Neighbours tall tree blocking house

[Wudgy]

Looking for some advice, found a potentially great house to buy and all going great until we have realised that the neighbours very very tall tree casts shadow into garden all day and by 4 pm the back of the house sunroom, kitchen, even upstairs bedrooms are all in shade due to this tree. It’s hard to decide what neighbour is responsible for this tree as it looks in middle of two different houses. We queried on viewing the tree and estate agent said something like owner has had no reason to have had a conversation about the tree- so has clearly sat in shade for years without doing anything about it. Apart from this the house is perfect but making me uneasy now , we would like the tree trimmed down ( 20 ft) , doesn’t have to be removed. Should we go and approach the two possible neighbours to suss out who’s responsible and how they feel to let us trim it down or go back to owner via agent and get her to? Feel like she definitely won’t and then potential discard us as awkward buyers and go onto another buyer who might not notice / be bother ( has been plenty of interest).
Any advice? There no protection order on tree btw, high hedges order might not cover it as it’s a single tree.

My neighbour has two massive trees that he hates,both much taller than the house. The only reason they're still there is the expense of getting rid of them. If someone offered to pay for it he would jump at the chance. I think there's a big difference between asking if you can get rid of a well pruned 2 metre tree and asking to get rid of a bushy 6 metre tree. There's still the chance that whoever owns it says it's fine then changes their mind after your purchase. It's not something you can write into the contract.

@DinosaurDiana

My neighbour had a massive tree that upset the people behind for years, and that’s why he kept it so long. Just to be a twat. If these people say they will trim it, I’d get it in writing.

Getting it in writing wouldn't help much. They could easily change their minds regardless.

My grandparents had massive issues with new neighbours wanting a tree lopped. They took to coming around when my elderly grandmother was home alone. She has memory issues and would often agree but not really understand what she was agreeing to. I'm probably a little bit biased because of that. My Grandad refused to have them cut back after that.

Eventually, he has had them removed because he wanted to. If you decide to approach the neighbours do so very carefully.

I would be more concerned about how far the roots extend and whether they are causing any structural issues with the foundations of the house.

I had 4 leylandi trees removed from my garden years ago I think it was about £500 they were about 10 ft
I don’t get the problem with asking
If your polite and just mention that you are in the process of buying but wondered if they would object to you trimming the tree on your side when you move in
My neighbour has a similar problem with his neighbours tree and the guy said if you want to cut it down you can - providing you pay for it take it through your house and clear up the mess 😂
My Neighbour thinks that his neighbour should pay half 😂 Now that’s being a cheeky fucker

I could be one of your neighbours @ContractClockAndCrucible, the mature trees are one of the reason we bought our house. I'd be upset if any were cut down with no replanting.

So you think you can move into a house with a beautiful mature tree next door and start moaning and demanding that it be cut down.
I had a neighbour like that and told them to get stuffed. I also got them all put on the list of protected trees as some were 100 years old.

Trees are much more important than people and house countless wildlife. If you want a treeless environment go and find some souless estate devoid of any nature.

If your polite and just mention that you are in the process of buying but wondered if they would object to you trimming the tree on your side when you move in

They can’t object to trimming the tree on your side. The OP is perfectly entitled to do that. But the OP doesn’t want it trimmed in her side, she wants the whole tree to be reduced/got rid of.

If it IS a Leylandii and it is affecting the 'enjoyment' of your property, then the Council do have powers to enforce them being cut to a reasonable height.....

Not if it an individual tree. It has to be a hedge.

So you think you can move into a house with a beautiful mature tree next door and start moaning and demanding that it be cut down

A Leylandi is not a beautiful mature tree. They are pests which is why legislation was introduced to deal with them. They are not native to Britain, and the speed they grow at is cause for many neighbourly disputes.

Hang on a minute, if it's only one tree, how is it shading the whole house and garden from 4pm onwards? We have a fecking massive tree in next doors garden - a fully grown corsican pine. As the sun moves round it passes behind the tree and comes back out again, so it's (guessing) about 45 minutes of shade per day. Struggling to see how one leylandi can be such a light block?

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

So you think you can move into a house with a beautiful mature tree next door and start moaning and demanding that it be cut down. I had a neighbour like that and told them to get stuffed. I also got them all put on the list of protected trees as some were 100 years old. Trees are much more important than people and house countless wildlife. If you want a treeless environment go and find some souless estate devoid of any nature.

I agree with every word!

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I thought Leylandi trees were covered by some special law as there has been so much dispute about them?

