I'm having some problems with my neighbour and created an account to hopefully get an impartial view from you. I'd be grateful for your feedback.
Approximately five years ago a new neighbour moved next-door to me and inherited a garden that was a bit of a mess. We'd had problems with the previous neighbours garden in that the trees at the foot of the garden overhung quite badly into ours. In the end the we managed to get them to cut them back, but the problems haven't stopped.
Now the same trees are so high that they are blocking the sunlight from getting into my garden in the morning. I'd like to be able to enjoy breakfast in the summer sun from the comfort of my own garden, but can't because of the height and the fact that they are covered in ivy.
Rather than going through the courts, I approached my neighbour and explained the situation and he said he'd go away and look into it. They weekend he came back and said that he'd gotten quotes, but said that he wanted me to pay half!
I told him how in no uncertain terms how ridiculous it would be for me to have to pay for his trees to be fixed when its him that's causing the problem. Especially since I'm on a single income and they are both young professionals with no children.
What are your thoughts? AIBU?
AIBU?
To ask the man next door to cut down his trees
FeynmanDiagram · 08/05/2013 18:27
sock
SugarPasteGreyhound has a 30 foot leylandii hedge less than 10 feet from my living room window. 
He also has my sympathies 
SugerPasteGreyhound.
It sounds like you have it under control. It does make sense to give a little of the money to your neighbour.
It is nice of you. 
debs75
Oh, I name changed for another thread but I am iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii .
It sounds like your Mums nieghbours trees may come under the High Hedge Legislation. How close to the house are they? Have you had a read of the UK.Gov leaflet that I referred to earlier. It is not a complicated process and the mere talk of it my be enough to encourage your nieghbour to do something. It's a real common sense bit of legislation as to what is reaonable.
Can you post any photos?
Oh dear, that is really, really close 
.
The following are examples of the type of things that may determine whether the high hedge laws can be used:
Does your Mum have windows along the side of her house that are badly effected by loss of light.
Does debris from the trees block your mothers gutters?
Do the trees make her garden unusable in places?
The fact that the trees may be causing subsidence or damage to the drains etc is NOT covered by the High Hedge Laws.
You could contact the citizens advice bureau for more info, especially with regard to how to show that you have tried your best to sort this out amicably.
You local Council may offer a reduction in the High Hedge Legislation Application if your Mum is on a low wage etc
REMEMBER. The leylandii will only get bigger! The problem will continue to get worse. 
Good luck.
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Deb75
Those trees are really overbearing and UGLY. I am NOT professionally qualified but I would think your mother would have a good chance of getting something done about them under the a high Hedge Legislation.
Firstly, are you sure the hedge is planted wholly on your mothers nieghbours land?
Are you in England?
Your mother needs to take 'resonable steps' to sort this out herself. She could send a polite letter to the neighbour. (She should refer to any previous requests for the neighbour to reduce the height of the trees). She should send it recorded delivery and She should keep a copy.
She should mention how it is affecting her 'reasonable enjoyment' of her home AND garden. Including loss of light etc etc.
The citizens Advice bureau may be able to help with this stage of the process.
It's likely that the owner of the house knows that he has to do something about the trees and is just waiting for his hand to be forced. Hopefully, he will cut the trees to a reasonable size at this stage.
If the neighbour doesn't do anything then your mother can approach her council. If she goes in person, armed with lots of photos she may be able to get some indication as to whether an application under the High Hedge Legislation is likely to be effective. (She has to hope to speak to a sympathetic person ).
She then needs to submit her application. This is easy, the council will give her the forms and tell her what to do. If your mum is on a low incomes he may not have to pay the full fee for the application. The fees vary a lot from council to council.
I have cut and pasted the following statement from the official Government Guidelines given to local Authorities on the High Hedge Legislation (they are easy to follow even though they are not intended for members of the public).
The role of the Council is to act as an independent and impartial third party. They do not negotiate or mediate between individuals but will adjudicate on whether the hedge is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of the complainant?s property
The high hedge legislation relates just to the height of the hedge (obviously .). The roots and the width of the hedge are not considered. The fact that the height of the trees make the house dark and enclosed is considered. It is an informal process and not comparable with going to court.
Sorry, I have rambled on a bit . The thing to remember is that the trees are only going to get BIGGER so your mum should seriously think about doing something about them as they are not going to go away on their own.
I would be interested to know what you plan to do.
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