Neighbours and the Garden!

snowgal · 31-07-2019 7:09pm #1

Hi all, just looking for advice/opinions on this please. We are renting a house in an estate at the moment. We’ve been there nearly ten years and have never had any issues with the neighbours except for one thing. On our side of the fence there are bushes growing the whole way down along the Boundry both in the front and back garden. Last year we came home One day to find all of the trimmings from the neighbours side thrown over our fence scattered around the front of the house. Didn’t say anything about this at the time. Then about six weeks ago we got our back garden done by a friend of ours who is Gardener. He just did the usual cutting back on a lot of things that are grown over the winter. The neighbour came out that morning and told him he needed to come in and also cut the bushes on his side which he did on our charge. He cleared up the whole place and went on about his business. That evening the neighbour called my husband into the garden to say that was about an inch left back which he wasn’t happy with my husband said that he had done what the neighbour asked and for us the job is done. Then yesterday evening we come home and discovered that again he has cut back all the bushes on his side and also hacked at a lovely tree at the back of the garden ( his choice of course) and just literally fecked everything over the fence and into our garden without a word. Is this normal? I understand that as such that it is our property that’s obviously growing into his garden but he didn’t even mention it or anything just threw everything over. Any opinion appreciated, cheers

refusetolose · 31-07-2019 7:11pm

snowgal wrote: »

Hi all, just looking for advice/opinions on this please. We are renting a house in an estate at the moment. We’ve been there nearly ten years and have never had any issues with the neighbours except for one thing. On our side of the fence there are bushes growing the whole way down along the Boundry both in the front and back garden.

Last year we came home One day to find all of the trimmings from the neighbours side thrown over our fence scattered around the front of the house. Didn’t say anything about this at the time. Then about six weeks ago we got our back garden done by a friend of ours who is Gardener. He just did the usual cutting back on a lot of things that are grown over the winter. The neighbour came out that morning and told him he needed to come in and also cut the bushes on his side which he did on our charge. He cleared up the whole place and went on about his business.

That evening the neighbour called my husband into the garden to say that was about an inch left back which he wasn’t happy with my husband said that he had done what the neighbour asked and for us the job is done. Then yesterday evening we come home and discovered that again he has cut back all the bushes on his side and also hacked at a lovely tree at the back of the garden ( his choice of course) and just literally fecked everything over the fence and into our garden without a word.

Is this normal? I understand that as such that it is our property that’s obviously growing into his garden but he didn’t even mention it or anything just threw everything over. Any opinion appreciated, cheers

....

Gumbo · 31-07-2019 7:11pm

He legally has to throw it back over onto your side. But he could have been civil bout it and told you he was doing it.

Maybe, you could keep on top of the bushes and trim them before they get onto his property.

snowgal · 31-07-2019 7:13pm

kceire wrote: »

He legally has to throw it back over onto your side. But he could have been civil bout it and told you he was doing it.

Maybe, you could keep on top of the bushes and trim them before they get onto his property.

Really, genuinely didn’t know that, hence the thread. Will look into it, cheers

Charlie19 · 31-07-2019 7:15pm

I wouldn't go about it in that fashion myself but afaik he is well within his right to cut any bush/branch that is on his property and throw it back onto the property it comes from.

snowgal · 31-07-2019 7:16pm

refusetolose wrote: »

....

Thank you for that useful input

refusetolose · 31-07-2019 7:21pm

snowgal wrote: »

Thank you for that useful input

most welcome

snowgal · 31-07-2019 7:22pm

kceire wrote: »

He legally has to throw it back over onto your side. But he could have been civil bout it and told you he was doing it.

Maybe, you could keep on top of the bushes and trim them before they get onto his property.

I just a quick look online and found this

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.

31-07-2019 7:33pm

Charlie19 wrote: »

I wouldn't go about it in that fashion myself but afaik he is well within his right to cut any bush/branch that is on his property and throw it back onto the property it comes from.

I think that he has to offer the cuttings back. They don’t have to be accepted.

antix80 · 31-07-2019 7:41pm

You already know the bushes are overhanging in his garden.
He could have been nicer about it and it's nuts he didn't bring it up with you.. but he can strip them right back to the boundary if he wants.
Keep them out of his garden and you won't have any more problems.

Marcusm · 31-07-2019 7:47pm

kceire wrote: »

He legally has to throw it back over onto your side. But he could have been civil bout it and told you he was doing it.

