'Neighbours' ruined my hedge. What do I do?
Discussion
Hi everyone!
Some people may recognise me from postings about laser speed detection and other related stuff, and there is not much which annoys me enough to start a thread, but this is outside my area of legal expertise so would appreciate any thoughts or experiences anyone has had in the past.
I came back from a trip out this afternoon to find that the hedge which borders the edge of my property has had between 4 and 6 feet taken off it my my neighbour. My property is quite a large one and runs along the back of three houses on the next cul-de-sac to mine, thus these are neighbours I have never met.
The hedge itself is about 20 years old and has been maintained well. It is planted about a foot inside the boundary with the three other houses and the boundary is marked with a fence which runs along the back of all three properties and the side of mine. It seems that the middle house has thought it necessary to cut the 'middle bit' out of my hedge. I fully realise that they are well within their rights to prune any branches which encroach into their property, however I have got on stepladders to find that not only have they pruned branches, they have also 'topped off' the hedge which meant they would have had to reach about two feet over the boundary to do so. This isnt just a trim either, they have hacked at the *vertical* trunks which are completely on my property. All that is left of the hedge above 7-8 feet (as they didnt even cut it straight!) is a few spindles really overhanging my garden which presumably they couldnt reach!
I am proud of my house and work hard to pay for it and keep it looking good. Part of the reason which sold it to me was that it was not overlooked due to the mature hedge on my property. The offending neighbour now has a good view of my driveway and garden from their upstairs windows.
I think what has happened is that yesterday a guy came to the door to offer me a free quote to professionally trim the hedge (at £130 its not a small job) and I heard shuffling in their garden through the hedge. They heard us discussing how much I wanted cut off to which I just wanted to keep the mature part of the hedge there and just trim and tidy it. I do not think it is coincidence that after me being in the property for 2 1/2 years that they decide to cut my hedge the day after they overhear this conversation. I reckon they hacked at it on purpose to force me into cutting the whole hedge to the height they want.
I now need to get someone in to do a proper job to either cut it at the same legth all the way along, which considering that a trim was £130 will be much more expensive or try to get them to make the best of a bad job.
I wouldnt have minded as much if they would have come to talk to me about it beforehand, furthermore I not have had any problems with then just trimming their side, however cutting my trees on my property is nieve at best and just bloody minded at worst. I have had plans and quotes done to completely remodel the front of the house and driveway area, all of which with the hedge very much intact as it as a feature of the property.
My question is, what do i do now?
What is the legal situation? Can I claim the cost of fixing it, or even the damage caused to my property which will take years to grow back, *if* it can grow from the hacking and feathering of the main trunks.
My other question is do my neighbours have any right to ask me to keep the hedge at a particular height, as I dont want to make the situation worse for me by taking the matter further. The 'Right to Light' legislation is there, but I dont really know the ins and outs and regardless of this the hedge must be 15-20 metres away from their house at the bottom of the garden.
Thanks in advance for anyone who has read this far, i realise it is long but though I should put in all the relevant facts. Thanks also to anyone who knows the answers or can contribute with ideas.
Cheers everyone!
Some people may recognise me from postings about laser speed detection and other related stuff, and there is not much which annoys me enough to start a thread, but this is outside my area of legal expertise so would appreciate any thoughts or experiences anyone has had in the past.
I came back from a trip out this afternoon to find that the hedge which borders the edge of my property has had between 4 and 6 feet taken off it my my neighbour. My property is quite a large one and runs along the back of three houses on the next cul-de-sac to mine, thus these are neighbours I have never met.
The hedge itself is about 20 years old and has been maintained well. It is planted about a foot inside the boundary with the three other houses and the boundary is marked with a fence which runs along the back of all three properties and the side of mine. It seems that the middle house has thought it necessary to cut the 'middle bit' out of my hedge. I fully realise that they are well within their rights to prune any branches which encroach into their property, however I have got on stepladders to find that not only have they pruned branches, they have also 'topped off' the hedge which meant they would have had to reach about two feet over the boundary to do so. This isnt just a trim either, they have hacked at the *vertical* trunks which are completely on my property. All that is left of the hedge above 7-8 feet (as they didnt even cut it straight!) is a few spindles really overhanging my garden which presumably they couldnt reach!
I am proud of my house and work hard to pay for it and keep it looking good. Part of the reason which sold it to me was that it was not overlooked due to the mature hedge on my property. The offending neighbour now has a good view of my driveway and garden from their upstairs windows.
