just what are the rules about the height of a hedge between neighbours? , it is a shared hedge but not one which backs onto any paths. Because hubby started to shorten the height about 3 wks ago ( apprx 6ft) and now next door has just hacked the entire lenght of the hedge down to about 3ft !! and not even asked us, is he allowed to do that?!!!!!

just what are the rules about the height of a hedge between neighbours? , it is a shared hedge but not one which backs onto any paths. Because hubby started to shorten the height about 3 wks ago ( apprx 6ft) and now next door has just hacked the entire lenght of the hedge down to about 3ft !! and not even asked us, is he allowed to do that?!!!!!
legally probably yes

great! no security , no privacy and their dog crap all over the garden.....well at least if dog crap belongs to them , does that mean i can give(throw it back ) :-)

If you scrutinise your deeds, you'll probably find it does belong to one or other of you. So at least one of you is in the wrong for hacking it back ;)

he's in the wrong!!! surely a bit of decency by asking what height would we prefer.....what about security issues, now there is access to the shed...

Tenants or Private?
Rarely is a hedge truly 'shared'.
The stems will usually be planted on one side or the other of the boundary line.
You would have to check your deeds to be sure.
The 'owner' is entitled to trim all of the hedge.
The 'neighbour' is entitled to trim those parts which extend over the boundary line. They must, however, return the trimmings to the 'owners' side!

There is a council service that will help mediate in such disputes (although really designed for "High Hedge Disputes"):

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=53475

they are tenant , we are private, he once said he was going to build a wall on his side , so we okay when you built the wall then you can chop the hedge down. But the annoying thing is there is anothe hedge the same height at the bottom of his garden and he never touches that, strange...wonder why

great! no security , no privacy and their dog crap all over the garden.....well at least if dog crap belongs to them , does that mean i can give(throw it back ) :-)


no you can't I once throw someone's dog s**t back and I was told by the councuil that i could have been prosecuted

Hi

I think there are rules regarding chopping down and trimming of trees.

You may want to speak to a local CAB or advice agency for more info.

Good luck!

As already said, one of you will own the hedge.
But it's a bit late to do anything about it now even if you own it.

Why not ask them not to trim it again without talking about it, to let it grow back (it won't take that long at this time of year). And ask them to ensure that they're dog stays off your lawn.

A hedge isn't a protection against theft anyway, studies have indicated that concealed gardens and roads with tall hedges are preferred by thieves, the concealment offered by the hedges is in their favour.

just what are the rules about the height of a hedge between neighbours? , it is a shared hedge but not one which backs onto any paths. Because hubby started to shorten the height about 3 wks ago ( apprx 6ft) and now next door has just hacked the entire lenght of the hedge down to about 3ft !! and not even asked us, is he allowed to do that?!!!!!

Were you even allowed to cut this back to 6ft, it appears to me you would have been better telling your neighbor the hedge is too big for your liking and you want to cut it back, to which they might have agreed, and you could have come to an agreement eg 4.5ft. Do you even know your neighbor?

Not strictly on topic, but a little known piece of law that, if you don't know, may come in useful. It can stop planning applications dead.

Party Wall Act (http://www.diydata.com/planning/party_wall_act/party_wall_act.htm)

And as stated, your deeds will tell you where your boundary is. Check them out and stick up for your rights.

Were you even allowed to cut this back to 6ft, it appears to me you would have been better telling your neighbor the hedge is too big for your liking and you want to cut it back, to which they might have agreed, and you could have come to an agreement eg 4.5ft. Do you even know your neighbor?

the height of the hedge is fine for us, always has been , yes I know our neighbour, his name was in sheff star the other week, he's got a restraining order on him!, apparently had a mental breakdown, he's the sort who always wants to know what you are doing in your garden/house/kitchen/life....a few years ago he stood under our kitchen window having a conversation with a friend of his as though it was his house!!
because his garden is higher up and on a slope , what is 6ft on our side , will be different on his side

Get info on boundaries here:http://www.landregisteronline.gov.uk/
If the hedge is shared, & it CAN be, there should have been consultation.
As you own your property perhaps you could put up a fence - at least you won't have the hedge to cut.
Unfortunately it's easier to climb a fence than push through a hedge.

Granma.

have you tried ******* through his letterbox?

isnt that a little difficult for a woman to do...this is another example why men are far superior to women

Tenants or Private?
Rarely is a hedge truly 'shared'.
The stems will usually be planted on one side or the other of the boundary line.
You would have to check your deeds to be sure.
The 'owner' is entitled to trim all of the hedge.
The 'neighbour' is entitled to trim those parts which extend over the boundary line. They must, however, return the trimmings to the 'owners' side!

There is a council service that will help mediate in such disputes (although really designed for "High Hedge Disputes"):

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=53475

True. You’ve put it very nicely into a nutshell. My neighbour has a hedge, I have a wall alongside it. He never trims his hedge so I trim it — and throw everything onto his side. Checked with my solicitor first, of course.

How can you put up a fence to your side of the hedge ? Won't the hedge still grows through that anyway ?

I too have similar probs with my neighbours dog coming over to poo in my garden. I know that I'm supposed to take care of, (I think), the left-hand side of my garden. Isn't that standard or something ? I've heard of the party wall act too, but this isn't a wall that is holding a whole building up though. So, if I want to take down a whole stretch of hedge to replace it with fencing, do you really need to consult your neighbours legally ?

Hm, maybe I need to think again. I just read this site. Some guy's court case which took him 5 years to get sorted (!) >.<
www.Hedgeline.org

Legally you may trim back the branches and roots as far as the boundary but you may be held liable at law if your cutting back kills the rest of the tree or bush.