Maybe, you could keep on top of the bushes and trim them before they get onto his property.

No; the neighbour needs to offer them back to you. Merely throwing them over the wall is littering.

snowgal · 31-07-2019 7:52pm

antix80 wrote: »

You already know the bushes are overhanging in his garden.
He could have been nicer about it and it's nuts he didn't bring it up with you.. but he can strip them right back to the boundary if he wants.
Keep them out of his garden and you won't have any more problems.

Well we can’t really see tbh (these are 8ft prob, trees, evergreens, rather than little hedges) but regardless there’s no problem with him cutting them back, in fact as I said, our friend actually did that for him when he was there. The issue is him since then pegging everything over the fence at the end of the garden without so much as letting us know...

Supercell · 31-07-2019 7:57pm

Sounds horrible, on our road we all look after the hedges on our side and that's pretty much it. The old lady that lives alone beside me on the left prefers the hedge taller than I'd like it but I'm happy to keep the peace and trim it at her preferred height even though its a bit of a PITA with the ladder. On the other side my neighbor likes it at chest height (my preference too as no ladder needed) so I cut my side that high up. Nobody goes throwing stuff over into each others gardens, that's just disrespectful in my opinion.

Telly · 31-07-2019 7:58pm

snowgal wrote: »

Well we can’t really see tbh (these are 8ft prob, trees, evergreens, rather than little hedges) but regardless there’s no problem with him cutting them back, in fact as I said, our friend actually did that for him when he was there. The issue is him since then pegging everything over the fence at the end of the garden without so much as letting us know...

Why should he let you know tho? Your trees/bushes are on his property. I think you’re bang out of order for not keeping them out.

snowgal · 31-07-2019 8:04pm

Maybe... I’ve honestly never lived anywhere where the neighbours would come in and say hey we want to see if our trees are over hanging in your garden and we’ll come in and cut them. We would just look after that from our own side if they bothered us...which tbh they didn’t or don’t. On the other side we have some trees over hanging from the neighbours but I wouldnt think of chopping them and throwing over their fence tbh.

punisher5112 · 31-07-2019 8:08pm

At least he cuts them as many don't and there is a garden at the back of me with grass that's is so thick and at least 3 to 4 foot.....

Hasn't been looked after for quite some time and funny earlier seen a young teen out with a dog and the dog disappeared....

antix80 · 31-07-2019 8:11pm

snowgal wrote: »

Well we can’t really see tbh (these are 8ft prob, trees, evergreens, rather than little hedges) but

Yuck.
I'd guess your neighbour remembers when they were planted. Now they're massive trees crowding out his garden and blocking his view and his light.
Whoever planted them was the bad neighbour!

ted1 · 31-07-2019 9:22pm

Was he in the wrong ? No.
Was he being a dick? Yes

Caranica · 31-07-2019 9:26pm

ted1 wrote: »

Was he in the wrong ? No.
Was he being a dick? Yes

He WAS in the wrong. He has to OFFER the cuttings back to the OP but the OP does not have to accept them. Fecking them over into the OP's garden is not legal.

ted1 · 31-07-2019 9:30pm

Caranica wrote: »

He WAS in the wrong. He has to OFFER the cuttings back to the OP but the OP does not have to accept them. Fecking them over into the OP's garden is not legal.

Link to the SI please.
“Offer” doesn’t sound like a legal term. From your post it could be interrupted as the the op owns them but if the neighbour wants to keep
Then he has to get permission first.

antix80 · 31-07-2019 9:47pm

ted1 wrote: »

Link to the SI please.
“Offer” doesn’t sound like a legal term. From your post it could be interrupted as the the op owns them but if the neighbour wants to keep
Then he has to get permission first.

This seems to be true and I'd love to see the SI rather than just that tree lover link posted earlier. I reckon courts must have decided the precedent over the years.

Seems that if a tree overhangs your property, you may trim the bit on your property as long as it doesn't kill the tree. You're responsible for disposing of the waste.
If the tree has fruit or it's a nice shrub and you'd like a cutting.. well in that case you need the owner's permission to keep it. Yet leaves that fall in the garden is your responsibility to clean.

It's one thing for a pre-existing apple tree but if a neighbour planted giant conifers near my boundary I'd poison them at the roots.

