How would I go about asking a neighbour to cut their trees and is their any legal standing?
Posted by Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 25 comments
Want to start by saying I really like the trees and don’t want them cut down, just the top off. However, they are very tall and at this time of year we probably lose just under 3 hours of sun in the garden in the evening. I wouldn’t mind just asking but the issue is they live in an older house further down a hill and we live further up in a newbuild estate but their garden comes all the way up to the boundary of the estate. So we don’t actually live on the same road, not even sure where they access their house. I think in estates there’s some
Rule about how tall trees etc can be for blocking your neighbours light, but they aren’t actually in the estate. Help please :)
VolcanicBear@reddit
My neighbour said to me "would you mind pruning your tree? It's completely blocking natural light for our front room."
Seemed a reasonable request, so I got someone to prune our tree.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
I think so to. It’s really hard to explain without seeing it. But its really 2 trees almost above their garden, so wouldn’t actually effect them
combabulated@reddit
You don’t know what will affect them, you haven’t been to their house and aren’t sure where their front door is.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
That’s a fair point but I more mean not removing trees from their garden. Like landscaping wise would not effect them, they have a big plot of land and their house is the opposite end from the trees, never seen them come up as far as here
combabulated@reddit
Have you been in their house and on their property and seen the trees from your neighbor’s perspective?
Sirlacker@reddit
You go on Google maps, you press the blue circle button to find yourself. Then you look at the house to that you're having the issue with, and then you find out what fucking road it's on.
Then you adult the fuck up and knock on and say "Hey, I'm just knocking on about the tree in your garden. It's very nice but I'm just wondering if we can come to some agreement so that just the top of it can be trimmed down a little as I'm losing a few hours of sun in the evening.".
It genuinely baffles me how you can fathom out how to use Reddit and post this question but cannot figure out how to find out where your damn neighbour lives and ask a simple question.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
Yep, didn’t say I don’t know where they live, just know they don’t access it through the same road as us. Also if you read I said I don’t mind asking, so 0/2 for you there. My question was around the rules of it if we had a legal say in it as estate neighbours have to abide by height restrictions and as their garden borders ours do the same rules apply.
Have a quick read of that, maybe then a few more times just so you understand, then if you have a helpful answer you should comment again. Thank you
Sirlacker@reddit
That doesn't read like you know you where they live. Also the fact you haven't asked proves you don't want to ask.
"Not even sure where they access their house". Please read that and tell me that sounds like you know where they live.
Also, nobody fucking knows your estates tree laws here. Also if it's in their property and their property isn't part of your new estate, your estate laws do not come into question, like literally at all. Your estate boundaries end somewhere, and by the sounds of it one of the boundary lines is their garden, so even if you could only have a max of 10ft trees, he might be able to grow a fucking Giant Sequoia 50m high and there is absolutely jack shit you can do about it.
The best you're gonna do is get off your arse and speak to them. Not come to Reddit and seek advice that someone that isn't bound by your rules isn't following your rules and can you take legal action against them.
I mean who the fuck wants to take a legal route before speaking to the property owner anyway?
I would not touch the tree with my own two hands, I would not hire someone to trim it down without the owners explicit permission. I'm warning you now tree laws are not to be fucked with and are EXPENSIVE as fuck.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
Someone is enjoying the bank holiday weekend a bit much 😂😂 are you okay? I would obviously ask them first, I mean if there was an issue do the height rules apply to people that overlap the estate. If you don’t know it’s okay, other people have been very helpful
EcstaticAdvance684@reddit
You don't is the simple answer the trees probably block all the noise from your newbuild estate.which im sure they were thrilled about being built at the bottom of there garden.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
All the noise coming from 30 foot in the air yea? Just the top few feet of the trees for when the sun is setting 😂
EcstaticAdvance684@reddit
Sorry to say this but yes tall trees and hedges work very well at blocking sound especially in the situation you described as them being downhill.plus if you trim the top a few feet as you suggested they will become wider as they have been topped and will grow 2 more branches rather than the 1 you just cut.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
Hard to explain without seeing it in person but their house is way down the way, our houses are really far apart and the trees are so far up a hill it’s hardly even in their garden. Then from our fence which must be around 6ft their trees would be about 5 stories up 😂 huge huge trees. There’s also a Forrest then to the other side of us that the council gave to keep the trees in check because of a phone wire, which also made me think maybe it would be easy enough to take a bit off. Talking bee minimal cut. But the way we face these 2 trees are the perfect height to block the evening sun
EcstaticAdvance684@reddit
Then if it is such a huge issue in the 1st place why move there? Honestly you sound like a huge group of people who decided during covid they wanted to move to villages all over the country then complain about the tractors and church bells.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
Lived very close to here previously and only Moved a year ago. We also aren’t the first owners of the house it was just once upon a time a brand new estate
poo_on_my_scarf@reddit
My neighbours came to ask the same thing a while back. The pine trees on the fence line were filling their gutters so they asked if they could pay to have them taken down in height and thinned out. Had no issues at all. But then I'm out on a small holding and the trees are at least 100m from my house so a little different potentially
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
I think would be quite similar, the trees are far from their house and up a hill, they don’t even come up to that part of their garden if it even is in their garden. The lower parts overhang our fence which I don’t Mind I trim a tiny bit in case of a storm but actually like how they look. It’s just the top In the evening unfortunately
poo_on_my_scarf@reddit
Oh in that case crack on and ask. If you have a good relationship with them there shouldn't be an issue
Dazzling_Evidence_19@reddit
My trees were blocking a neighbour's light and he asked if HE could trim them .I said yes and he trimmed them.
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
Yea would be more this or I’d pay
Novel-Case6821@reddit
Legally, I don't know. You could have a look at their titles and burdens etc plus the ones that border them but first off, maybe go and have a chat to explain politely what you'd like?
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
Yea think that’s the plan, I’d like To think they wouldn’t have an issue the trees are huge so a bit of the top surely wouldn’t hurt. But it is just in case they don’t want to I suppose. Really hope wouldn’t get to that though :)
Optimal_Collection77@reddit
Knock and ask VERY politely. If they say no or tell you to piss off, leave it alone and forget about it
Expensive-Chain-7927@reddit (OP)
Think I’ll try this. We would also be the ones paying for it, but think this would be the only option really to get it started
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