AIBU to expect my neighbour to cut back their overgrown tree?

[Nicolasaa9]

I know some of you may disagree, but I’m genuinely looking for advice.

I’m disabled, use a wheelchair, and have severe mobility issues after breaking my spine ten years ago. My neighbour has a tree that’s now around 25 feet tall in our very teeny tiny new build gardens. It’s basically taking up a 1/4 of their garden and It’s growing into my garden, has damaged my fence, blocked our drains twice with leaves, blocks my garden drainage by my doors and constantly covers my AstroTurf in debris.

I had artificial grass installed because I physically can’t maintain a garden, but the mess from this tree has made it impossible to keep tidy and it’s ruined my garden! I’ve politely asked my neighbours several times to trim it back and have sent notes, but nothing has been done. Even our HOA has asked them, but because the tree is on private property, they say they can’t enforce anything.

I just feel it’s inconsiderate at this point, it’s so tall I need hire someone with equipment to cut it back and I really can’t afford to pay a gardener right now. Yes I have people who can help cut it but it’s so tall you would need equipment. I would never expect my neighbours to put up with damage and ongoing mess from something on my property and it makes me so depressed because it’s basically ruining my garden, what would you do in this situation? The council said they can’t do anything as it’s not causing an issue to public paths or anything

Did you literally ask Claude to tell you all the bad shit about trees 😂

Now do the damage @Nicolasaa9 's fake grass causes to the environment.

Nope. This was written by Ethan J. Thompson, the Gardening and Sustainability writer of The Grow Garden.

Their postage stamp of astro turf isn’t as much of a danger. Don’t get me wrong I winced at the Astro turf, but realistically what else can a paralysed person on the shoestring disability benefits do? They don’t have money to hire a gardener. They can’t cut grass. Wouldn’t it be nice if they had decent neighbours that would help them have a real garden.

It's nesting season. The tree was there before you were.

Pay your own tree surgeon to cut down any overhanging branches (make sure they’re offered to the neighbour before being disposed of).

He’s entitled to grow a tree in his garden, you’re entitled to cut back anything that overhangs your garden.

Robotic mower would have cost about the same as the fake grass. No need for @Nicolasaa9 to cut the grass and no need to poison or roast the soil.

Robotic mowers still need to be rescued from corners or tangles. They have to be cleaned and maintained. They are good for people with mild to moderate mobility issues but not safe for someone paralysed from the waist down. They are also very expensive to run after the up front cost of £800-£1,600

OP, if the tree is overhanging your garden, you have a right to cut off the overhanging branches. Other than that, if it pleases your neighbour to have a tree that covers their entire garden, that’s up to them. It would seem that your choice is to offer to send round someone to cut it back, which might well be refused, or put up with it. YABU to expect your neighbour to cut back their tree at their expense simply because you don’t like it.

Wow, way to be a bitch, and if the owners find out they can sue the op.

@Nicolasaa9 m sorry it doesn’t match up with what you like in a garden ( you’d hate it round here) but we need trees and leaves are a fact of life. You are withing your rights to be cross about the fence but not the leaves, and you cannot oblige your neighbours to pay for work you want done. You are entitled to cut back overhanging branches to the boundary line and must offer back ( but not dump) the trimmings but you have to pay for it.

Ironically the leaves would be less of a problem had you not put astroturfing down, but I can understand why you might have thought it would be easier.

OP can currently sue the neighbours for the damage the neglected tree has caused to their fence, home foundations, drains, lack of light, and so on.

So if the neighbours do find out and sue, the OP has tons of ammo to counter sue.

When I was younger we had a similar situation. My dad cut off all the trees branches so it was naked and then poisoned it at midnight. I don’t think I’d recommend that route because the neighbours hated us but it’s always an option!🤣

It's criminal damage and could land you in court. Absolutely despicable behaviour, the worst kind of neighbour. What gives anyone the right to destroy someone else's tree, it's the same as destroying part of their house.

Horrifying…!

it’s like choosing to poison someone’s cat because they poop in your garden.

not a story I’d be rolling out - or a suggestion! - I’d be making.

Did you miss the bit about op being disabled and cannot maintain a garden, but would still like some greenery in your eagerness to be a cow?

A tree is nothing like a cat.

What is your problem? Op is disabled so cannot maintain a lawn. But still wants to enjoy something resembling a garden. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Your right. Trees live 10 to 50 times longer than a cat and we need them to breathe.

You know that not how the law works, right…. You can’t just make stuff up. In order to bring a successful claim it is necessary to demonstrate both loss and causation. We don’t even know the fence belongs to the op and the rest of the things you list are pure speculation on your part.

Sorry what? We do know
It’s growing into my garden, has damaged my fence, blocked our drains twice with leaves, blocks my garden drainage by my doors - OP

Gravel would have been better for the environment. Her choice is poisoning the earth but @Nicolasaa9 is moaning about a tree shedding leaves. Fake grass is nothing like a garden.

Not sure what your point is? That it is better to poison a cat than a tree because it has a shorter life and it is taking up oxygen instead of making it?

Surely not! How do you cope with weeding?

Omg, gravel has the highest maintenance unless you regularly dump barrels of glyphosate on it.

Trees shed leaves. Fact of life. My lawn gets covered in leaves from the trees in other people’s gardens.

All you can do is cut down overhanging branches.

Wheelchairs don't work well on gravel. If the tree was cut back there would be fewer leaves.