It isn't a hedge. It's an individual tree. No law specifically about leylandii as far as I'm aware. Just the usual hedge height law... that's rarely enforced. Unless the hedge is of a ridiculous height.

It’s a tricky one.

I have loads of trees and my garden backs onto a small woodland. I knew this when I bought the house. Fortunately my garden is south facing so the very top of the garden is in full sunlight most of the day. The bottom is very shady.
But I bought the house in full knowledge of this.

If you buy a house with a tree then the tree was there before you. You buy it in that knowledge.

That said managing trees is bloody expensive and if someone said they would pay for a tree to be reduced I might well go for it.

It isn't a hedge. It's an individual tree. No law specifically about leylandii as far as I'm aware. Just the usual hedge height law... that's rarely enforced. Unless the hedge is of a ridiculous height

The law was introduced because of Leylandi. It might not name them, but as they are so fast growing they were causing lots of problems at the turn of the century, when they first appeared.

Plenty of hedges get too high, but it was the speed and height that Leylandi grew to which drove the legislation.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

It isn't a hedge. It's an individual tree. No law specifically about leylandii as far as I'm aware. Just the usual hedge height law... that's rarely enforced. Unless the hedge is of a ridiculous height

The law was introduced because of Leylandi. It might not name them, but as they are so fast growing they were causing lots of problems at the turn of the century, when they first appeared.

Plenty of hedges get too high, but it was the speed and height that Leylandi grew to which drove the legislation.

It's still a tree. 1 tree won't grow into a hedge. Therefore any law whether naming these trees or not will not apply.

How certain are you that it is a leylandii? There are much larger (wider) evergreen trees. If it is blocking as much light as you say it might be something else entirely. As a previous poster has said, how does one tree block the sun totally anyway?
Which way does the garden face?
If this is going to bother you as is, I would back out now. There is no guarantee you can do anything about the tree, and if a prospective purchaser of a nearby house approached me to chop down one of my lovely trees, they would get very short shrift from me. The shrift wouldn't be quite so short if they had already started living there though, but you can't take that risk.

@Brownlongearedbat tree surgeon friend said was likely leylandii from the photo I took however would need confirmed in person. Reason the back of the house in the eve Is in the shade is partly due to how wide the tree is and also the angle the house backs onto the neighbour, the end of their garden is adjacent to the garden half way down. Hard to explain. Anyway it’s currently sunny so If sunny still in a hrs time I’m going to go have a look and see if the sun has moved passed- checked at 4/5/6pm yesterday and back of house was fully in shade. I don’t think I’m unreasonable to be unhappy about that but 100% dont expect someone else to care and fully understand they could say no to trimming the tree. Which is absolutely their decision and we would respect that.
Thanks everyone for the responses!

I inherited a house with a massive leylandii in it. I think my parents planted it in the 80s “ for privacy” as many did in the 70s and 80s around new builds then. It sucked the life out of the garden. I had it removed at the earliest opportunity, at a cost of £1000. Money well spent. Worth knowing that just about only pigeons nest in leylandii, and their breeding season is basically 365 days of the year.

Also, if you trim it, it will bounce back within a year or two. Re oval is the only way forward. If someone had offered me 50:50 on costs I’d have bitten their hand off. Nothing to lose by asking.

I’d raise it with the estate agent and see if the vendors can speak to the neighbour.

You’re not the only buyer who’s going to be put off it.

We’ve got a 17ft leylandi at the bottom, in a neighbours garden, shadowing our garden until 11am. We’ve paid £550 for a high hedges order on it, 2 years ago, and nothing has happened. I wouldn’t rely on councils to do anything.

Actually, it’s not 17ft, it’s more like 30ft.

It's probably best to walk away, unfortunately there's probably no way to get anything binding agreed. If asked why though you could tell the estate agents it's because of the neighbour's tree. It's up to the seller if they approach the neighbour about the tree.

Personally, I'd not be happy unless the tree was removed as there is no guarantee that the neighbours will keep up the trimming, or that the agreement will remain if they sell.

We’ve got a 17ft leylandi at the bottom, in a neighbours garden, shadowing our garden until 11am. We’ve paid £550 for a high hedges order on it, 2 years ago, and nothing has happened. I wouldn’t rely on councils to do anything.

If it is a single tree and not a hedge, they are unlikely to ever do anything.

@Etulosba it is multiple trees and comes under the definition of a high hedge. The council have placed a remedial notice on the property, which has expired, but haven’t pursued. We’re going to chase (again) after restrictions ease.