Tree removal - who should pay?

[cornflakegirl]

My neighbour has a patch of land between the side of his house and our driveway, about 1m wide. It has a number of conifers on it. They have been there for 20 years apparently. The trees are too big for the space. We have to trim them back regularly. Neighbour can't access them for maintenance without going on our land. Cutting back to the boundary removes all the green on that side, leaving just bare branches. They provide no privacy or shade.

We have had a chat with the neighbour and he is happy for the trees to be removed. Who should pay? (If it's relevant, we have just paid to replace a damaged fence on the same boundary. It isn't marked on our deeds which of us has the responsibility to maintain the boundary.)

oh sorry I thought privacy was half the issue. Approach the request for him to pay half, I would though take it upon yourself to arrange quotes and organise that side of it.

We are skint so understand that if we were in your position we would prefer him to pay, however if he doesn’t care and has agreed they can come down, then I would be funding it myself by whatever means before he changes his mind. If you hate them and they cause you inconvenience the price of this is small compared to years ahead of not having to worry. Can you agree with him to put top soil in and plant wild flowers for the bees?

I think people who don’t care about their trees or their neighbours are a pain in the backside. They just lets trees grow, don’t look after them and don’t care about anyone else. However, you could ask for a contribution but if you have already replaced a fence that was probably 50:50, don’t hold your breath!

Get competitive quotes and make sure you get the stumps ground out or you won’t be able to grow grass and maintain the area easily ( if this is needed). Ugly stumps are not attractive either!

We're not making a fuss, insisting or expecting. I asked politely if he would consider having the trees removed. He said yes, and suggested we both look for tree surgeon recommendations.

Yeah if it's just you who wants them gone then really I think the obligation is on you to pay. You could ask to split it but I think it would be fair enough of him to say no.

Newton - I like the idea of a bee friendly zone. I imagine he would be okay with that (although obviously I will check, and he'll retain the right to dig it all up later). Any suggestions of good things to plant?

So then you should find someone and confirm with your neighbour that they are still happy when you book the job.

Your neighbour shouldn't pay.

Newton you would expect your neighbour to foot the bill because you are skint?! What about their financial situation??

longtime - the fence stops just before them. We have to walk past them to get down the side of the house, so trim them back for that. And then they look horrible and half dead!

They are a hedge near the house so I think need to be restricted to 2 metres, check with the local council on the height limits. It's his responsibility to pay if they are on his land.

I had these as a hedge, wonderful screening/ wind barrier for a large garden in Norfolk. They are often a damn nuisance though in small spaces as my ndns have just cut the 12' high ones taking the light from my house. February is the month to cut them to prevent them growing too large.

still curious if the trees were there when you moved in cornflake?

Yes, the trees massively predate us moving in.

bizarre to complain now about something you knew about..

I'd say 50:50. You want then gone. He won't do it by himself.

We used to have a massive eucalyptus in our back garden that put the garden of the house at the back in complete shade. I spoke to the neighbours about it and they said they would like it gone, and I said we were ambivalent but would take it down if they paid half. No offer was ever forthcoming.

5 years later we decided to take it down anyway because by then we wanted it gone, but to be honest if you want these conifers gone you're going to have to pay for them to be taken down yourself.

If you have an open fire just think of the firewood.

We have a similar issue with a neighbour’s tree .... his tree on his land but very close to our house and a nuisance to us. We arrange and pay for it to be trimmed back every other year. NDN happy for tree surgeons to access it from his garden, but it’s not bothering him so we pay. I think you have to do the same OP.

Our neighbour had two massive Leylandi/conifer trees in his garden they really shaded our garden.

We asked if we could remove them and we did at our expense.

It was for our benefit not his - why should he pay for our whims.

I love poppies! Currently cultivating several of them in my lawn. But yes, they probably don't want "wildflowers" spreading into their lawn. Lavender would be gorgeous there - thank you for that suggestion.

If they are his trees he should pay if he wants them gone, however it’s you that wants them removing ski would suggest 50/50 but be prepared to pay it all

I tend to err on 50-50 in situations like this.

Your only actual right is to have trees trimmed over your property line. So if you want more, then I think you should pay. Who cares if it's "reasonable" to have big trees near a property line. It's not as if he put them there yesterday. You knew they were there for a long time. Even if they fell on your house tomorrow, that would be your problem, not his, if the laws are the same in the U.K. as they are in the U.S. So, I would gladly pay to have them removed if I were you.

We paid 50/50 in one instance and my neighbours paid another time (I liked the tree but they said it shaded their garden )