My neighbour was complaining about trees in our back yard leaving a mess in his yard. He asked us if it was ok if if he cut them back a bit so they wouldnt leave mess on his side. We said that was fine.
He has now cut all the branches off (they are fairly large trees and we only thought he was trimming a few branches) and has left us with no shade in our yard, and also no privacy from neighbours that are higher up than us.
He has left all the cuttings in our back yard.
Do you think he should pay to remove ALL of them??
2007-10-10 13:54:05 · 7 answers · asked by answers 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
Non of the branches extended over his side of the fence, the leaves and bottlebrush just kept getting blown over his side onto his washing. His back yard is all paved so it wasnt killing the grass.
2007-10-10 14:37:21 · update #1
We have already gotten rid of a heap of branches but it will take us at least 3 more trips to take the rest of the stuff to the dump which is a fair drive and costs money to dump them.
2007-10-10 14:40:13 · update #2
If the limbs were on his side of the fence, he should have disposed of them himself and not left them in your yard. That was just rude. I know ignorant people do it, but I don't think it's acceptable behaviour anywhere.
It's up to you whether you want to garner the ill-will that bringing it up to him will generate.
When my neighbour cut off my pecan tree's branch (on her side of the fence) and dumped it in my yard, I just cleaned it up, but it sure didn't make any points with me. I decided it was better for just me to be angry instead of dealing with the animosity if I had said anything to her (or dumped it back in her yard).
2007-10-10 14:09:18 · answer #1 · answered by vonneybeth 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Technically, he can cut back the branches that extend over the property line onto his land. He should not have cut any branches on your side without specifically discussing it with you, but you did tell him it was OK to cut (next time, be specific!).
As for cost, he did the work himself. What expense would you have him pay for? Dragging the limbs away?
Basically, you gave him permission to cut, and then left it to his judgement as to what to cut, and what to do with the scraps. He probably feels that since it is your tree, and it disrupted HIS yard (making a mess, shade the kept his grass from growing, etc) that YOU should have taken the time and expense to trim the tree back.
At this point, forget about who might be right -- neither of you is. Get out there, tidy up the yard, and be glad he didn't get injured doing the work. (If he had, he might have sued you for the injury!)
2007-10-10 14:02:29 · answer #2 · answered by Sue 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
If he wanted to do it then cleaning it up is part of the job. You might just want to casually ask him when he plans on finishing cleaning up your yard. If he's a total ass, then you might want to consider throwing a few branches at a time into his yard until your's is clean.
2007-10-10 14:33:13 · answer #3 · answered by wolfatrest2000 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In most places, he has the right to cut the branches that are on his side without even asking you. I'd say keep the peace and dispose of the limbs yourself.
2007-10-10 13:58:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't hold your breath, he has most likely done all he is going to do unless you havet to take him to small claims court. You could ask him, but he sounds like a nightmare of a neighbor.It would be the fair thing to do for him to pay half, since he wanted this done and did it so severely. I think it is time for you to start planting.
2007-10-10 14:51:54 · answer #5 · answered by plaplant8 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if it was his idea to cut the branches then he should do the clean up also,just ask him when is he planning on removing the branches that he cut
2007-10-10 14:25:23 · answer #6 · answered by thomasl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that if he cut them then he should pay to have them hauled away... move back in his yard and let him deal with them.
2007-10-10 15:53:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