Neighbour asking for unreasonable amount towards a tree.

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I have a long garden that attaches to a garden at the bottom from a house 5 doors awa, but split by a thick hedge. The majority of my garden runs along side my direct neighbours house, but our garden and the garden of the house 5 doors away are long and 'kind of' circle the 4 houses' gardens inbetween.

My dh and I were clearing old trees and bushes from our garden as it was really shabby. We topped a number of large evergreens and removed 4 pine large trees and cut back shrubs etc.

There was a 6 foot tree in the middle of the thick hedge at the bottom of the garden that was bent over and collapsing. My dh cut out the tree.

The neighbours 5 doors away were hysterical. They moved to the house about 6 months ago. The woman came over crying because we had removed all the trees and topped others. It has opened up her view to houses, where as before her view was of green trees.

All the evergreen trees were in our garden and we were well in our right to remove them. However, the 6 foot tree in the middle of the hedge she claims was her tree and it was an 'arch' not bent from collapsing.

We apologised (even though we didn't think it was 'her' tree) and said that we really thought it was collapsing and would replace the tree. We offered her £150 towards a new tree.

Her husband came round shouting the odds and my dh felt physically threatened, even thought the guy was going to punch him. They said that they wanted a new tree that was over 3 metres tall, which cost £320. As we don't want to fall out we agreed to the higher amount. Even though it was not a like for like replacement.

Now they are asking us to pay for it to be dug in and they want it in a different position (not in the middle of the hedge at the bottom of our respective gardens), but higher up. This will cost us well over £500 in total.

We know that they want the new tree bigger and in a different position so to block the view of the houses that they can now see because we removed and topped pine trees that we were well in our right to remove in our garden.

We have agreed to the additional cost but I feel really aggrieved. We agreed so to keep the peace. But even after bending over backward to their demands, they are still being really grumpy and rude to us.

I am so upset by this situation. I don't know what to do.

You can't tell which is your boundary without checking the deeds.

I own two houses. First one my boundary is at the bottom and the one on the right. Next house its at the bottom and on the left.

OP, you have to stop being reasonable with these people, it sounds to me as if you have come across a known anti social personality type. Best protection is to get this logged with the police, get CCTV and no longer engage with them. You work from a win win, they work from a win loose point of view, you will always loose with them do don't engage.

And you can withdraw the offer if the deeds back you up. Politely say that you've checked the deeds and realised it was your hedge, you've taken advice and realise that you are under no obligation.

Dh agreed with next door to go halves on a replacement fence. Wasn't our boundary but he felt bamboozled into it and was being polite. I was round that evening. Sorry, not our fence therefore we won't be going halves. Neighbour was surprised but we haven't fallen out.

And surely if you're replacing a hedge/tree you put it back in the same place? Not where they want it on the path?

They're taking the piss and are probably laughing their heads off about how much you keep agreeing to. £500 is on average a fortnight a wages. Do you really want to work for two weeks and hand ver your earnings to them?

If you feel you have to contribute in order to restore the peace then stick to your original offer and do just that.

Come on, don't be bullied into landscaping their garden just because of rumour and hearsay of what happened in their last village. Write to them and say that you will be contributing £150 as initially proposed due to the ambiguity of tree ownership (if you own the pine trees then surely you own the tree in the middle). Include a cheque and dont whatever you do give them cash.

It inst a like for like replacement and if it was then you wouldn't be buying a different tree and having it planted in a different place.

Seriously check the deeds and if it was your tree simply withdraw the offer.

Check your deeds to see where your boundary is. It will vary from place to place - our last house it was on the left, this house is on the right.

But if you do replace then only replace like for like - so same type and size of tree in the same position or as near to as possible.

Wait, they want you to replace a tree that may not even be theirs with a different, bigger one that they want in a different place? They are taking the piss. Check your deeds and if you are wrong, get them a hawthorn the same size.

Don't give them anything. It was nice of you to offer to replace the tree but it's your garden and you can do what you like with it. I would withdraw the offer on principle because of their rudeness, it's actually outrageous cheek

If your tree it's up to you if you can stand the aggro

I would have spoken to them first, and reached mutually acceptable agreement, for a quiet life, personally.

if you cut down their trees, you need to replace them

if you cut down your trees, up to you

if it was a shared boundary hedge then it was a bit rude to chop it all down, but they sound worse

tell them as they are still being unpleasant despite your best efforts, you are not going to pay up and will be mentioning the fall out to the community police

I'd love to tell them to fuck off, but honestly - I'd send them a cheque for £350 and a letter worded somehow to make it clear that for the sake of neighbourly relations you will pay for a tree but that if they want to reposition it that is their cost.

