Legal Eagle Column by Dean Durham.
Consumer champion & legal expert from
www.youandyourrights.co.uk
Neighbour’s Trees
Over the last few months I have received lots of questions about what rights are in place when a neighbours tree encroaches into your garden. Here’s what you need to know before you get out your hacksaw and start chopping branches off :
Can I cut my neighbour’s tree back? If your neighbour’s tree hangs over into your land you should fi rstly ask your neighbour to trim back the tree. If they refuse or ignore your request, you are well within your rights to trim the tree back yourself but only the parts that overhang your land and you can only trim back to the boundary line. There is, however, an exception to the above when there is a Tree Preservation Order in place protecting the tree. If this is the case you will need to seek authority from the local authority before taking any steps.
I live in a conservation area. Trees
are thought to contribute to the
character of conservation areas, so even if the tree in question isn’t subject to a preservation order, if you live in one of these areas, you’ll need to contact the council to give notice of proposed work. This applies to trees with a trunk diameter greater than 75mm measured 1.5m above ground level. You can’t start work before a six week notice period has elapsed unless the council gives you permission to go ahead before then.
Dead, dying and
dangerous trees are exempt, but you’ll still need to check with the council to ensure this applies to your tree. Once again, you can be prosecuted and fi ned if you don’t follow the rules.
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My neighbour’s tree is dangerous, what can I do? Local authorities have powers to deal with trees on private property which are on the point of causing damage. A local authority can:- •
make the tree safe, if it is on the point of causing damage and are asked to do so by the owner of the land on which the tree stands. The local authority will recover the costs of doing this from the owner
•
make a tree safe on someone else’s land, if asked to do so by a neighbour whose property is in imminent danger from the tree and the owner of the land on which the tree stands is not known
•
serve a notice on someone who has a tree which is on the point of causing damage to the property of a neighbour and that neighbour asks the local authority to take action. The owner of the tree must comply with the notice. If they do not, the local authority will do the necessary work and recover the costs from the owner. The owner can appeal to the county court against the notice.
If you want the local authority to take action, you will need to fi nd out which department deals with dangerous trees as this varies from one local authority to another. You can then ask this department to check the condition of the tree. It is up to the local authority to decide if the tree is on the point of causing damage. If they consider it is not on the point of causing damage, they don’t have to take any action. An overhanging tree may also be a danger. For example, most parts of a yew
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