Overgrown trees blocking light.

feckthisgenie

Hi looking for some advice. In recent years the trees growing at the botton of our neighbours garden which which backs onto our garden just separated by a thin fence ( trees planted their side and over spilling onto our side) have gotten out of hand. I am currently doing some work at my house and am going to cut the trees growing on our side but was also thinking of lowering the trees at the same time. My question is, do I need to clear this with the house the other side (owners). I don't know these people as their in a different estate it's just both gardens back onto each other. Surely I have a right to lower them as it's impacting on my light. Thanks in advance

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

My understanding of the law is that you may only cut the branches of their trees overhanging your property.

The simplest thing is to call to the neighbour and discuss your issues. They may well agree to topping the trees but you need to discuss it with them.

alannah8

Yes do discuss this with them. Its the neighbourly thing to do and they may be delighted or they may be really concerned. Have a look at my thread. I have just lost all my privacy due to neighbours being inconsiderate.

Hang on...do you mean lower the height of THEIR trees? No that is illegal and you could find yourself in a huge amount of trouble!

Polo_Mint

Op. Invite the neighbour around on a nice day to actually show them the issue. It's easier to discuss

feckthisgenie

Morgan Clever Racket wrote: »

My understanding of the law is that you may only cut the branches of their trees overhanging your property.

The simplest thing is to call to the neighbour and discuss your issues. They may well agree to topping the trees but you need to discuss it with them.

Cheers Morgan Clever Racket,probably just cut my side and tidy them up. Don't know the people as it's a different estate. I understand and appreciate it's a privacy issue but they need a bit of cope on and maintain them like "a good neighbour"

CJmasgrande

I have similar issue but my neighbour owns the site and its vacant no housecoat ever built on it yet.

Two years ago I met the owner who was cutting the grass and I highlighted the issue. He is a farmer who lives somewhere else said at the time he was planning on cutting them the following September and he agreed to cut mine as well and I offered to pay.

So two years later nothing was ever done and my home is being engulfed by 50 feet high lilandai trees

Teyla Emmagan

You can't top their trees (are you joking?) but you can cut back any branches that come into your garden. Go on and talk to them they may agree to having some of the height taken off.

Hoof Hearted2

While technically you are allowed to cut branches that overhang your property, doing so without consulting the owners is an ideal way to piss them off.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

feckthisgenie wrote: »

Cheers Srameen,probably just cut my side and tidy them up. Don't know the people as it's a different estate. I understand and appreciate it's a privacy issue but they need a bit of cope on and maintain them like "a good neighbour"

That's no reason no to call round, introduce yourself, and have a friendly chat about it. They may well have no problem with the trees being properly topped. In fact, they may welcome it.

Oldtree

what happens if you cut down your neighbour's trees?

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/man-to-pay-neighbour-50-000-for-cutting-down-his-trees-1.2626373

From Tree Councils webpage on tree law
http://treecouncil.ie/tree-advice/trees-law/

My neighbour’s tree is overhanging into my garden. Do I have the right to prune back the branches?
A landowner may cut off any tree branches which over-hangs his/her property without giving notice to the owner of the tree, but may not cut down the tree or enter on to the land of the tree owner without permission. In so doing, the landowner must take care not to render the tree dangerous and may only cut on the side of and up to his/her boundary line. It is unlawful to ring bark or otherwise injure trees in such a manner as to cause them to die or decay. All cuttings must be given back to the owner of the tree, or at least offered back. If the owner of the tree doesn’t want the cuttings, they must be disposed of in a responsible way and should not be left in the tree owner’s property without permission.

My neighbour’s tree/hedge is far too high – what can I do?
There are no height limits for either hedges or trees and there is no legislation currently available in Ireland to enforce a height restriction.

A tree outside my house blocks the light in my garden, do I have a right to light?
Right to light is a specific and complex legal matter and you should seek independent advice on this. A right to light exists only if the owner of a house can satisfy a court that he or she has enjoyed the uninterrupted use of that light for a period of greater than 20 years, before any legal action is brought about the light. This however, only applies to the windows of a property and not to a garden.

feckthisgenie

Hoof Hearted2 wrote: »

While technically you are allowed to cut branches that overhang your property, doing so without consulting the owners is an ideal way to piss them off.

To be honest it wouldn't worry me to piss of a stranger i have never met and wouldn't have any other dealing with. Technically they arent neighbors ,different estate . if decide to just cut my side and not top them in keeping within the law then i probably wont bother consulting them afterall I'm not obliged to by law

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

feckthisgenie wrote: »

To be honest it wouldn't worry me to piss of a stranger i have never met and wouldn't have any other dealing with. Technically they arent neighbors ,different estate . if decide to just cut my side and not top them in keeping within the law then i probably wont bother consulting them afterall I'm not obliged to by law

You keep saying that they are not neighbours but your gardens are back to back, so you are neighbours. Just talk to them about it.

