Tree problem with neighbour

[June2009]

I wonder if someone could point me in the right direction?

We bought our house in 2006 and there is a poplar tree on our land that the neigbhour's wife wants us to cut down or get rid of competely because of the pollen it releases.
We would begrudgingly cut it though we can't afford it right now. (estimates have been around £1500).
The neighbour is very keen on having it cut but not keen at all to contribute towards the cost.

We had a look at the citizens advice bureau website and it basically says that if it bothers them then they can cut their side up to the boundary. We don't mind that however the tree is tall so if they cut their side it would be unbalanced and probably become dangerous.
The problem with having a dangerous tree from what I have read is that if our neighbour could then ask the council to remove it and charge us for the cost.
Does that still apply if they are the ones who made it dangerous by cutting it in the first place?

The neighbour is being unpleasant about this, she won't talk about anything else every time we see her and nags about it.

As far as we are concerned:

a) A mature garden was part of the requirements for buying the house, this tree is around 40 yo and we were not made aware of any previous disputes with the previous owners. (ie: there weren't any disputes, the solicitors check that kind of thing when you buy a house.)
b) She says her whole family is allergic, seeing that the youngest ones are teenagers, if that was really the case I think they would have dealt with this problem years ago, the tree did not start pollenating when we moved in.
c) If it was causing such a real problem affecting their health surely they would offer to contribute to some of the cost.
d) I am due to give birth this sunday so the tree that has been in the garden for the past 40 years does not figure on my to-do list, nor can I see us having the tree cut this summer with a baby to care for. She said today she'd want to do have it done in 2 weeks.
e) We live in an area with lots of trees, if this one is cut surely she'll get pollen allergy from other trees?
f) We like the tree.
g) There is absolutely no room in our budget for cutting the tree.
h) The tree is not dangerous or near their house (it's at the back of the garden).

Any idea on how to handle this?

They had a tree surgeon come and have a look at the tree today to give an estimate.
Same as the estimates we got: £350 to cut the top and sides, but that won't fix her problem and it'll need to be done again in 2 years, plus she doesn't want to pay for it.
or £1200 to cut the tree entirely, she doesn't want to pay for that either.

and all I want to do right now is pack my labour bag and finish the nursery!

They are entitled to cut off overhanging branches, but I suspect that if lopping bits off will damage the tree irreparably their entitlement will be curtailed a bit (but that could be my imagination). I would get thee to a lawyer.

They are not allowed to keep the stuff they cut off either, they have to give it to you as it is your tree - I do know that. Don't tell them unless you actually want the stuff!

They cannot demand that you cut it down. They cannot demand that you cut your side. If their real problem is allergies, then just cutting their side is completely pointless.

I think they just want to bully you into getting rid of it. Use one of those infamous legal half hours and get a letter written to them.

Just in case it has not been said, make sure they do not just lop bits off and make it ungainly at your end. Take pictures, speak to the council and then put all in writing to them that it is agreed that they only touch the bits overhanging and nothing else.

I am allergic to my neighbour's cats and can't stand them in my garden. I am hardly going to tell her to get rid of them.

And saying that you can afford it because of the car you drive. How totally stupid does he sound. Make sure they know that you have spoken to the lawyer, the council etc.

Ps. My neighbour did not like the chain link fence we had up which was there when we move in. She came round and spoke nicely about it, offered to get quotes and pay half. For my fence, so I let her. All I had to do was hand over the cash and I got a brand new fence at half price.

I am spoiling for a fight. You want to swap houses for a while?

British Trust for Conservation Volunteers has this advice:

Trees on boundaries are often the cause of dispute. In the case of trees which overhang from another property, it's advisable to contact the owner and if possible come to an agreement about any work needed. An owner may claim compensation if a neighbour damages or kills a tree by cutting overhanging branches. If the branches or roots of an overhanging tree are interfering with the fabric of a building, the insurers of the building should be contacted for advice before any action is taken.

I would warn your neighbour that they must ensure that the person who does the work is in some way a 'qualified arborist' and can indemnify them against the work to your tree. Your neighbour clearly has a right to cut the overhaning branches but not if it would damage or kill the tree. If your neighbours employ a cowboy who damages the tree (you're concerned it may fall after work?) then any claim would be against your neighbours in the first instance.

BTW, how can they possibly be sure that this tree is the only cause of their children's asthma?

Just keep the tree.

We are all behind you!

We wrote a letter "without prejudice" to recap what the neighbour came to say, the quotes that were given by tree surgeons, the various options and what would suit us. (ie, cut the top and sides and we'd contribute £100 towards it or wait for after the summer and we'd pay half to have it removed completely - in order to avoid the hassle of a "dispute".) We also asked to please not do it in the next 2 weeks because of the baby coming.
He came back after reading the letter and said they wouldn't cut it (sides or otherwise) until after the summer.
He'd agree to pay a little more than what they originally offered but that on principle he wouldn't pay half because "it's our tree".
In the same sentence he said he'd had to pay for his son's prescription for the past 5 years".
I know this is all nonsense, if he cared so much about his son's health he wouldn't mind paying half or all of it and his wife has nothing better to do than have a fixation on our tree now and won't let go.

I know cutting it won't fix their asthma but ultimately I think we're cornered into having the tree cut at some point this year or live with neighbours that have a grudge. (as someone pointed out I would prefer to live peacefully without the tree than have to worry about them turning nasty (scratching the car etc) and resentful.)

The relationship has definitely been permanently damaged as it got me very upset yesterday.

I'll take a pic of the tree today and call the council to see where we stand exactly.

