Neighbours tree trunk crossing boundary

[sheeplikessleep]

Our neighbour has a beech tree which is about twice the height of our house, it’s massive.

It doesn’t have a TPO on it. But the trunk is pushing against our fence and causing it to bow. Paving slabs are also being lifted (we moved in 3 years ago and looking to renovate our garden now and re landscape).

We’ve spoken to them and they don’t want to take it down. They’ve got someone in to remove the ivy but that’s it. The trunk leans into our garden about half way up.

I know we can trim anything that overhangs in our garden, but what if we did that and it would essentially cut the trunk in half?

I don’t want to cause friction, but I’d prefer a smaller tree that gives privacy and isn’t so overbearing. I’m not looking for advice on how to handle with them, I’m more looking for information on legal standpoint.

Thanks

Are you in a conversation area? Any tree work needs permission in conservation areas, not just those with tpos.
I don't believe you can cut a tree so drastically that it would likely kill it or damage it. And obviously you can't do anything at this time of year anyway due to nesting birds and the likelihood of damage the tree would not recover from.
You might find this helpful https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/the-law

You can't damage the trunk and expect not to have extremely unhappy neighbours. The tree was there when you bought the house. You should have factored in that it would carry on growing!

Get it looked at, if its leaning it could come down and cause damage.

Ive been trying to find an answer for this for ages. Our boundary wall (low as gardens are different heights and then fence on top) is pushed out and we are essentially losing garden to their tree.

They also have a higher drive which the previous owner had block paved (badly) and used for two cars instead of one and that wall is also crumbling and I feel their drive and cars will collapse into our garden.

You can legally cut branches or roots which extend into your land but at the same time you can't do anything which might cause harm to the tree. So no you can't slice off all the branches or half the trunk.

If the neighbours don't want to cut it down, there's not much you can do apart from try to negotiate. Solutions which can help with light include crownlifting (cutting lower branches to raise the height at which the leaves begin) or thinning, but these won't work for every variety of tree.

You might be able to claim on your insurance if their tree did serious harm to your fence. Do you have legal cover on your policy?

The best solution to the problem is either 1) accept that the tree has been there longer than you and try to see the benefit of sharing your space with an amazing organism and habitat,
or
2) not to buy a house which has potentially problematic trees in the vicinity, especially if they're protected or they don't belong to you.

Cutting off half of the tree will certainly cause friction with your neighbours.

I would suggest working around the tree rather than trying to work against it. Fence around it and instead of paving slabs, find a surface which is flexible over tree roots.

From a legal perspective, the tree owner only has a duty of care to ensure that their tree isn’t causing danger to anyone. If you want it reduced, your only real option is to ask them if they will consider reducing it and offer to contribute towards the cost. Personally, I’d get a reputable tree surgeon in beforehand and ask their advice on what can be done and a quote.

The loss of the tree would have a monumental impact on local wildlife. It was there before you and should be there after you - a solution that ensures that keeping something so needed in the environment should be found. It’s super selfish to purposely damage something we know that we desperately need more of so that your landscaping is an easier job.

We were two weeks from completion date when our buyer tried to negotiate money off due to a tree.

A tree that was 50 feet high in the front garden. Not like she could've missed the fecker.

While the tree is important, if it's tilting, it could be a problem if it fell. I'd get someone out to risk assess that it isn't likely to land on your house if there was a bad storm.

Not in conservation area no. But surely if a tree they own is encroaching on our land and preventing us being able to use the land, that doesn’t seem right?

Also can roots be damaging to house foundations? I don't think it's fair that OP has to accept damage to her property

Maybe your house insurance provider would be able to offer advice as to what you can/can't do. They have a vested interest in you not needing to claim

But surely a boundary line is a boundary line? I can’t just plant something and it grows so big it starts growing on someone else’s land?

They suggested building a fence around it (essentially reducing our plot size).

Fgs, why do people not understand that we all need trees to survive, it was there when you bought the house and will hopefully still be there when you're gone. Just fence around it. It's not like it's taking up half your garden. No wonder the planet is burning

If you’ve only lived there for 3 years the massive tree cannot have come to a shock to you. It wasn’t an issue when you purchased the house, you can’t start objecting to it now.

That’s a good idea.
I am struggling to find something that shows legally what to do if a trunk is growing on your land.
At the moment it’s a mess in that part of the garden, but we want to relandscape and get more plants and things growing (I’d happily replace it with something smaller as I also like the privacy plants etc provide). If it was on their land and not preventing us from improving ours, it wouldn’t bother me but I can’t put a small paved pathway down without the roots lifting it in time.

Tree was there before you bought so why suddenly the concern? No you can't make them cut it nor should you. The only thing you can do is get it inspected if you think it's got dangerous. This isn't much better than buying next to a church and moaning about the bells. It's older than any of you if it's that tall

People are making massive judgements about my environmental morals here! The branches hang over half the width of our garden and it is bowing the fence. It’s been left to grow massive for the space. I’m not wanting artificial grass and concrete in its place. I just want to be able to plant other more manageable plants and turf it, about 4 or 5 metres high. At the moment the tree is about 20 metres high.

You can't just cut a tree. They have legal protections even if it doesn't have a TPO. You'll need legal advice. But I'm very pro trees, they're very important, it likely provides a home and landmark for many birds.

It was there when you moved in, I'd be seriously pissed if someone bought a house next to mine then wanted to start getting rid of stuff that was already there long before they chose the house. Your neighbour relationship will be completely destroyed.

I strongly suggest you consult your local council before doing anything drastic.

See here. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2021/03/tree-cutting-permission/

A mature beech tree will be more than 5 cubic metres so I don't think you can touch the trunk without permission, even if it is overhanging your land.

Better would be to fence around it and adjust paving slabs. A mature tree is an asset to the entire neighbourhood.

When they are out, give it a good dode from your side of Epsom Salts to kill it .

You're going to struggle to grow anything under it due to its allelopathic nature, regardless of what you prune. You can remove anything over your boundary line provided the tree isn't protected - if you cut so much off that you send the tree into decline or destabilise it you could be held liable. If it truly straddles the boundary line it may deemed to be in shared ownership. Mature beech don't respond terribly well to reductions, I'd look to avoid this.

No, don't do this. I'm on a parish council and someone in our area tried that after being told he couldn't take down a mature yew.

His fine was multiple thousands and the yew survived.

Thanks for everyone’s viewpoints, I honestly love plants and nature. I just think it’s not right for it to hang so much in our garden and be damaging the fence. It is massive for the what isn’t a big garden. At some point it will knock it over and then what? The footprints of the plots should change to accommodate it? I’m just thinking through it all tbh.

@Treecreature Thank you. Allelopathic - new word for me. 😊