To think that if my neighbours should take care of their garden

[TwinkieTwinkle]

I'm not one to whinge about my neighbours, they are elderly and I really like them! However, they have a massive tree that is now so big it is overhanging into our garden and totally blocking light to our greenhouse. They told us 8 months ago they were hiring someone to cut it back but never did. When I politely broached the subject recently they said if I got them a quote they would 'look into it'.

Bizarrely, they also made a snide comment about our bamboo fence, saying it was looking tatty and needs fixed. The reason it is now badly damaged is because of their ivy pushing through. There is a wall between our gardens, bamboo is on our side. The wall is now very badly damaged. I cut it back a lot during summer but they have made no effort to maintain it, even though they have a gardener that comes in every fortnight.

AIBU to expect them to just bloody well maintain their garden?!

Our LA will send out gardeners to help elderly residents maintain their gardens. They charge a small amount in some cases but a lot less than private firms. Could you look into it and if your LA has a similar scheme, suggest it gently?
YANBU though. It's really frustrating to live next to. One of our neighbours' garden looks like a junk yard - there are 4 capable adults living there. On our other side the couple in their eighties have an immaculate garden and keep my rose bush under control

Oh and council will normally get involved wrt overhanging trees..

They have a gardener though. I think that's probably why I end up so irritated

I meant to ask - what does their gardener actually do?

I'm not typing what my brain is thinking! Too tired..
I should have started with "What does their gardener actually do? Maybe they can't afford to pay him for a big job like tree.."

tbh, I've just paid to have a load of my neighbours' trees cut back, simply because, it's us that will benefit. Because of the layout, and width of their garden, the trees being overgrown doesn't affect them. They aren't dangerous, so I've got no grounds to "force" them, it's just nicer for me if they are cut back. I figured, in the scheme of things, it was worth me paying to get them cut and get more sunlight in my garden.
If they sound like they might though, what about offering to 'go halves with them?

You're entitled to cut back their tree to the extent that it overhangs your garden. It can be quite expensive to get a mature tree taken down We recently paid £1200 for a mature one to be removed.

If their ivy is damaging a wall that is either owned by you or is a party wall then you can require them to remedy the damage, at their expense.

Oh and council will normally get involved wrt overhanging trees.

Thread hijack.

We are privately owned but next door is LA. We have a fecking huge tree that over hangs their garden. If I contacted the council would they come and trim it given that the neighbours are their tenants?

Apart from putting their garden waste in our bin, I'm not 100% sure what their gardener does! I'm assuming he just keeps it maintained. I just find it a very odd attitude for them to take. I don't really want to go down the local council route etc. as we get ok very well. I'm wondering whether I find a company who might remove the overhang from the tree and also remove the ivy? Give them the quote for it, explain that the ivy is severely damaging the wall and their gardener isn't maintaining it, so it might be best for it to be removed?

Fucking hate ivy!

Not sure about other LAs Pipbin but ours carries out garden maintenance for pensioners in private homes as well as council tenants.
OP, that sounds like a good compromise. Our junkyard neighbours shared a dilapidated fence with us when we moved in. I priced replacing it and asked if they would share the cost which they did with no quibble. They just didn't want to deal with it themselves I think.

www.problemneighbours.co.uk/problems-with-neighbouring-trees-action-guide.html

That's a really good link, thanks!

Not all councils can/will get involved with overhanging trees. Collaborate is correct, you can cut back the overhang but not so that it unbalances the tree which can make any work from only one side difficult. Check to see if there are any TPOs or if you are in a conservation area (council can tell you this) as this will affect you even if the tree is not rooted in your garden.

We learned this from experience, but luckily we have neighbours who were able to be cooperative.