(Be sure you take all steps to appear as reasonable. You could inform your neighbour that you intend to cut the trees back to the boundary and could invite him to make arrangements to witness the cutting. If the trees were to die of disease as a result of cutting it would then be difficult for your neighbour to take you to the Civil Courts and establish that you had deliberately killed the trees).

I was gonna say, how can you put up a fence in front of the hedge ? Well, you can't touch the hedge, cos cutting too much may kill it. Riiight. So even if I put up anything, it means I have to do it on my side of the boundary wall ? Grreat. What a palaver. *sigh*

Obviously if you put up a fence it has to be on your side of the boundary, you can't just go stealing land from your neighbour.
You're unlikely to kill a hedge by trimming it, they are extremely hardy.

if i were you i would wait until they go on hoiliday then chop the hedge back to a resonable height :hihi:

I know for fences on a boundry that is not facing a public footpath it's around six foot four. we are in the process of watching the people over the back from us erect a nice 8 foot fence they have not got planning permmision for.. shame when they have to take it down again :evil:

I moved into this house last year, and the last tennent was a old lady that never re-decorated or look after the house or the garden to the fact that the postman could not get up the path with the hedge been so over grown. Now i moved in and the council cleared it by ripping most trees and hedges out that was covering the path, but the only thing they left was the hedge thats inbetween me and one neigbour, and no lie it is the hight of both our house and the lenth of it is very very long. it's not a normal size garden that we have has it back onto a park,
I was taken to court over this by the council has ive not cut it down even tho i was told the councill would do it before i moved in, but i won the row as it was proven it the hedge can not have gorwn that much hight in the time i been liveing there, so now im still waiting for the council to come and sort our hedge.
We also been told that they will replace it with a fence and we will get a warning when they come has they need to use so much man power to get it out it will be like we got the army on our gardens.
I know i could cut it down but i am not spending over £200+ just for it to be cut down when its not even my falt that it grew that high in the first place just to save them money, I do keep the hedge in question trim back and all my other hedge down on the other side and on the front neat, but no way am i touchin the hight of the hedge.

So even tho they is a hedge law height in force, im thinking now it one rule for one and one for others. If i had to cut it down by the court saying so and ive not done done it, i could be sent back to court and probly fined or homeless by now. But all because the council have not done it yet, but the court have it in writeing that they will be comming i can not take them back to court to get it sorted i have been waiting now for over 10 month now.

i think as long as the hedge is tidy what does it matter how high it is?, council inparticular are very picky on this subject and as mentions previously there is no law, they either need to bring one in or stop wasting time on petty hedge disputes and deal with the real problems on estates

problem nowadays people dont talk they hide behind i.e councils why cant they just knock on the door and come to some sort of mutual agreement, then there wouldnt be any of this.

rant over

I know for fences on a boundry that is not facing a public footpath it's around six foot four. we are in the process of watching the people over the back from us erect a nice 8 foot fence they have not got planning permmision for.. shame when they have to take it down again :evil:

There is info about fence height requirements here (http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1011888237213.html)

Honey, have you spoken to you neighbours about the fence? They may just be unaware they need planning permission. Although it will cause hastle to them if they have to apply for retrospective planning consent, it will cause hastle to you too having to object. And the chances are they wont have to take it down anyway, just maybe lower it.

As has been discussed in this thread already, it's often just not worth upsetting neighbours over stuff like this. At the end of the day, it's only a fence, and if you can come to an agreement with them, by pointing out what the rules are that might be better in the long run. Apart from anything else, if you upset them, if you ever want to do any work on your house, they are far more likely to object if it in any way upsets them.

If you speak to them and they still continue, you could always lodge a complaint then.

as i understand it if you stand outside your house ,back to the wall the boundary to your left belongs to you and the one on the right belongs to the next door neighbour, this is what i was told many moons ago.

as i understand it if you stand outside your house ,back to the wall the boundary to your left belongs to you and the one on the right belongs to the next door neighbour, this is what i was told many moons ago.

it's only a rule of thumb, the deeds will confirm if it applies in any given case.

They know damm well its bothering me just like the 30 foot of overgrown trees they are fencing in.. so I will let them put it up then they can lower it

They know damm well its bothering me just like the 30 foot of overgrown trees they are fencing in.. so I will let them put it up then they can lower it

Fair enough, I take your point cos after all, it is them in the wrong. I just hate the thought of falling out with my neighbours - I know far too many people who have and it just seems a bit pointless, doesn't do anyone any good in the long run.

I used to live in a house where the neighbours built a whole two storey extension without planning permission!! :roll:

as i understand it if you stand outside your house ,back to the wall the boundary to your left belongs to you and the one on the right belongs to the next door neighbour, this is what i was told many moons ago.

Not true - our fence is in the right.

HI I dont think there is such a thing as a shared hedge , on council property there is usually concrete stoops or the remains of them and the hedge owner is the one who has the roots of the hedge on his side of the posts the person who does not own the hedge is only entitled to cut on his side, but not the top, and the owner should restrict the hieght to 2 metres or any hieght below, and this is a general rule for all properties, cheers Arthur.

so now next door has just chopped the hedge down and now has a webcam which overlooks our front door, they live in a council house, surely we have privacy rights etc , as they are a known criminal family to the local police , could we argue that they are watching us? (touch of paranoia here lol) or maybe they are watching out for the next police raid! does anyone know what our rights are? or what the laws are on cctv?

went to police and they just said they have the right to protect their property!!

then we have the other side blocking our car in!!!! grrr ...anyone want to buy a house??

With the camera thing.. in shops the rule is that the camera must only be taping the property relating to the buisness and nothing else. So I would presume that the same would apply for residential homes. get in touch with the councill :thumbsup: