Garden Fence Problem.

[bazwillrun]

not sure if this should have gone under the Law section.

I have established the ownership /responsibility of the fences running down the lengths of a garden in a property I now own.

Prior to my ownership the property was rental and the neighbour on the side of the fence that is now my responsibility, at some point put up trellis sections on top of the fence so as to be able to grow a green screen.
The neighbours property is now rental also
The trellis takes the fence to about 6 feet in height in total.
the green screen is made up of Ivy and Pyrocantha and grows over to my side uncontrollably, its a total eyesore in my opnion.

The original lower fence sections are still in reasonable condition even though the ivy forces its way between the fence slats but the trellis section that were added by the neighbour are virtually trashed and only held in place by the thick growth of the green screen, which grows to a depth of about 1metre.
The fence and trellis is 150 feet long and the amount of work needed to cut the stuff back and keep it tidy is ridiculous considering its not even mine but mainly growing and leaning on my side.

would I be within my rights to remove all the trellis and push all the growth that is leaning over to my property by about 2 feet back onto their side of the fence ?

[daffy654]

Have you spoken to the neighbour about the problem? If it is a tenant you could bypass them and go straight to the owner/landlord.

[bazwillrun]

Not as such, but when I first viewed the property he told me that he put it up without the permission of the then, since deceased owner.

So i'm thinking whats good for the goose.....

[Anngel]

If the trellis was put up without your permission you would be within your rights to remove it. However, why I'm sure they wouldn't mind you trimming back the bits on your side. If , however, their vegetation is damaging your fence you might like to approach the Citizen's advice to see what your rights are.

[woofgang]

step one is ALWAYS to go and talk to the neighbour/landlord. When you come to sell your property, part of the search done for the buyer asks if there has been any dispute or complaint with neighbours and if it comes up yes, prospective buyers run a mile. If you lie and are found out its fraud and serious. Is it the current tenant who put the trellis up? Who now owns the house?

[bazwillrun]

The owner told me he knew that the previous owner of my property had died and put the trellis up without permission whilst the place was empty(apart from a couple of very short term lets) knowing that nobody was likely to challenge him.

At the time i made out to him that i had no intention of buying the place, because i knew that would make him speak up a bit more and .
he now rents the place

@Anngel

this is more than just bits we're talking about here, its a skip load of stuff.
to keep the stuff that grows from his side clean and tidy and cut back on my side, is more work than the whole of the rest of my garden in its entirety.

to make it worse you cant just cut it down and grab it and stuff it into bags because of all the pyrocantha and its huge spike like thorns, if it was just the ivy it wouldnt be so bad.

Just found some old photos i took of the place all dated and time stamped by the camera, when i first viewed it, and i have the garden and theres no trellis !

I dont think hes got a leg to stand on now

[woofgang]

now I am confused....you say "the owner" then that he rents? The pre existence of the trellis is not is irrelevant. If you own the fence then you are entitled to take it down, but honestly, go and discuss it with the neighbour and his landlord, don't borrow trouble if you don't have to.

[bazwillrun]

"you say "the owner" then that he rents?"

when i first viewed the property the neighbour lived in the house with his family , since then he has moved out and rents the house, and now it has tenants in it.
The people currently living there told me a gardening firm is contracted to visit and do the garden for the tenants once a month

After reading replies on here and speaking to a friend in the legal profession its coming down, the pics clinched it.
It seems he doesnt have a legal leg to stand on.


As long as anything on my side i actually cut down is "presented " to him, its up to him to do what he wants with it, if he "refuses" it then i can do what i want with it.

As I dont plan on cutting much, just getting rid of whats left of the trellis, most if not all of it will just fall back onto his property, and apparently that is not my problem.

[woofgang]

Is there a reason why you don't want to talk to the tenant or the landlord?