Neighbour cut down our trees!

[BeccaM91]

Hi everyone, looking for some advice on this please.

I came home this morning after dropping my son at nursery to find my side gate open and a ladder propped up against the neighbours house. No one was around to challenge about it so I shut the gate and waited for them to come back. I don’t know this neighbour as he is the landlord who is doing up the property for his new tenants who are about to move in.

He knocked and asked for access to remove the ivy growing on his house as our side fence goes right up to their property. I told him not to access my property without asking. I said I’m perfectly happy for you to access with permission but it’s unacceptable to just come in. He responded saying that he knocked and no one was in. I replied that it didn’t matter and that he should have waited. I had a stroppy one year old to deal with so just politely said it’s fine and went inside.

Ive just looked outside and in order to get a ladder close enough to remove his ivy he has cut almost all of my small, admittedly wild and unkept trees which grew in front of the fence down and now he can see right into my garden.

I’m not one for confrontation and my husband is round there now challenging it but the landlord is not around.

Any advice on where I stand on this? Should I have expected it? I assumed he would be able to remove the ivy without cutting everything down.

First time poster and not sure how annoyed I am allowed to be?

TIA!

You’re allowed to be extremely annoyed - if he couldn’t access the ivy with a ladder he should have either left it alone or got scaffolding or similar to reach it without damaging your property. Bill him for replacement trees.

Be so annoyed! I had a neighbour try to do this to me. Luckily he only had one of my trees before I caught him. He had to pay to replace it. Bill him!

Were the trees overhanging his garden? If so I believe he is allowed to cut those branches back to boundary level. But I very much doubt he had any right to cut any parts of the trees that were completely on your side. I'd be livid.

I think you're allowed to be very annoyed.

Bill him for replacements!

Are they your trees or part of the boundary?

What a CF! Coming on to your property without permission and cutting down your trees is completely unacceptable.

He should pay the cost of buying and planting trees of the same size and species to replace them.

This could be criminal damage. I’d price up replacements for him to pay.

www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1015

yep, I second the criminal damage thing.

Bill him for suitable replacements, gardening work and time.

Absolutely, it's criminal damage. Not to mention trespass, and theft if he took the trees away.

At the bare minimum he needs to face serious consequences be it civil or criminal and I'd be tempted to do the old school flaming dog shit in a paper bag on his doorstep-what a jackass!

Send him a bill for gardener to replace them! Take photos of what’s he’s done as evidence.

It’s trespass plus criminal damage plus (if he removedthe trees) theft. Bill for replacement trees and consider making a non-urgent police report. Possibly get a lawyer friend / citizens advice bureau to write a legal letter to him.

Whose side of the fence were they on? ( You say in front of the fence)

Where is the ivy coming from? It's very damaging to properties.
Were the tree overhanging/touching his boundary/property?

Are the trees in your garden or his? He can cut any overhanging trees, however if the roots of the trees are in your garden and he’s took them down then yes I’d be unhappy with this.

But tbh, anyone who has ivy in their gardens and doesn’t keep up the maintenance is also a

I would be extremely annoyed and you are being reasonable

Hello! Sorry didn’t expect so many responses. The trees are on my side of the fence and were quite high. I’m not too precious about them and if he had trimmed them on his side I’d have had no problem with it. It’s just that they’ve been cut down to grown level. The ivy is in both of our gardens and is a pain to keep on top of but wasn’t up the trees that he cut down.

Thank you for all your responses. I feel vindicated and will talk to him tomorrow xx

I’d be beyond furious and definitely invoicing him for replacement trees. What kind of trees were they?

I would ask him to replace them like for like.

It's obviously the week for cf gardening, next doors gardener climbed a ladder to get over my wall to cut the neighbours trees from my much higher side (ok cheeky but made his life easier so let it slip)

Then he walked down my hedge trimming my side of my hedge, which the neighbour can't possibly see unless in my back garden/house. I politely asked what was he doing probably not as polite as I meant as I had a migraine he had the cheek to claim it was my neighbours hedge it ain't and that he didn't know I was in sorry for being home you cf and he was doing me a favour.

I'd be asking him to replace the trees. He can cut the branches that are overhanging his property but NOT the complete tree. I'd be fuming

CF- let him have it with both barrels.

Do you have a solicitor friend who can send a scary letter.

What a wankbadger!

I'd be furious. He had your permission to have access to remove ivy, not to do anything else.

I'd be getting a quote for replacement trees and would be threatening to go to the small claims court if he doesn't co operate. He sounds like a CFer so I doubt he will admit he is in the wrong.

Get as many photos as evidence as you can, as soon as possible.