homes. What are our rights?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 22/08/2016 at 11:40 am

Yes, do call your environmental health officer. If the noise is loud, excessive and occurs regularly after 11pm, then they will be able to take action.

Kat 20/08/2016 at 2:01 am

Hi I have problems with a shop keeper it is 24h off licence shop my bedroom is above the shop is don't complain about the customers who come buy things but about the shop keeper he is coming every day after 10pm and he stay till 1 or2 am in the morning whole this time he is talking loud laughing making really noises with his friends outside the shop or on a back side of the shop it's like in pub in tried to talk with him but he is ignoring me and laugh in my face I'm a care assistant and I'm responsable for elderly people I need to be fit but I just sleep 3 hour's because of the noises it even complain twice to the cuncil but nothing changed my husband and I were are looking for another place to move but in the meantime I need to have a proper sleep I'm just hopeless and tired what more can I do can someone give me an advice please

Root problem 18/08/2016 at 5:46 pm

My neighbour has a 3.1m leilandii hedge that backs onto our boundary fence, and the roots have lifted the flagstones on our garden path and seating area for a distance of 3.8m into our garden. The wobbly flagstones are a safety hazard, and also make it difficult to find a flat surface for garden furniture to stand on, which is preventing us from enjoying our garden. Also, if I lay a new path, the roots will just damage this, as well. I have spoken to him about the problem, and explained that I am happy for any solution that will allow me to enjoy my garden and make it safe,and he said he wanted to talk to his gardener about the problem. I have also written to him, inviting him to come and see, and also to bring his gardener so that we can find a solution that works for both parties, but he has not replied. I am also writing to the council. Is there anything else I could do, and what are my rights, please? Thank you.

Mog 17/08/2016 at 5:08 pm

Next door neighbour has a row of Leyland at the bottom of my garden the largest has a branch that has now broken the fence down and is coming into my garden the trunk is approximately 3ft diamond and with multiple branches 30ft high I have asked for the to be cut down to no avail this tree would destroy my shed and both greenhouses

penny666 14/08/2016 at 7:51 am

We Are three Neighbours on a privately owned drive where parking is banned for other cars only us., and we have little problems concering that, but a neighbours privatelt rented bungalow adjacent to our properties has large confers some 30 ft high that overhang the dividing fence between our properties some are falling over the fence which we believeare becoming dangerous and might hurt someone or even our children who play by our owned properties.
The owner of the bungalow in question will not cut the trees down, als he has replaced his fence with what looks like Sheets of corigated iron which are unsightly and look like the entrance to a factory etc. This is making our privately owned road/drive unsightly, and if we want to sell (as one wants to do) would caus problems with future buyers as (I reiterate )makes the private road/drive unsightly. Can you please advise me on the law regarding this .

MadMonica 06/08/2016 at 1:44 pm

Looking for some advice please. My neighbours about 5 years ago built a large single story building across the entire width of their garden situated at its bottom. It has no access around 3 sides of the building as it was stupidly built within an inch of our boundary therefore my neighbours cannot access or maintain their own building from these three sides. It was also built from grey breeze blocks & at the time it was built we insisted it was at least painted as it's an eyesore. Over the years we have encouraged a bush to grow next to the building which has a fence panel & a willow screen sandwiched between them. The fence panel is their responsibility & the willow screen is mine as I added it for security. The bush is a Euonymus not a large growing plant but has to be pruned away from their building by us, mainly because they cannot access the building from that side. My question is, if the bush damages their building, are we liable to pay for the damage. I'm getting fed up having to prune my bush especially as it's not my building. The building is not part or connected to their main building. Any advice will be helpful.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 14/07/2016 at 12:01 pm

Ask them first of all...they may be willing to reduce the height of the trees. As they are evergreens you can resort to high hedges legislation as details above.

Sunny 11/07/2016 at 5:49 pm

My neighbour plated some sort of fastgrowing, very tall evergreen's at the bottom of their garden. Theyve become so tall that we can't get a TV signal. Much taller than a house, maybe even double or triple the height. There are 8 in a row. Where do I stand legally if I wanted them cut down?

