Hedge maintenance - who's responsibility is it?

Hi there,

Please can anyone tell me who is legally responsible for maintaining a hedge planted in someone's garden but growing over the fence into someone else's garden - my neighbor's hedge is overhanging my garden by about 60cms and I have asked them to help cut it back to their side of the fence but they have refused to help out and I'm just wondering where I stand legally.

Many thanks to anyone who can help me with this matter.

Reply to
Elizabeth2108
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this is usually a local legal matter at the township or villiage level. so speaking to a local offical will be the right one. perhaps they have a website?

good luck,

songbird

Reply to
songbird

You have the right to trim it back to your property line if you can do it without killing the plant.

For your neighbor to enter your property to trim it, you would have to give a written release to your neighbor. If this becomes a frequent task that your neighbor does, you might inadvertently create an easement on your property for that purpose, which I don't think you want.

Reply to
David E. Ross

Not knowing where in the world you are I have no idea. Ask your local government authority, you are not the first person in the world to have this problem.

D
Reply to
David Hare-Scott

I see that you are posting to the UK based gardenbanter forum. If you are in the UK, you would be better off asking this in the uk gardening group (uk.rec.gardening) than in this group which has international posters.

If the UK rules are anything like in Australia then it is your responsibility to deal with anything on your side of the fence - not a cm more though than to the fence line - you cannot cut back into the neighbour's side of the fence.

Reply to
Farm1

Wouldn't that depend on where the fence is located from the property line... here in the US the person who erects the fence is required to maintain a set back from the property line, typically one foot or more so that they can stand on the other side of their fence to perform maintenence to the fence itself and overhanging plantings. Often one finds two fences at a property line with a no man's space between. And some neighbors agree to erect a fence directly on the property line and share the cost which works fine until they have some disagreement or one sells... it's never a good idea to erect a fence directly on a property line. In the US it's perfectly legal to trim plant growth over hanging ones property line regardless of a fence location or if there's no fence... the property line rules, not a fence. I live in a rural area where it's very rare to see a fence at property lines, instead there are hedgerows, typically a fifty foot or more swarth of wooded area... if there is a fence at as property line it's a rock wall of fieldstone within the hedgerow. Hundreds of years ago when these rock walls were erected surveying measurements were not at all accurate, often a tree acted as a corner stake and naturally those trees are long gone. Later on when measuring tools became more accurate it was discovered that rock walls sort of meandered snakelike from actual property lines. Now of course it's easy to do very accurate surveying, with GPS. Anyway if one is planning to prune shrubbery at their property/fence line it's only neighborly to apprise the neighbor to discuss how it's to be done, but if a neighbor doesn't care to have a discussion then trim the encroaching growth but do it carefully respecting the line.

Reply to
Brooklyn1

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