Neighbour and tree

[wouldthatbeworse]

Massive tree in garden needs cutting back. 70% on house A’s side, 30% on house B’s side but drops loads of cr4p ruining all ground underneath it in both gardens (both tiny london gardens).

Owners of B offered to pay 50:50 on cutting it back. Owner of A v politely says she can’t afford it at the moment . Owner of B rents out property so prob isn’t bothered by ugly tree and tree crap dropping everywhere.

Evidently we own B. AIBU to just have the tree cut back over our property? Alternatively should we just feel grateful we have kept our jobs through covid and pay to cut it back fully. This will need doing every 2-4 years and I don’t want to set a precedent for who pays. Thanks.

@skirk64

Google tree-killing pellets. You drill a hole in the tree and it kills them from the inside. It will take a while and obviously you need to be careful because the tree might fall down, especially in strong winds, but it should solve the problem.

Ideally drill the holes after dark on the neighbour's side if you can get access. This makes it less likely it will come back on you - hopefully the people who rent will move before the tree comes crashing down, then it can be argued it must have been the previous tenant.

It's not an instant solution but in the long run the tree will come down anyway, you are just giving nature a helping hand.

I assume this is a joke?

My neighbour has a nuisance tree and it pains me to have to pay to have his tree pruned and clean up the mess it drops as he can't be arsed but I wouldn't trespass and destroy his property!

Point out to A that the foundations of their house and yours could be damaged by the roots and ask a tree surgeon to advise.

We had this although the tree was on the next door land. The owner absolutely refused to engage. Eventually it was resolved because property C was affected by subsidence and their insurers took A to court to enforce the removal of the tree. It was absolutely huge and entirely unsuitable for a London garden.

What species of tree is it, and how tall?

@skirk64 that's really horrible to suggest.