Katie 07/07/2016 at 10:01 pm

My neighbour has a hedge of llaylandi down our side of her garden. These have now grown up past our roof over 30ft high. There are roughly seven of these in a row with no gaps. No light can get through and our garden is in darkness from one in the afternoon. They are pushing the fences over (they are her fences but falling in to our garden) in strong wind it is quite scary to watch them sway. They start from about 1.5 meter from our house right to the bottom of our garden in a line. She refuses to do anything to them claiming they can be a wide and as tall as she wants and there is nothing we can do about it as she has lived here longer . Her garden is also full of rubbish and rats and foxes come in to Our garden from there's. Can I take action against this ?
Katie - 7-Jul-16 @ 2:43 PM

ProblemNeighbours Editor 06/07/2016 at 1:58 pm

Unfortunately there is no real right to light in a garden. It's inconsiderate to plant large trees close to a boundary, but not illegal etc. If the other trees damage your fence, you should be able to claim costs from your neighbour assuming she was aware that the trees had the potential to cause the damage.

suzy 05/07/2016 at 8:45 pm

My neighbour has planted a row of trees directly next to my boundary fence. I replaced the whole fence her side, 3 years ago, to a height of 6feet because she moaned about her lack of privacy. In the last 12 months she has planted an elderberry (which is now approx. 14feet high and has completely grown over my fence), a mountain ash, berberis, firethorn and holly. She has also grown ivy up my fence which is growing through and over the fence slowly swamping everything. She also has other large trees in her garden, including an australian eucolyptus which is now as tall as the roof. All the bottom branches have been taken away to a height of 6feet so she can walk underneath and still enjoy her garden - but the sun starts in our garden in a morning, and from 10am til 6pm it passes over her far side of the garden. Where are we legally regarding light, please?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 13/06/2016 at 11:39 am

Sorry we're not really sure what you're asking here, or what the situation is.

Sue18 10/06/2016 at 10:43 am

Hello
My next door has half of the property has Fence & hedges. Tenant left some damage to fence. That damaging my alley door he is not fixing the fence because he is sealing the property what should I do.
Hedges Over my side, roots and taller more than 6' tall 10 to 12. So I am Planing to take all the roots out it might be some holes in fence.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 10/06/2016 at 10:13 am

If the neighbour is denying that the agreement ever took place, it's a bit of a difficult situation. You could suggest using a mediation service to resolve this instead of taking it to court. If the neighbour insists on taking it to court, you will just have to state your version of events and hope the courts agree with you.

Treetop 08/06/2016 at 6:53 pm

Recently we agreed with our neighbour that their trees were out of control and needed cutting back. They were around 25ft tall and the neighbour said she'd like them "Half the height and half the width". As they both have disabilities and can't do it themselves, we agreed to do this for them at the weekend. They were out for the whole of the weekend but as we had clearly agreed this we commenced work as agreed. The trees however were covered in huge amounts of ivy and when cut to around 12ft, have no foliage left making things look very bare so we stopped halfway through pending a further discussion on what they wished to do. The husband then denied all knowledge of the agreement we had with his wife, refused to agree any kind of resolution between us (such as us planting a tree to fill the gap) and insists he is taking us to court. We have apologised, explained the agreement we had, told him we are in total agreement but he is not prepared to do anything but take us to court. Where do we stand?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 05/05/2016 at 10:34 am

There is no legal height for shrubs. There is also no real right to light in a garden (the right to light applies to light through windows/into a home). If the plants were evergreen and formed a hedge you might be able to take action under the above legislation.

Kully 02/05/2016 at 4:44 pm

Hi, our neighbor has 5 very tall shrubs which block out the sun in our garden. We tried to ask if they could cut them down and they were rude. What is the legal higher and what can we do?

frankie 14/03/2016 at 9:04 am

Hi,we live next door to an old lady.Over the past seven years she has complained many times about one thing or anothr.The council police and even traffic police have been involved.All complaints have been put down to the fact she is just an old lady lived here for many years.Just ignore her.All complaints were unjustified.Unfortunately she gossips with oyher neighbours.We feel intimidated by her behaviour.The latest complaint is regarding a hedge.Because she constantly watches are everyday movements it has become almost unbearable.I am now taking anti depressants and feel harrased by her behaviour.I planted a hedge 3ft high in the hope it will give the privacy we need at the front of the house.I have been shouted at by her openly across the hedge and told the hedge is blocking her light.That is not the case.This goes on and on can you suggest how i deal with this as my health is suffering thank you