Caranica · 31-07-2019 9:53pm

https://treecouncil.ie/tree-advice/trees-law/

It's under Trees and the law on the Tree Council website.

snowgal · 31-07-2019 10:02pm

antix80 wrote: »

This seems to be true and I'd love to see the SI rather than just that tree lover link posted earlier. I reckon courts must have decided the precedent over the years.

Seems that if a tree overhangs your property, you may trim the bit on your property as long as it doesn't kill the tree. You're responsible for disposing of the waste.
If the tree has fruit or it's a nice shrub and you'd like a cutting.. well in that case you need the owner's permission to keep it. Yet leaves that fall in the garden is your responsibility to clean.

It's one thing for a pre-existing apple tree but if a neighbour planted giant conifers near my boundary I'd poison them at the roots.

The quote I posted earlier is from tree council of Ireland and is covered as a legal act under local government policy if that means anything... Were renting so obviously we didn’t plant them. We spoke to landlord after the first time he had thrown everything in front lawn ( to see if this was some kind of issue before we moved in) and they said that he had no problem with trees being planted and actually welcomed the idea as there would be more privacy so again that is not the issue.

snowgal · 31-07-2019 10:06pm

antix80 wrote: »

Yuck.
I'd guess your neighbour remembers when they were planted. Now they're massive trees crowding out his garden and blocking his view and his light.
Whoever planted them was the bad neighbour!

No blocking view or light!! I’ll try post a pic, his view is simply side on to our garden... again off topic anyway. He has no issue with the trees, light or view. The topic is throwing all the waste over the fence without at least telling us.

ted1 · 31-07-2019 10:09pm

Caranica wrote: »

https://treecouncil.ie/tree-advice/trees-law/

It's under Trees and the law on the Tree Council website.

Have they the power to make legislation? The RSA often make statements which are misinterpreting of actual law

Leilak · 31-07-2019 10:15pm

good for him

BarryD2 · 31-07-2019 10:16pm

snowgal wrote: »

Maybe... I’ve honestly never lived anywhere where the neighbours would come in and say hey we want to see if our trees are over hanging in your garden and we’ll come in and cut them. We would just look after that from our own side if they bothered us...which tbh they didn’t or don’t. On the other side we have some trees over hanging from the neighbours but I wouldnt think of chopping them and throwing over their fence tbh.

I'd say your neighbour comes across as a bit odd. But sure then it takes all sorts to make up the world and odd people have a right to exist as well. If it twas me, I'd just ask them now & then if the trees/ bushes are getting a bit long and offer to cut them.

antix80 · 31-07-2019 10:21pm

snowgal wrote: »

No blocking view or light!! I’ll try post a pic, his view is simply side on to our garden... again off topic anyway. He has no issue with the trees, light or view. The topic is throwing all the waste over the fence without at least telling us.

I meant yuck because they're conifers.. ugly trees. Way off topic haha

He's really odd for throwing the waste back... Is it in a pile or scattered over the place? Either way.. just give them a good prune back from his side and take away the branches and he should be happy enough.

snowgal · 31-07-2019 10:25pm

BarryD2 wrote: »

I'd say your neighbour comes across as a bit odd. But sure then it takes all sorts to make up the world and odd people have a right to exist as well. If it twas me, I'd just ask them now & then if the trees/ bushes are getting a bit long and offer to cut them.

Well yes we did that a few weeks ago, well our friend who’s a Gardener did it for him when doing our garden ( he told him to do his side when he was there) which is why the situation is a bit more annoying...

snowgal · 31-07-2019 10:27pm

antix80 wrote: »

I meant yuck because they're conifers.. ugly trees. Way off topic haha

He's really odd for throwing the waste back... Is it in a pile or scattered over the place? Either way.. just give them a good prune back from his side and take away the branches and he should be happy enough.

Well yea they’re not the prettiest but obviously we didn’t chose! Yea I have a pic of his side from the day our friend did the work but not sure if it should be posted...

antix80 · 31-07-2019 10:37pm

It's fine. No need to post
My neighbour tree is over 15ft tall and a branches overhangs well into my garden.
The other day he offered to cut it. For some reason i hadn't even noticed it! I told him not to worry but if any apples or oranges grow on it I get to keep them. Seriously though little communication goes a long way.
Something you don't even notice could be making your neighbours life a misery even though you'd easily rectify it if you knew.

Neighbours and the Garden!

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