To believe my neighbour is responsible for damage done, and not me?

[llizzie]

I had a disabled living extension with a flat roof built at the side of the house, The gas boiler was installed in the room at the top of my wheelchair ramp. Two years later the neighbour planted trees which now tower over the main house and spread across the flat roof. The flue is 3 metres away from their opening windows/doors. The front of my house is 3mtres back from the rear of theirs. The trunks are on the boundary and I cannot access them to cut the branches back to the boundary. They can only be accessed from the neighbour's house. The branches now cannot be cut back unless the height is reduced. It is illegal, apparently, to reduce the height.
They do not affect my view or my light. I cannot see them unless I go outside, yet they are damaging my roof.

Complaints go unanswered.

In 20/11/2023 my boiler stopped working. It flagged up blocked flue. On 18/12/23 it stopped again, same reason. On 26/12/ it stopped again, same reason. The manufacturer refused to repair the boiler a third time because they said the flue installation was to blame. Eventually the boiler was fixed in June 2024. It is a long story.

I complained in writing to the police who did not reply. Then last month the police rang me and told me I have the legal right to cut the branches of the trees growing across the roof and blocking my gas boiler flue.

If I did NOT exercise my right to cut the branches back, it is my own fault that my flue is blocked with dust and vegetation from the trees.

I find that unreasonable. The trees are now about 50ft tall. They are on my neighbour's garden. The trunks are the boundary line. They can only be cut back from their side and they have denied access. Also, the trees would have to be cut down to below my roof level, and I am told it is illegal to reduce the height of someone else's trees.

I have now raised the money to have a new boiler installed somewhere else in the house and a new flue. In the long run it would probably be more cost effective.

Do you think the police are right to tell me - when I have complained to them for years and they never said this before - that any damage the neighbour's trees do to my property is my own fault for not cutting the branches back. Bear in mind I have no access to them. The photo was taken 6 days ago.

Roots are actually quite shallow compared to Ash, oak etc

Could the flue not be changed the face the other way? Might be the cheapest option

Why are you saying that they can only be cut back from the neighbour's side?

I understand why you don't want to pay. It's ridiculous. But not a police matter.

They will still grow but the majority of their growing will likely be on the neighbours' side especially if the neighbours arent pruning them.

We had a problem with trees like this in neighbour's garden. We pruned them back to the fence line. When new neighbours moved in they removed the trees and added about 3m of width to their garden!

As everyone else has said, you have the ability to access the trees. Pay someone to cut back the hedge from your side. Your extension makes it easy to get up high

Try your local councillor, ours is a proper busy body who loves getting involved in stuff like this.

Someone must have complained to ours about our neighbor’s trees and he knocked on our door to say he’d had them sorted out for us the day that the neighbour had people in to chop them down.

I assume he’d got the council to send some sort of notification to get them cut down.

Ìt looks more accessible from your side and roof! The extension looks very close to the boundary fence!

Report it to the council not the police they can tell them to cut them. There are some at the back of our house and the owner cuts them and lowers the height

Your flat roof is a ready made scaffolding that makes it easier to cut back from your side.

1. Use Ladder to get on flat roof
2. Use hedge clippers/saw to cut branches flush with boundary

£100 to a gardener if you can't/won't do it yourself or £thousands to move the boiler??? It's a no brainer surely...

The trees are rediculous, too big and too close to the boundary don't get me wrong but claiming they can't be cut back is equally ridiculous. There not illegal so don't worry about what you can't change, work on what you can 👍🏻

If I were you I'd get a gardener to cut the bits so they don't encroach on your boundary. Tell the neighbours you are doing this. Also contact the council about the ongoing issue and the fact the neighbours are unwilling to stop their shrubbery going onto your property.

leylandi will not have a TPO But for anyone else reading this, if the house is in a Conservation Area and the leylandii is a single tree rather than part of a hedge, you still need council permission to cut it.

A pole pruner would do that very easily. From the ground and from your flat roof.

@WoodworkingDad how is OP meant to get up on the flat roof in a wheelchair?

I think the issue is that a disabled person should have to incur costs to maintain a neighbours tree that is encroaching and causing issues. Not minor issues such as blocking light but issues with the boiler so ability to access heat and hot water.

A decent neighbour would pay for a gardener to deal with the problems they caused.

Maybe your local council could help. If you have access to a support worker they may be able to help. If all fails you could pay a gardener and they apply to small claims.

Contact your house insurers as it looks like those trees are going to cause damage to your property.

@llizzie You need to speak to the tree officer at your local council. Those look like leylandii to me, which are considered as nuisance trees, and the council can demand that the owner deals with the problem. You might also find that your household insurer won't be happy about them growing so close to your building as they can cause subsidence and damage to structures.

This is a civil matter, and I don't quite understand why you contacted the police in the first place.

No, you have to OFFER, not chuck them in their garden. If they say no, it’s your problem to get rid.