Thanks for all your support and advice, it is much appreciated and I do wish I had the guts to tell them to take the tree and stick it where the sun don't shine!

But you're already living with neighbours that have a grudge.

No, stick to your guns. They must pay all if they want it gone and you don't mind it gone

I'd love to say print this thread off and post it through their door

Sorry, that sounds like I'm bullying you now. Your neighbours sound horrible.

Children's prescriptions are free though aren't they? What's he on about paying for his son's prescriptions?

Ha! The lie unravels.

What a load of bollocks the neighbour is spouting. I pressume you are in the UK? It seems to me that they are nothing more than bullies who see you as an easy target.

Who else whould do this to a heavily pregnant person? As has been said the tree has been their longer than you, i bet whoever lived there before told them to F off so they've been biding their time and have tried again with you.

there

Ask them why they didn't discuss/resolve this with previous owners? See what they say to that? Actually, I don't think you should engage with them any more. The answer's No

Why ishe paying for his son's prescriptions? Don't children get free prescriptions?

Ditto the point about presecriptions. They're making it up as they go along.

As for him not wanting to pay half "on principle" because it's not his tree, how about you don't pay anything, because YOU DON'T WANT IT CUT DOWN!!!!!

Are there any other trees of the same variety around - if so, the loss of yours won't make a jot of difference to the hayfever problem. And surely this only lasts a couple of weeks anyway - so even if you did have to pay for prescriptions its hardly significant compared to the tree surgery costs.

Sorry for all the hassle you are having with this, I can sympathise. Don't know what area you are in, but where I am (conservation area) you are not allowed to cut down a tree without a visit from a county council Tree Officer. I mention this because we had a similar problem with a neighbour wanting us to remove a tree from our boundary that we wanted to keep for privacy / kids tree climbing reasons. The Tree Officer came out and said the tree had to stay as it was a 'native tree'. It really helped to have a third party involved - it made it less personal - although I know its obviously got to the personal stage already - is there any chance that something like this could be in effect in your area?

Try not to worry......

Given your neighbours attitute I think you are being far too nice.

It's your tree
You like the tree

Keep it!

June2009 have a look at the gardenlaw website there is a tree forum where you can post asking about this specific situation (it has been covered before on there too)

The board is frequented by solicitors and is very helpful.

Good luck with the baby, what completely unreasonable people to expect you to consider a tree to be top of your priorities.

last year i looked out my front window to see my neighbours son cutting branches off our magnolia tree that were over hanging onto their drive [not overhanging loads mind].dh went to ask why they hadn't approached us about it and he said his dad had knocked that morning but we weren't in.we had a tree surgeon [a friend of ours] round before this who said it needed to be cut at a certain time of year or it could kill it.luckily it has since been cut by our friend and this year it flowered.i have no problem with it being cut but thought they would have asked us first.i hope you get it sorted and good luck with the baby x

I called the council and had a brief chat with a lady there who said that cutting the tree for allergy reasons was ridiculous as there would probably be other trees around causing the same problem.
I spoke to the preservation order people who said the tree is not registered and can be cut.
They advised me to put everything in writing to them by email so will do that tomorrow.
I had a look at the garden website, will check out the forum tomorrow as well.
And ask a lawyer/solicitor type this summer as well.

I really don't get the allergy excuse either, there are lots of trees around and a park less than a mile away. The whole thing is just ridiculous.

Clearly I don't have the necessary energy to deal with this properly so the fact that the neighbour has now said he's not going to cut anything right now or in 2 weeks time is buying us time hopefully.

I think his wife is doing his head in about it, she's probably the one who put pressure on him to come round yesterday and why he ended up shouting.
When he came back after reading our letter he mentionned (yesterday) that she is his third wife, maybe by the end of the summer he'll have moved on to a fourth nicer one!
he also said his kids go to private school so I don't know why he was complaining about the prescriptions.
Maybe he thinks that we shouldn't live here if we can't afford to cut a tree down or something, I don't know.
Too confusing for a hormonal pregnant woman.

Thanks for your best wishes with the baby, I cannot wait to meet her :D

I would have thought that if he was soooooo concerned over his son's health then a) he would have negotiated with the old neighbour and got rid of it before you ever saw it or b) relocated.

I hope the 3rd wife doesn't last (oh how mean is that? I am at myself.)

Good luck with the baby.

Just to re-cap what I said earlier.................

If your tree is female it will not produce allergens, therefore cutting it down will not be of any benefit to your neighbours.

Sorry if you've already identified the sex of your tree but I've only had time to skim read the thread.

BTW I'm a fully qualified tree hugger and am disgusted at your neighbours and wouldn't be chopping down any tree or part there-of at my neighbours' instruction.

June2009 - just a thought. I agree with other posters about your rights but is this dispute really about the allergies the tree is allegedly causing?

Is the tree blocking their view, or shading their garden and house? If so I just think they want rid of it as they might wish to sell their house and big tree overhanging or towering above a house can diminish its value significantly.

My view is that if they want rid of it then they pay. By the way the cost of up to £1200 - 1500 sounds very high to me. Often the Council tree Surgeon do private work at weekends and have use of Coucil equipment.

You might want to ask.

have you thought about community mediation?

It is excellent for resolving disputes without leaving bitterness or bad feeling hanging around. Legal action gets everyone fired up and entrenched. Mediation lets the real issues come out,and people get to offload their emotions so they can move on with life.

most areas have some kind of organisation that offers community mediation, and it is often quite inexpensive. Cheaper than solicitors by miles.