Our trees overhanging neighbours garden who should pay to have them cut?

[aubergineterrine]

We have some tree branches overhanging neighbours garden and they have asked us to cut them. I know they can obviously trim everything on their side up to the boundary fence. Whose responsibility is it to pay to have the tree branches cut, ours or theirs or is it reasonable to split the cost?

Maybe she didn't have thousands to spend?

I would do it or pay someone to do it. They can’t force you but it’s your tree. I pay to have neighbours conifers that overhang my patio cut back and it irritates me I end up paying. If you don’t they may just hack it back and cause damage to it.

I amazed you would need to ask you pay to get your tree trimmed.

You don’t have to pay for it. If it’s hanging over to their side and they want it gone then they pay . We learnt the hard way and we’re told we had to pay despite it being the neighbours tree. But sucks to be them as their shoddy tree had 2 trunks and one fully went over our side branches and all. Had they been nice we would have just done the branches, because they were absolute dicks we got the tree surgeon to take the full trunk on our side out and left them the unsightly stump plus the remains of the tree to dispose of.

You should pay. Is that a problem?

Hmm, I think that's a different thing. If you want rid altogether and she doesn't, but she's prepared to go with what you want to keep you happy, I think you should pay for the removal. That's something that belongs to her that she's 'losing' isn't it?

Of you want it done how you want and your tree to look great you pay. If you don’t mind them hacking off every little bit that only hangs and to hell with how it looks let them deal with it.

If you don't want to/can't pay, I think those branches are still your property so are you willing to have the branches back?

I wouldn't have paid either, I don't have thousands of pounds spare

They should. You don't have to do anything. Why do people hate trees?

Because gardens are often small and people aren't always thoughtful about the types of trees that they plant. Also, a lot of people don't bother maintaining the trees that are in their garden so they become overgrown.

Trees are amazing but they need work. We had to remove a number of fast-growing conifers a previous owner planted because they just weren't suitable for the space and they were towering over the house after a few years.

We still have smaller trees along the back of the house, but i get them pruned every year. It keeps them healthy and stops them being a bother to the neighbors.

I agree with the majority here. If it's your tree, you either trim it yourself or pay someone to do it. Or leave it for them to deal with, then sit back and enjoy the soured relationship that results and the mess they might make if they have to trim it themselves.

Or you could just find the answer online.

www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/the-law

Can I cut off overhanging branches?
Yes, provided it is done without trespassing onto the other person’s property. It is also permissible to climb into the tree to undertake the work, again so long as it does not require going into the neighbour’s garden/land. Note that trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or in a Conservation Area will require prior consent from the local authority.

Do I have to get permission from my neighbour or give them notice to cut off the overhanging branches?
No. Your actions are classed as ‘abating a nuisance’ which does not require permission. Only in situations where you need access to their land to undertake the work would permission be required. Similarly prior consent from the local authority is required for trees with a TPO or in a Conservation Area.

What do I do with the prunings?
Once branches are cut off they should be offered back to the tree owner. If the owner doesn’t want them then you will be responsible for disposing of the prunings; you can’t simply throw them over the boundary into your neighbour’s garden!

Can I cut back further than the boundary to prevent regrowth causing a problem?
No.

What if my neighbour complains about how the tree looks after I have cut off the branches to the boundary?
They do not have any legal recourse but in the interests of good neighbourly relations you might consider options for compromise, such as sharing the cost of a tree surgeon to create a balanced canopy.

Am I liable if I cause damage to a neighbour’s tree as a result?
Yes. In law you would be considered negligent. Sometimes branch removal can lead to tree failure due to disease, a change in the balance of the tree, or different wind loading that causes the tree to blow over. For these reasons it is important to employ a competent tree surgeon or arboriculturist who could minimise risk and would take on the liability for the work (check they have public liability insurance prior to engagement of services).

you should pay, otherwise they can do it themselves but provided they only touch the stuff that’s overhanging they can do as much as they want and you could end up with them doing a brutal job.

I think they should pay. They benefit from the trees too (shade, wildlife, etc).

What does the law say?

Excuse me, it's your tree and your responsibility and it's rude that your property is in someone else's space.

I think legally if you're not bothered about having the work done and they are, they can arrange and pay for it, you're not allowed to.

But for the sake of decent behaviour you should look after your own tree.

My garden is quite small so any big trees in neighbouring gardens leave mine in shade, I don't want a shaded garden, the type of plants I have need decent light. I don't hate trees, but there's a place for them and small suburban gardens it isnt.

I don’t hate trees. I don’t hate dogs. I don’t want somebody else’s trees or dogs to be in my garden.

Honestly, where do people get this utter drivel from? Stop making shit up.

Maintenance of the tree is the responsibility of the landowner (yes, even if the tree was there when you moved in). Therefore, the landowner pays. If the landowner refuses to pay, the neighbour can under their common law rights cut back to the boundary, UNLESS the tree has a TPO on it, in which case the landowner has to apply for permission from the local authority.

If the landowner refuses to pay, then the neighbour will have to stump up (see what I did there). HOWEVER, the landowner has a responsibility to ensure that their tree is safe. See this advice:

The tree owner also has a duty under the Occupiers Liability Acts
to take reasonable steps to ensure visitors or trespassers on their land are safe. In practice this means that if a tree fails and causes damage to a person or property then the tree owner may be liable.

Ideally, unless you’re a selfish cunt or a twatty neighbour, if a tree is overhanging your garden enough to cause you problems, then you should go and speak to the tree owner, explain the impact it’s having and ask that they cut it back. If you think the owner won’t be amenable, then offering to contribute towards the cost can help oil the wheels but you are not required to be law.

Though because this is Mumsnet, people will seethe silently then claim they have anxiety, stress and don’t do confrontation, so of course it will escalate.

We asked our neighbor if they intended on trimming their trees and bushes (from an actually nice grow garden that was) growing over into our small garden. They said no. So we said we'd do it.

Next day they had a fright when we cut a basically a vertical line up from the boundary their trees look so silly now 😂

That's what I said. The neighbour can cut the tree if they want to and the tree owner doesn't want to, but decency would dictate the tree owner does it. The owner is only required to "maintain" it enough to stop it being dangerous.

And up to a point, if you’ve tried to ask them and they’ve said no then that’s their lookout, but there’s still no need to be a dick about it. Someone living near me has literally cut off half of a neighbour’s mature oak which overhung their driveway. The tree will probably die, but they did it because they could.

We have a large tree which, due to proximity and layout of gardens as well as it being an old tree in the path of wind flow up a valley, has half the trunk leaning over a neighbour’s garden because that’s just how it’s grown over the years.

Technically, our neighbour could simply shave off half the tree but that would kill it and despite the fact he’s a cunt, I think even he baulks at the fallout of doing that. In return, we ensure that our tree is properly maintained, like responsible owners.

Legally you don't have to pay but it is so rude, selfish, entitled and morally suspect to expect your neighbours to pay to stop your tree from taking up part of their garden. Choose who you want to be.

Sorry, I abridged the story (truncated?!) and should have given more information:

The tree was large and old and was leaning dangerously into our garden from on top of a retaining wall (her garden is much higher than ours). The council agreed it needed to go.

I asked her to go halves, but she wouldn’t. She has a lot of land btw, which is poorly maintained. We have a small garden.

A year later another tree that I’d paid to have lopped due to it looking dangerous fell down due to ash die back and narrowly missed the houses in our row.