Tree surgery question - sharing costs with neighbour ?

[PotOfTulips]

My neighbour has a large tree in his garden, which has grown in the last couple of years. The canopy now overshadows part of our garden as well as his, and a bit of another neighbour's. We would like to discuss having a tree surgeon cut the tree back a bit. It is a sycamore.

Has anyone had experience of negotiating with a neighbour - is it usual to share costs, or should the person who owns the tree pay in total ? We are happy to pay our share but not quite sure how much we should offer.

Firstly, it is highly unlikely that he is legally obliged to do anything at all with the tree if he doesn’t want to.

So, with that in mind, he may not wish to pay anything for its upkeep. First thing to do is establish, politely, if he wants to reduce the size of the tree. If he actively does or at least is amenable to the idea then you can raise the issue of how to approach the costs. If he doesn’t care about reducing the tree size, he may still allow you to pay fully to have it reduced. But in that scenario you should be very careful in case anything goes wrong - not sure what legal implications there could be if for example he says you agreed a certain size and then reduced it by more than was agreed.

You are the one who has a problem with it, so you would be the one to pay.

Thanks for replies, that is helpful.
Neighbour certainly seems willing to have the tree cut back, so I think our next step is to get a quote and find out how much this might be. Then we can talk about the proportion of splitting costs.

Interesting though that he isn't required to do anything with his tree - but when it overhangs our property, does the overhanging part become up to us to manage (in theory ?)

When I was in this situation a few years ago, I asked neighbour if he would be interested in going halves in taking his tree down. He was all for it until he got the quote.

I then asked if he would be okay with me getting a tree surgeon to take back the canopy to the border of his his garden. Yes, that was okay and he was also happy with all of the branches being put back in his garden (my neighbour loves a bonfire!).

All you can do is ask.

Sycamore grows enormous, cutting it back a bit won't make much difference, it grows really quickly. There's no harm in aaking if you can share the cost but it won't be cheap if you want it done properly.

Unless it’s a hazard the owner of the tree has no duty to keep it pruned or cut back. Your neighbour can leave it to (over)grow until doomsday if he wants.

If you want it reshaped and your neighbour (very kindly) agrees, the cost burden is on you. If you are very lucky they may be willing to pay towards it.

Having mature trees in abutting gardens is just one of those things you have to put up with when buying a house.

Legally you can cut off anything that overhangs your boundary without the owners permission. You have to offer him back the offcuts.
However, you cannot do anything that damages the tree, so you need to be careful that just lopping off bits on one side doesn't make the tree unstable.
You also need to check that the tree isn't protected by way of a TPO, or by being located in a Conservation Area. If it is, you need permission from the Council before carrying out any works or you can be liable for very large fines.

but when it overhangs our property, does the overhanging part become up to us to manage (in theory ?). It doesn’t need managing. Trees grow very happily all by themselves. Any managing you do is purely for your benefit. So of course it’s up to you.

Sycamores are nuisance trees, they are not native to the UK, they have just become naturalised. They get enormous and are considered unsuitable for anything but the largest garden. The owner of such a tree would certainly be liable for any potential issues if it gets too big.

It would be worth having a chat with the neighbour, but good tree surgeons are not cheap. Cheap tree surgeons are not good.

Thanks all. Quotes being arranged. Always something new to learn!

Any idea on costs yet op?

I'm in similiar situation

I have a huge sycamore at the end of the garden. It doesn’t bother us much but it totally overhangs by poor neighbours smaller garden. She has twice (over 8 years) asked to have the tree surgeon out and both times I agreed and paid half (of a lot) for good neighbourly relations.

Hi @AGirlInACountrySong - quotes back so in case this helps anyone -

This sycamore is in a narrow end of a neighbour's garden. It wasn't planted intentionally, I think it just grew from a fallen seed. It is now too big for its space.

2 tree surgeons have come out, both gave their view that it could be felled totally, or it could be pruned. They said that if it was pruned, it would have regrowth in the next 2 - 5 years which could make it as big as it is now.

Quotes so far;
Felling it totally - £880 + VAT or else £1200 + VAT

Pruning it substantially - varies with how much comes off, from £480 + VAT up to £880 + VAT.

Quotes include them taking away the felled branches etc.

Oak trees certainly need managing, otherwise they tend to drop branches at inopportune moments.

But that’s again for your benefit. The oak can cope with losing a limb.

True, but that benefit is not being held liable for death or injury as a result of our oak tree losing a limb because we didn’t manage it.