Ley of the Landii

Wednesday 14 December 2016

You’ve just bought a house with the view you always wanted and every day starts with the beautiful sweeping vista. Now fast forward a few years and your neighbour decides to plant a few trees.

Not any species of tree however, but fast growing, potentially enormous Leylandii that eclipse the once splendid view so dear to you. Rather upset you go over your options, none of which, hopefully, involve a flame thrower.

The first step is always to look for an amicable solution. It might just be that your neighbour didn’t realise you’d prefer the rolling hills to feeling like you live in a maze. A polite letter highlighting your concerns or an informal conversation is a good start. The process of mediation between neighbours can also result in agreement and help maintain good relations.

However, should these approaches not work and you feel like all your efforts to reach out aren’t making it through the pine needles, it might be time to make a formal complaint under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.

The local authority requires a number of pre-conditions to be satisfied before considering a complaint.

1. The hedge must be more than two metres above ground level and be predominantly a line of two or more evergreen trees or shrubs;
2. The hedge must be growing on someone else’s land;
3. You must be the owner of the land affected; and
4. The hedge must be adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of a domestic property. The government website provides excellent guidance on what constitutes ‘adversely affecting’.

If the local authority feels that you haven’t taken all reasonable steps to resolve matters or your complaint is frivolous or vexatious (you can’t just object because you don’t like the smell) then it isn’t obliged to take up the complaint. The authority can also charge a fee for dealing with the matter which is a good incentive to leave formal complaints as a last resort.

Should the authority be satisfied that the hedge is indeed adversely affecting the property then it has the power to issue a Remedial Notice. The Notice can order that the hedge be reduced to a height of less than two metres or be removed entirely within a specified time (subject to other legislation or where the hedge is protected by a preservation order or within a conservation area).

Failure to comply with a Remedial Notice is an offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000.

Once issued, the Notice will remain in place and be registered against the land as a local land charge until it is withdrawn. This means that it will also bind future purchasers of the offending land.

If the authority is satisfied that there is no longer a need for the notice then it can withdraw it. There is also an appeal process to object to the withdrawing or imposing of the Notice.

Your splendid view might not be lost after all.