Smiller 03/03/2016 at 6:09 pm

I have a neighbor that wants me to keep a hedge in line with her fence and never stops complaining to me about it as I keep it the way it I like it and it's tidy also I have high trees in my garden which was in property when I got house from council I got it cut back but she still complains she is never off my back that I am considering moving she is making my life hell even at me about parking in street even tho I park in driveway and my son parks in street as he works nightshift so I can get in and out she complains to me even tho neighbor next to her has boat parked in street yet it's me she get at and my garden better than when I moved in car parts found all over it she is making my life hell

ProblemNeighbours Editor 22/02/2016 at 2:05 pm

If the hedge is your property, your only two options are a legal case or an insurance claim.

Shorty 19/02/2016 at 6:30 pm

Question: I have a new neighbour - he has been in for just under a week - and he is renovating the whole house. He told me that he was getting some gardeners in to trim the overhanging branches from trees from my property which I said was fine. The previous owners never bother trimming them although we keep our side trimmed. However, I have just returned from a couple of days away to find that he has pulled up half the length of the mature hedge that forms the boundary between the properties. It is our hedge and again we keep it trimmed but admittedly it has grown quite high. Birds have nested in it and we have seen hedgehogs on occasion - I am furious that he has done this without permission. What can I do?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 12/02/2016 at 12:15 pm

We really can't say for sure as we don't have the details of you situation. Is this made clear in your title deeds at all? Could you check it with the solicitor who handled the sale when you purchased?

Mr 09/02/2016 at 5:49 pm

We share a entrance gate with the neighbours that leads to our main gated entrance to our converted barn. It leads to the the back entrance to their house. The gate and walk way is the neighbours and we only have right of way. Are we able to put a door bell and/Post box on our entrance gate ? They are saying we cannot and we have to put outside the boundary.
The post box is not safe on the out side wall.

PLEASE ADVISE ASAP

ProblemNeighbours Editor 09/02/2016 at 12:22 pm

As this is an evergreen hedge you may be able to take action under the legislation detailed in the article. Speak to your council to see if they are willing to take action - again the full details are in the article.

Lilly 07/02/2016 at 11:34 pm

I have a Nieghbour across the road from me that has a laurel hedge that's 13ft tall,blocks all my light,makes the footpath & road green & slippery!!! She is a single parent so I realise that's difficult,but she lives in an old renovated chapel,so surely there must be some limitations on this? & the hedge also affects the sight of a listed building( my property) please help!! ??

Mr 13/01/2016 at 9:13 pm

We share a entrance gate with the neighbours that leads to our main gated entrance to our converted barn. It leads to the the back entrance to their house.
The gate and walk way is the neighbours and we only have right of way.
Are we able to put a door bell and. Post box on our entrance gate ?
They are saying we cannot.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 15/10/2015 at 12:27 pm

The police and the council will not be able to help. Have a look at your deeds and see if there are any clauses relating to this shared entrance/exit. It's unlikely however, that there will be specific references to leaving the door open etc. Could you attach a door close, so that the door swings shut?

Worried and irritate 14/10/2015 at 4:43 pm

My neighbour and I share an external door that leads from a back close to the garden. My neighbour continues to leave this door open on a daily basis, often when they are out and occasionally overnight. I continually check the door is locked at night however they continue to leave this open. I have spoken to her but she continues to leave it open. I am worried that the garden isn't secure and that with the external door open someone could easily break into the property. Can I contact the council or local police?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 13/10/2015 at 11:36 am

Yes there is no obligation to a property owner to fence in their land unless they have livestock/animals that must be contained within.

Liz 12/10/2015 at 6:51 am

Our neighbour has taken down their fence as it was falling down. As their garden looks onto the side of our garden and not directly into our house they are considering not replacing the fence but leaving it open. This is their boundary so can they do this?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 06/10/2015 at 1:02 pm

No. If the hedge belongs to you, you can do what you like with it.

cantpleaseanyone 05/10/2015 at 6:21 pm

i live in a first floor flat with a small garden area.. my neighbour downstairs and i have both got a fenced off area clearly defined. their portion joins their house and mine adjoins the pavement . there is a partition fence between us which is their responsibility and they recently upgraded this yet kept it at 4 feet high.my boundary with the pavement was a row of leylandi 11 feet high and now touching the house across an alleyway. the tenant of the house across had asked me politely to reduce the height of these trees as they were acting as conduit for water and blocking out the sun . I have trimmed them back to six feet tall and taken out the growth on the alley way side so they wont grow back..there is some thin areas of coverage and now my downstairs neighbour is complaining that i have reduced their privacy. do they have any comeback on this.

