Legal Eagle Q & A: The joys of Autumn and potential neighbour conflicts

October 14, 2018 by Melinda @ Giles Wilson Solicitors

Question: The leaves from my neighbour’s trees are falling in my garden at a huge rate – can I ask them to clean them up ? Or if I pay someone to do it can I ask them to pay the bill?!

Answer: The best way to approach this is to speak to your neighbours and ask them to cut back their trees so that they do not overhang your boundary.  However, if they refuse to do so, or to co-operate, you cannot just present them with a gardening bill or force the issue – you will have to prove that their overhanging branches are a nuisance. You could cut back the overhanging branches (provided the tree is not the subject of a TPO) and you are allowed to throw the offending branches into their garden but I would not recommend this without warning your neighbours! Diplomacy is the best option as annoying as this is, a full blown neighbour dispute is to be avoided – happy to help you write a diplomatic letter if it helps!

This Q & A is by Melinda Giles at Giles Wilson Solicitors.  
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