Hedging and hedges – nuisance hedging
The rules about nuisance hedges are new and still being tested in the courts. Begin by asking politely if your neighbours will trim the hedge, explaining why – that it is killing your lawn or cutting of your light for example. If you cannot get anywhere with such appeals over a long period, it may be worth mentioning that failure to keep the hedge suitably maintained usually invalidates of the third party damage cover, which most house insurance policies include. This means the responsibility for paying for any damage to your property wouldn’t be borne by the insurance company but by the individual him or herself.
It’s also worth being aware that legally you may trim back the branches and roots as far as the boundary but you may be liable at law if you kill the tree. This means that if you inform your neighbour that you are planning to cut the hedge back to the boundary and give him or her adequate written notice so that he or she can watch the cutting process, then if the plants were to die of disease as a result of cutting it would be very difficult for your neighbour to take you to court and establish that you had deliberately killed the trees! Note though that topping (reducing the height) of a hedge you don’t own is illegal and may land you in court, paying a fine, plus compensation and a colossal expenses claim from the other side.
As you have no rights to control the situation, your best course is, first of all to try and remain friendly, to appeal gently to your neighbour's sense of fair play and to ask for his help. Be firm in explaining your problem, but not confrontational or aggressive. If you antagonise your neighbour he can, quite legally grow the hedge to enormous heights, just to spite you. Unfortunately some people have neighbours who will do this anyway, because they enjoy exerting power and the hedge gives them a means of doing so.
Hedge gardening nuisance photograph by LabGP & Sig Other, used under a creative commons attribution licence
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