shirls 08/09/2015 at 5:58 pm

i have lived at my house over 25 years, my neighbour had conifers planted around that time at the back end of her garden,, over the years they have grown with no concern of height, they are now 30 ft high and till growing, we have asked on numerous occasion's for them to cut them down, or at least in half. This year the conifers are now taking all the sun from our back garden, we recently had our garden extended and had our car put on the front so we could enjoy the sunlight in the garden, thus leaving more room for the neighbours car , being a shared drive. we have now been asking for then to cut them down for the last five years. i am surprised that the neighbour on the rear of the garden has not complained has these trees cover her drive and obstuct her windows. the adjoining neighbour has complained about the tree biy with no luck,,, is there anything we can do about the height of these trees , every year they will be higher.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 26/08/2015 at 11:27 am

You are not obliged to cut them down if you don't want to but as you can see from the article, your neighbour can take action under the above legislation. We would suggest that as landlords who appreciate you cannot do your own garden (as they provide you with a gardener), would deal with this or offer you some kind of funding. Why not try contacting your local councillor to see if they can help.

Suzyque 23/08/2015 at 10:54 pm

Hello,

I wonder if you can help me! I am a Housing Association Tenant living in Clevedon, Somerset. My next door neighbour has complained that my hedges are too high (as they are nearly 8ft to 9ft high now) and that they block the light in her garden, so that she cannot plant any flowers or plants. The Housing Association do provide me with gardeners who mow my lawn and trim small hedges, but am told that they cannot trim the high hedges as I'd need a Tree Surgeon. I am a single female Pensioner who is coming up to her 70th Birthday next January and I suffer from Osteo Arthritis and cannot possibly trim this hedge myself & also I cannot afford to pay anyone privately. I don't know anyone who could do this for me - so what course of action should I take? Can you help me please?

Regards - Susan Walthew.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 17/08/2015 at 10:10 am

Have you told her about your hearing problem? She may be more willing to let you know that she's around so you can wear you earphones if she is aware of the issue.

Saymer34 16/08/2015 at 3:13 am

In the last three years my neighbour has put six or seven notes through my door complaining that my television is to loud. The problem is, she is away from her home more than she is there and returns out of the blue and expects
me to know she is back and so turn my television off or down. I admit my television is loud but it is because I ha a little hard of hearing. I have moved my television to the opposite side of the room (Her bedroom adjoins my lounge,) I have also purchased earphones to use when she arrives. but as I say I never know when that is. I always try to turn it down before she retires but I sometimes forget. I am 80 and live alone. she keeps threatening to report me to the council and police.

Tild2015 08/08/2015 at 3:58 pm

Our neighbours house/land is at a lower level to ours by c. 1.5 m. They applied to build an extension. We did not object, but said we would plant a laurel hedge to ensure some privacy for both parties. The extension wall faces us and is c 5 ft from our perimeter. I keep the hedge trimmed (both sides), but have allowed it to grow enough to prevent the neighbours staring across at us when we are out in our garden. They have no curtains/blinds up Before the extension they did not have a window facing our side of the house. My hedge does not exceed the 2m height rule if measured from our side. It is not planted on the boundary but very clearly in our garden. The neighbours failed to put any boundary marker / fence up when they did their work. I have got home today to find them cutting it all back. Who is in the wrong here?

dianne sharples 08/08/2015 at 1:56 am

It's disgraceful and imoral the way a neighbour can sit back and hold you to ransom. They hold all the cards and there's nothing you can do about it. It's you who has to pay out for THEIR trees to be cut back. It's you who is left in the dark and barracaded in. It's you who has to pay the council to access the overgrown mess and even then you don't get full satisfaction the neighbour will quote the law (and they know all about that don't they).
If you live in the country with loads of land and your not barracading anyone in then that's fine but try living in suberbia. The people in authority need to rebalance this very one sided unfair situation ASAP.