Oldtree

feckthisgenie wrote: »

To be honest it wouldn't worry me to piss of a stranger i have never met and wouldn't have any other dealing with. Technically they arent neighbors ,different estate . if decide to just cut my side and not top them in keeping within the law then i probably wont bother consulting them afterall I'm not obliged to by law

You must also be careful that when cutting/pruning a neighbours tree, that the cutting/pruning does not lead to the demise of the tree, as you could then be liable for damages.

It really is best to have a chat.

magicbastarder

feckthisgenie wrote: »

I understand and appreciate it's a privacy issue but they need a bit of cope on and maintain them like "a good neighbour"

you seem to be insisting that the people living behind you should be good neighbours, but then are dismissing any responsibility you have to them as you're not a neighbour to them? it's not a one-way relationship.

Hoof Hearted2

feckthisgenie wrote: »

To be honest it wouldn't worry me to piss of a stranger i have never met and wouldn't have any other dealing with. Technically they arent neighbors ,different estate . if decide to just cut my side and not top them in keeping within the law then i probably wont bother consulting them afterall I'm not obliged to by law

Good luck with that, sounds like ye live in a lovely estate.

shaunr68

Go and speak to him. I was in a similar situation at my previous house, only the tree was mine and overhanging two neighbouring gardens, leaving them in shade much of the day. One of the neighbours came and had a friendly chat about it, I honestly had no idea but I said I'd sort it and had someone come out and take 12 ft off the top of the tree and thin it out.

Now strictly speaking I needn't have gone to the expense and could have told him to cut the overhang off himself, but thought as it was my tree the responsibility should fall to me. Small expense, worth it in the long run to keep things sweet with the neighbours - do you know how much neighbour disputes can cost...

If you're all adults you can resolve this sort of thing amicably, though your attitude from post #11 seems to indicate that you don't really care about being neighbourly.

feckthisgenie

shaunr68 wrote: »

Go and speak to him. I was in a similar situation at my previous house, only the tree was mine and overhanging two neighbouring gardens, leaving them in shade much of the day. One of the neighbours came and had a friendly chat about it, I honestly had no idea but I said I'd sort it and had someone come out and take 12 ft off the top of the tree and thin it out.

Now strictly speaking I needn't have gone to the expense and could have told him to cut the overhang off himself, but thought as it was my tree the responsibility should fall to me. Small expense, worth it in the long run to keep things sweet with the neighbours - do you know how much neighbour disputes can cost...

If you're all adults you can resolve this sort of thing amicably, though your attitude from post #11 seems to indicate that you don't really care about being neighbourly.

Suppose you're right a friendly chat can do no harm.

Discodog

feckthisgenie wrote: »

Suppose you're right a friendly chat can do no harm.

I would chat about the height but I wouldn't ask permission to cut branches on my side. What happens if you have overhanging, overgrown branches ? You ask & he says no maybe because it will spoil the shape of his trees.

I get this a lot over the years. I have been asked & offered cash to kill a neighbours tree.

Oldtree

Discodog wrote: »

I would chat about the height but I wouldn't ask permission to cut branches on my side. What happens if you have overhanging, overgrown branches ? You ask & he says no maybe because it will spoil the shape of his trees.

I get this a lot over the years. I have been asked & offered cash to kill a neighbours tree.

You don't have to ask to prune tree branches overhanging your garden, but it is polite to inform the neighbour that you are doing the pruning and offer the prunings back to them as it's their property. That would also open up an avenue to discuss reducing the height of the trees, perhaps leading to them taking responsibility for the trees nuisance and doing the reduction themselves or cost sharing. But if they are adamant about the height there is little to do.

How they feel about the shape if the tree is irrelevant and the neighbour should have thought about that before planting the tree or discussed the trees future with you before planting a tree that would encroach on your property over time causing you a nuisance.

If you kill a neighbours tree then you are liable for the damage caused.

SCOL

Find out what they is like first have they caused problems in the estate in the past. Don't ask for permission, seek forgiveness !!!!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

SCOL wrote: »

. Don't ask for permission, seek forgiveness !!!!

That is the worst advice ever. If you are topping someone else's trees you MUST ask permission. That glib old phrase is pointless where the law is concerned.

Discodog

Usually the owner allows their trees to get so big that it costs a lot to reduce them & it's hard to do without spoiling the shape.

I visited a garden where the tree owner was considering being a good neighbour until he was given a price. A lot of the bigger trees were planted by previous owners & they didn't have neighbouring houses.

Oldtree

There's an awful lot of that Discodog, its not cheap to get tree work done by a reputable arborist/tree surgeon who has insurance.

Topping will always spoil the shape of a tree imo and given that in general a tree will respond by trying to rebalance its roots to its shoots, it will soon shoot back to the size it was. It may be best in that case to remove the tree and replace with a more suitable tree. But there are cases where retention is preferable for various reasons, it must be accompanied by a management plan, as the topping leaves behind avenues of decay and weak points where then new shoots come from at the top.

The right tree for the right place

some mad men in the '70s thought it was a good idea to plant leylandii interspersed with poplar in medium sized gardens :rolleyes:

magicbastarder

SCOL wrote: »

Don't ask for permission, seek forgiveness !!!!

from who, a judge?