I actually see their point of view slightly - but that's no reason to be outrageous knobheads.

They sound like real chancers btw, but tbh I wouldn't let their reputation worry you.

The more I think about it though, the more I think that regardless of ownership, you must have been aware that there may well be some backlash doing such large scale work which would seriously affect others outlook?

Wait, they want you to replace a tree that may not even be theirs with a different, bigger one that they want in a different place? They are taking the piss. Check your deeds and if you are wrong, get them a hawthorn the same size.

This ^

They are completely taking the piss and being rude. The trees were yours to cut down. I'd check your boundaries so you can be sure of what's yours and what might be theirs. Could you make an appt with a solicitor for a free half hour chat to check the legal position? Your neighbours sound like they might be a real pain in the backside.

At this point in time there is nothing to speak to the police about. For all of you saying "log it". Why? There is nothing to log apart from him being rude and neighbours having cars damaged. "Logging it" is not going to make a blind bit of difference, at this point a civilian call taker will tell her it's a civil matter and at most record it on the command and control system. It won't even reach a police officer. Different if there was threats etc.

And people wonder why the police are so busy! Not everything needs to be resolved by phoning the police.

Idk., if they are known to the police already re: the previous damage to their former neighbors' cars, I might at least speak informally to the sheriff or whoever you have locally. Especially as the husband did come over acting threatening.

'my dh felt physically threatened, even thought the guy was going to punch him.'

what did the guy actually do though? You are talking about reporting him to the police because of what your DH felt rather than anything the guy said or did.

You shouldn't have offered and I agree with the countless others that I would withdraw that offer but if you don't feel you can then you are just going to have to suck it up and pay.
As said once you started the 'we will pay' they took it as you are to blame and they are screwing you over.

I think you should have checked who owned the thing before you removed it, and talked to them too.

Check who owns it, to be absolutely sure. If it's yours, withdraw the offer and don't respond to rudeness or answer the door if they come round to shout and threaten.

If it's their tree, you have to suck it up, but you don't have to agree to their escalated demands. Offer to pay whatever the amount is for the same tree, same size, same place, plus the digging in.

Any threats/thuggish behaviour, call the police and tell them you've called the police.

I think you were misguided in not talking to neighbours before cutting trees at a boundary (for the sake of neigbourlyness you should) and extra misguided to not check your deeds before doing so or even know what boundary is yours before getting happy with the chainsaw.

BUT...

If when you check your deeds it turns out you do own the boundary then just tell them this, and don't pay. The fact you've agreed to pay means nothing if the premise of paying is wrong.

If when you do check the deeds and find out they own the boundary then pay for a like for like replacement (get your own quotes). The fact your pruning of your trees has ruined their view does not mean you have to compensate them. Just say 'after consideration, we are only prepared to pay for like for like replacement'.

Tell them that if they want a tree, they can plant one themselves in their own garden.

Bearing in mind their behaviour I would want as much hedge and inpenetrable boundry between you and them!
Replace it all with Holly,Berberis, and Pyracantha

stop being so accommodating - if the tree was on your land, you should have told them to get lost!
if not then as others have said, you replace like for like,.

We are going to check the deeds. Just need to get PayPal working to get the Land Registry to email them.

We did talk to the husband before clearing the work. He said that he didn't care what happened at the bottom of the garden as it isn't an area they can see/access easily. But his wife may feel differently (which she did). My dh took that as it was okay.

I really don't think this is about the Hawthorn. It is about the trees we lopped and removed in our garden. The Hawthorn is a red herring. The replacement tree being in a different location (like 15 foot further up her garden) is to cover the view of the houses she can now see as we have cut trees in our garden.

I know if we said that we would replace the Hawthorn with a 6 foot tree in the exact same spot, then she would have a hissy fit as it wouldn't be covering her new housing view.

Hmmmm. I don't excuse the thuggery, but I can see their point.

One week after we moved in (so obviously arranged with previous owners of our house) the neighbours cut down all the trees along the boundary. It just looked awful. They could see right into our house. I just wept. At my own expense I had semi-mature leylandii trees planted (£1000) and it has taken almost ten years for them to obscure the bastards neighbours.

I would have also checked that the trees you took out didn't have protection orders on them. Even a manky old pine round here is protected and the fine for removal without official permission is colossal.

If it's on your land then I would, at a push, replace the tree at the same spot as the one they are moaning about. But only if it suited me.