Anna 21/07/2015 at 1:14 am

We purchased our house 8 years ago on the understanding that the Leylandi massive hedge in the neighbours garden was reduced in height. Our garden faces south, though you would not know it! They did remove all the trees after a year, but left one immediately in front of our sitting room, bedrooms and garden. It is know nearly twice the height of our 2 story house and the width of 3/4 trees. We can grow anything in our dark garden and the house is always dim since there is limited light in them. We have tried to negotiate with the owners of these trees, to the point of offering to pay to have it trimmed, but they have been abusive to the point we don't want to approach them again. Masses of large branches overhang our garden and now my husband is registered blind he is unable to clime this tree to trim it. The owner of the tree has said we are not to touch his tree until the birds have raised their babies! He has also warned us that if we so much as trim 1 mm of his tree past our boundary he will ensure we never do it again. His wife said we are to leave her tree alone as she want's complete privacy. If we engage someone to trim the tree not one single piece must fall in their garden, else there will be trouble. They are very intimidating people and I just don't understand at all why it is that we must pay to have their tree trimmed, why we must dispose of the branches and the mess. It's not our tree, we never use our garden as its so dark and every winter we move bedrooms in fear this tree will fall down in high winds as its top heavy. The owner said he would be glad if it fell on us, 'being 2 less old farts' You would think we have been badgering them about this tree, but in truth we have only approached them 3 times in the past 8 years. And each time we have been respectful and polite, whilst he has been intimidating. Surly there must be something that can be done about tall trees that become a cost, and a risk to their neighbours. If I parked my car on half of his drive he had the right to remove it. I don't have the right to light, a garden free of sap, and a garden free of someone else's tree. You would think it's his tree therefore he is responsible for it!!!! This is a mad selfish world and I just can't accept he is in the right and he has no responsibility and I have very limited rights.

Eils 27/06/2015 at 12:26 pm

My neighbour has ivy growing up and over my fence, when I trim it my side she throws her toys out of the pram. Recently I have spent £1000.00 having another fence put inside my old one because, it all looked so awful, and I really didn't feel like coping with all the rubbish she has against the said fence. Sadly the ivy has started to come through the new
fence now so what can I do? Can't possibly talk with her, she just gets very aggressive.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 22/06/2015 at 2:29 pm

@deanna. You need to check your deeds and ask your neighbour if they have any documentation relating to this. If it's an access route, then it's unlikely you can close it off without resorting to legal action.

deanna 17/06/2015 at 5:43 pm

My house has a central pathway which my neighbour uses. We both have a second pathway to the properties The pathway is part of my land.
The neighbour and her family have made my life hell since I moved in 7 years ago. On one occasion I asked her to avoid doing certain things, this resulted in her making a lot of noise, on purpose at 3 in the morning outside my bedroom window. Somebody else complained and I ended up with 3 nails in my tyres.
What I want to know is, as the pathway is on my land can I legally close it?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 17/06/2015 at 1:58 pm

@Ric. What makes you think the two healthy trees will fall down? If you have any reason to be believe they are dangerous you should alert the neighbour and he/she can employ a specialist to take a look at it. Technically your neighbour only has a duty to ensure their trees are safe and not causing damage to other persons’ property. Similarly unless the roots are doing actual damage you cannot take any action. At 12 metres from your property it's unlikely that the roots will damage your foundations but if they do you should be able to claim off your neighbour (they can probably refer it to their household insurance). You do not have a right to light in your garden, though your neighbours may be willing to thin them out to let some dappled sunlight through as a goodwill gesture.

Ric 12/06/2015 at 9:44 pm

Hi. At the bottom of our garden approx 12 meters from the house are 2 lime trees. These are now in excess of 20 meters high. The branches overhang the garden. I realise you can cut the branches back but ideally we would like the trees to be trimmed down to half the height if possible. Where do we stand on this please as the sunlight is cut off from our garden for approximately 5 hrs from 14:00hrs -19-00hrs. If these trees were to fall they would smash into the house. We are also worried about the roots going into the foundations... but no damage has occurred as far as we know yet.
They are alot closer to the owners property than ours but they font seem at worried.
Many thanks
Ric

ProblemNeighbours Editor 08/06/2015 at 2:37 pm

@MrsS. If the neighbours will not act on your request (they don't have to) then the council can investigate under the high hedges rules and yes, they charge for this service as the article says.

