Autumn is in full swing, the clocks have changed, it’s getting darker earlier, the weather is getting colder, and the trees are turning wonderful shades of orange, brown and red and whilst this might be lovely to look at it does mean one thing – the leaves are beginning to fall.
You may have seen the viral video on social media recently where someone dumps fallen leaves back over the fence onto their neighbour’s land. But the leaves came from their neighbour’s tree, so this is the correct thing to do, right? Well technically, yes. The leaves would constitute a trespass onto your property, and you are entitled to remove them and even return them. This also applies to any overhanging branches from a neighbour’s tree.
Trespass occurs when someone or something enters you land without permission. Where there is a trespass dispute, you firstly need to establish where the boundary actually lies, to ensure there has been a trespass. Land Registry documents and title deeds can assist with this, but it is important to remember that they are not always the most accurate way of defining a boundary. Therefore, expert evidence may be required from an independent expert surveyor who can plot out the boundary on a plan. Once you know the true position of the boundary then you will know whether there has been a trespass. If you then cannot reach an agreement with your neighbour in relation to the trespass, then you can look at taking legal action.
But are you going to go to have a neighbour dispute and consider court over some fallen leaves? With the wind and various other factors, it is inevitable that leaves (and even other debris) may get blown around and end up in your garden, even when you have no trees yourself. If a neighbour’s tree is overhanging then yes, you are more likely to get leaves in your garden but is that really such a terrible thing? This runs the risk of you getting on the wrong side of your neighbours and creating worse issues for you both in the future. Do you really want to fall out with your neighbour over a few leaves?
We would always recommend taking practical steps before taking legal action, which arguably would include picking up the leaves and returning them to where they came from. But in reality, this is just causing more stress and work for yourself and potentially antagonising your neighbour. It is true that not everyone wants fallen leaves in their garden. They can be messy, slippery and just plain annoying but in reality, the easiest thing to do would be to just pick them up and put them in the bin. Trespass or not, it really is just a leaf.
In full agreement, leaves from a neighbours tree isn't usually worth falling out over, but when the tree in question is at least 60 ft tall and is growing 6ft from my fence, and the tree is a faux Acacia, the leaf fall is continuous, & extreme. With the summer months becoming hotter, the leaves start falling in July, & continue through August, September, October & November, even in to December.
The Acacia leaves are very small & hundreds of them fall daily which means in order for my plants to survive, I am obliged to clear them on a daily basis. Understandably, I would much rather not having to do this laborious task. Several years back I did share the problem with him, and a couple of years ago he did have the tree trimmed, although not in height, and not any branches that drop their load in to my garden. Whilst I work in my garden most days which I enjoy, the dreaded job of daily clearing hundreds of leaves is something, which at the age of 83 yrs. I would rather not use my fast reducing strength on.
Response from Stephensons
We are sorry to hear about the difficulties this situation is causing, particularly given the ongoing nature of the issue and the impact it is having on your enjoyment of your garden.
While minor inconveniences between neighbours can often be resolved amicably, we appreciate that persistent issues can become increasingly frustrating over time. If the situation escalates or you would like advice on your legal position and the options available to you, our team would be happy to assist.