Having neighbour change what is on the boundary

Leylandii Law
The current legislation on high hedges comes under Section 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act (2003). This allows councils to take action where the hedge has grown to a height where “the hedge is adversely affecting the complainant’s reasonable enjoyment of their property”. See below to view the full document.

"Key points

In most cases, you do not need permission to plant a hedge on your property but you are responsible for looking after the hedge.

There are no laws on how high the hedge can be grown but a council can take action if it is affecting someone’s reasonable enjoyment of their property, so maintaining your Leylandii hedge well from the start is recommended. See our Care section for advice on how and when to trim your Leylandii hedge.

If part of the Leylandii hedge grows over the boundary (foliage or roots), owners of the neighbouring property have the right to cut it back to the boundary. However, anything you cut remains their property so you should check what the owner wants you to do with the trimmings. It is best not to throw them back over into the your neighbour’s garden but to stack it neatly.

If you have a hedge and part of it breaks or falls, or if it damages your neighbour’s property, you could be liable for any costs for compensation or repairs. This includes pushing over fences.

If a hedge is dangerous or obstructs a public path or pavement, your local council can take action to force you to trim it back.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act (2003) only applies to:

• hedges of two or more evergreen or mostly evergreen trees, not to individual trees
• hedges over two metres tall
• hedges affecting domestic property

Preventing Disputes

Have consideration for your neighbours. Don’t grow a Leylandii hedge to a height that will affect the reasonable enjoyment of their property. This includes cutting out light or blocking a cherished view.

Trim your Leylandii hedge once or twice a year and it will benefit by growing thicker and denser.

Remember that keeping a hedge below 2-3 metres means it is much easier to trim.

Resolving Disputes

If you have a neighbour who has let a hedge grow to a height that you think is unreasonable, you can complain to the council but you need to show that all other means of resolving the dispute have been tried and have failed (you need to keep evidence of this) before a council will act.

It’s good to talk

The best way to resolve the issue is to try and talk to the owner of the hedge about the problem to see if a solution can be reached.Pop round and talk to them face-to-face if possible. Sometimes if you are reasonable and explain your point of view, a comprise can be reached.

Mediation

If this is not possible or you cannot agree about what to do about the hedge, then you should consider mediation. This means asking an independent person to help you understand each other’s point of view. This is usually free of charge, however, you must both be willing to try and find a solution. You can contact Mediation UK on 0117 904 6661 for details of your nearest service. If they do not want to go through a mediation process, at least you will have evidence that you have tried this means of resolving the problem. Keeping records (diaries of contact, letters, etc) is important.

Action
If all of the above has failed, you can either contact your council or your solicitor. Unfortunately, both will charge a fee. Sometimes a letter from a solicitor is enough to prompt the owner of the hedge to cut it back. If not, you can contact your local council for a complaint form.

If your council or local authority agrees with you that reasonable enjoyment of your property is being affected by the hedge it can take action to force the owner to cut the hedge back to a “reasonable” height. There is no set height as this will depend on a number of factors such as

• How close your nearest window is to the hedge
• The size of your garden
• The length of the hedge
• The compass direction of the hedge from the garden (N, S, SW, E, etc)
• The distance the hedge is from the boundary
• The slope of the garden

A report commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now the Department of Communities and Local Government) called High Hedges and Light Loss was published in 2004. This produced an Excel spreadsheet that calculated an “Action Hedge Height” based on the factors listed above. Both the document and spreadsheet can be downloaded from the Communities and Local Government Website http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/hedgeheight

The owner of the hedge cannot be forced to cut the hedge below 2 metres in height or to remove it entirely. If your neighbour fails to cut the hedge, they could be prosecuted and fined £1000."