Mrs S 04/06/2015 at 11:15 pm

Hi, My neighbour has a row of around 5 conifers (seemingly in good condition) at the bottom of his garden and I believe there is also a large silver birch tree (around 10 meters from my house). He does not do any maintenance on them at all and they are currently around twice as high as my 2 story house and very wide. They not only block the sunlight from 2pm onwards but because of the size and width of them I have patches of lawn that have died because the trees prevent rain getting to the grass, bits of the tree constantly fall off (small dead 'leaves'/twigs) covering my garden, there are loads of flies and I am worried about the roots causing damage to my property as the tenant the other side of them had problems with the roots causing subsidence (or so I am told). She has approached the neighbour regarding the trees and he said he doesn't use his garden so the trees aren't a problem to him, he's happy to have them cut down but he's not paying for it! I have spoken to the council today for a little advice, they confirmed there is no preservation orders on them but was told I would have to pay £325 for them to investigate but the process would take more than a year and even then they couldn't force him to do anything about them. We would not be able to afford to cut the trees down ourselves, pay the council to essentially do nothing and we would struggle to afford surveys etc to check out if there is any damage being caused by the roots. I'm just wondering where I can go from here? I would love a garden without sharp dead bits of tree and bare patches of lawn for my son to play in!

ProblemNeighbours Editor 30/03/2015 at 11:31 am

@libraj. yes you may be able to get something done under the high hedges legislation. You should inform your neighbour first before going ahead. See the part of the article from "Complaining to the Council" onwards for details of what to do next.

libraj 25/03/2015 at 4:43 pm

I live in a small semi-detached bungalow, when I purchased it there were very small conifers planted on the dividing line between the two bungalows, slightly more towards my next door neighbour, however they are now taller than the bungalow and with the height has come width - into my garden!!!! They are now so tall and thick that they block the light into the front bedroom and when it is sunny the garden is overshadowed by them. I have mentioned the problem they are causing to my next door neighbour but she just disregards it. I would like to settle this amicably but feel I am getting nowhere but the problem is getting worse. Is there any law regarding the planting of conifers very close to a house? Any one any ideas how to resolve.?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 30/09/2014 at 10:41 am

@Iain Macmillan. Check the deeds to see who is responsible for the fence. If it sits across the boundary (rather than being completely on your side), then it may be shared (partywall) fence/boundary.

Iain Mcmillan 27/09/2014 at 8:29 pm

I would like to remove a 3 meter section of hedging running the length of my garden. The hedge is grown fully in my garden, although one side of it sits on the boundary between my garden and my neighbours garden. Can I remove the hedge and replace it with fencing without my neighbours consent? Not sure if it matters but I live in Scotland.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 04/09/2014 at 10:19 am

@treetom. There is no real 'right to privacy' (except in some cases where the human rights act or data protection act etc might apply) but if, as you say, the hedge is your responsibiity then you can do what you like with it anyway. If the hedge becomes extremely high then your neighbours could take action to get them trimmed down to 2 metres but would have to prove that the hedge was affecting their reasonable enjoyment of their property etc (AntiSocial Behaviour Act section 8). A lengthy and often costly procedure, that must first go to council mediation (which has to be paid for).

Treetom 03/09/2014 at 10:42 am

Hello, I have a problem with tenant neighbours who object to my leylandii hedge. Before you all groan - the hedge is approximately 6 feet high, give or take a few inches. Have recently trimmed both top and sides - where I can reach, as my 'friendly' neighbours won't let me cut it from their side, they would rather whine to their landlord (a man as useful as a chocolate fireguard). They want the hedge removed altogether - this would make our garden unusable as their children are so out of control. We constantly have footballs kicked over and have had issues with missiles thrown over along with them swearing and screaming. Am I correct in thinking we are entitled to privacy? They have no issue with the council tenants the other side erecting an 8 foot fence but our hedge is a constant cause for frankly childish griping. I would argue that if they were good neighbours we would cut the hedge lower, but even so, we are still entitled to privacy!. Their pals across the road have a 15 foot hedge and a 9 foot fence - that is fine obviously. They have a misguided idea that they can control what is in our garden, even when it is perfectly within legal boundaries. They are tenants and they can MOVE HOUSE any time they choose, unlike us, who would have to declare that they are a royal pain in the butt if we sell. Unfair.NOT

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