I think what has happened is that yesterday a guy came to the door to offer me a free quote to professionally trim the hedge (at £130 its not a small job) and I heard shuffling in their garden through the hedge. They heard us discussing how much I wanted cut off to which I just wanted to keep the mature part of the hedge there and just trim and tidy it. I do not think it is coincidence that after me being in the property for 2 1/2 years that they decide to cut my hedge the day after they overhear this conversation. I reckon they hacked at it on purpose to force me into cutting the whole hedge to the height they want.
I now need to get someone in to do a proper job to either cut it at the same legth all the way along, which considering that a trim was £130 will be much more expensive or try to get them to make the best of a bad job.
I wouldnt have minded as much if they would have come to talk to me about it beforehand, furthermore I not have had any problems with then just trimming their side, however cutting my trees on my property is nieve at best and just bloody minded at worst. I have had plans and quotes done to completely remodel the front of the house and driveway area, all of which with the hedge very much intact as it as a feature of the property.
My question is, what do i do now?
What is the legal situation? Can I claim the cost of fixing it, or even the damage caused to my property which will take years to grow back, *if* it can grow from the hacking and feathering of the main trunks.
My other question is do my neighbours have any right to ask me to keep the hedge at a particular height, as I dont want to make the situation worse for me by taking the matter further. The 'Right to Light' legislation is there, but I dont really know the ins and outs and regardless of this the hedge must be 15-20 metres away from their house at the bottom of the garden.
Thanks in advance for anyone who has read this far, i realise it is long but though I should put in all the relevant facts. Thanks also to anyone who knows the answers or can contribute with ideas.
Cheers everyone!
Hi,
Thanks for everyone who has contributed. I realise that Leylandii are not to everyones taste, and to be frank if i could swap them for another tree I would, but they were there when I bought the house and I enjoy the privacy. It is also worth mentioning that although the hedge is about 12-14 ft high, it is only about two to three feet thick. I have checked the other side of the hedge with the other neighbours and the branches have never encroached more than a foot over the boundary. Which makes no difference whatsoever at the end of a 40ft garden behind a shed.
My main point is that in fact where they have cut the trees back most harshly is an area which they cannot see from their house or garden because it is obscured by a tall birch tre which was already taller than my trees!?
Thus if they were really looking for more light then surely they would be cutting their trees too!? It is also worth mentioning that whilst the trees are 10 feet or so away from my house, it is a goof 40 feet or more away from the neighbours house at the bottom for their garden where they have their own high trees and a large shed butted up agains the hedge and boundary, so it is not as if the branches were encroaching into space they were using.
I feel that I have just as much right to stick a saw two feet over the boundary and fell their 30 foot high trees to a height I so desire - that right is none!
I would not even have minded if they had contacted me first to explain thier plans or even ask if I could reshape or reduce the height and I would have got a professional to do it properly.
I have read the laws with regard to this, and it is indeed trespass in encroaching onto my property to cut the trees, theft of the branches, and criminal damage. I will only go anywhere near that route however if all amicable solutions cannot be found. However I will stand my ground if the damage is not repaired.
Thanks very much for people who have posted links or emailed me personally with offers of help, I really appreciate it, also if anyone has anything else as useful to add, thanks in advance!
Thanks for everyone who has contributed. I realise that Leylandii are not to everyones taste, and to be frank if i could swap them for another tree I would, but they were there when I bought the house and I enjoy the privacy. It is also worth mentioning that although the hedge is about 12-14 ft high, it is only about two to three feet thick. I have checked the other side of the hedge with the other neighbours and the branches have never encroached more than a foot over the boundary. Which makes no difference whatsoever at the end of a 40ft garden behind a shed.
My main point is that in fact where they have cut the trees back most harshly is an area which they cannot see from their house or garden because it is obscured by a tall birch tre which was already taller than my trees!?
Thus if they were really looking for more light then surely they would be cutting their trees too!? It is also worth mentioning that whilst the trees are 10 feet or so away from my house, it is a goof 40 feet or more away from the neighbours house at the bottom for their garden where they have their own high trees and a large shed butted up agains the hedge and boundary, so it is not as if the branches were encroaching into space they were using.
I feel that I have just as much right to stick a saw two feet over the boundary and fell their 30 foot high trees to a height I so desire - that right is none!
I would not even have minded if they had contacted me first to explain thier plans or even ask if I could reshape or reduce the height and I would have got a professional to do it properly.
I have read the laws with regard to this, and it is indeed trespass in encroaching onto my property to cut the trees, theft of the branches, and criminal damage. I will only go anywhere near that route however if all amicable solutions cannot be found. However I will stand my ground if the damage is not repaired.
Thanks very much for people who have posted links or emailed me personally with offers of help, I really appreciate it, also if anyone has anything else as useful to add, thanks in advance!
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