Next door neighbour pushing my fence panel over

We could have had a "fence problem" but fortunately not.We have a home in the UK,(inherited) otherwise we live in Sweden, the fence between us and the neighbours needs replacing in parts, I thought just two panels which do need replacing, but my neighbour thinks the whole fence (seven panels) should be changed, ok I thought,but then she wanted more expensive panels with fancy tops rather like wavey tops, which is lovely but oh dear so expensive.I did explain we arent there very often so we dont have a great deal of use for this fany fencing, also I have a limited budget,she asked how much I can afford, and she was very happy with what I said I could afford,the fence has been ordered,and hopefuly it will be lovely next time we visit.Things can be sorted amicably after all.

maddy629 thank you, i can usually get on with anyone,
I have looked at the tree again this morning,i can see most of what is left on it on their side and to be honest there is no more left on their side than mine, so maybe they only think my side has had more cut off,
Hey ho, life goes on, i will speak to them whenever i get a chance, but not going round there especially as i feel it would only end up in an argument,and both their tones were very aggressive to me, if they want to come and have a look they are welcome

I wish I had a thoughtful neighbour like you, my neighbour has two cats who seem to be permanently in my front garden, I don't complain because we get on well but the cat problem does annoy me. I have two cats myself but they are house cats and don't go out, so are not a nuisance to anyone but me and my husband.
As for the tree problem, my neighbour had two trees cut down and my husband paid half the cost.

Riggie sorry i missed your comment earlier,i did try on facebook and got no response at all,but had a few people who knew people, but the cheapest quote i got was £250, and the highest was from the council contractor at £400,the tree was quite high so really needed someone who had a safety harness,or i might have been held responsible if someone had an accident,but whatever the cost for getting him to come back and cut the other side,i could not afford to pay anymore [ so it was a favour], i had that money saved towards Christmas, so really would have prefer not to spend it on tree cutting, and as there was no problems before i wish i had not bothered
They are much better off than me so they can pay for it if they want it cutting further,they did also complain to the man who cut it and he told them i was under no obligation to have done anything to their side,and it had been cut down enough so as not to cut their light out, of their garden, it was cutting the sun out by the way, not the light out of their house,and its alright people saying just pay and have it cut again, £50 might not be much to some but it is to me, he also cut my holly tree top off too, so that would let more light onto their garden
Why couldnt the neighbour have just said nicely, i was hoping for a bit more off, would he do it, but no a nasty call saying its" your bloody tree, why didnt you tell him to cut more off our side"

I don't think it is quite true quite true that someone has to give cut off branches branches back to the neighbour whose tree it is. As I understand it, they have to 'offer' them back, which is not the same thing. The neighbour can, it seems, say that they don't want them
I also remember reading somewhere that you could actually get in trouble for simply throwing the trimmed branches over into the neighbour's garden, as it could constitute fly tipping!

It all seems a bit crazy, but worth bearing on mind if you are ever in that position.

I'm just surprised the OP was allowed to plant trees on HA property. I thought they were all ready-landscaped. The ones near us are.

I wonder who's garden is mostly cast into shade because of the thing. (Hate garden conifers)

You poor thing. It's horrible when you fall out with neighbours. Makes you want to stop using your garden. Personally, the first thing I would do is write them a letter. Explain how sad their behaviour is making you and how, after 34 years, you thought that between you you could overcome any problems. I think the written word is very often more powerful that the spoken word which has the potential to turn into a slanging match. They will read and then re-read the letter and it may be that this solves matters. If it doesn't, get the Housing Association to mediate. They have a whole department dedicated to it. Good luck

Possibly the lower braches are growing horizontally into your neighbours' garden and encroaching on flowerbeds or lawn, making the area shady and damp. That may be why they wanted the branches trimmed on their side.

I believe there is no legal obligation for the owner of a tree to trim the neighbour's side. However, I do think it would be more neighbourly to get it done, particularly as your neighhbours are in their 80's. Some people, as they age, become concerned about issues that would not have concerned them at a younger age and they become anxious.

The fence panels don't sound very safely placed and possibly look untidy.

As others have said, perhaps it would be a good idea to speak to someone at the Housing Association to see what their views are.

I do tend to agree that the tree in your garden is your responsibility & we have had problems with neighbours over the back who never ever trim our side of their horrendous leylandi type hedge, so kind of know how they feel about their side being neglected. I like to be private so wouldn’t wish it to not be there -but they have their own side professionally cut but never ever ask for access to our garden for our side to be cut. We pay our fitter younger next door neighbour a small amount of money to cut it back ( it also affects his garden too so he kills two birds with one stone) and he throws it all over the hedge into their garden. It shouldn’t be down to us to pay but we do it to keep our side of the hedge tidy and do not want confrontation with the rather bombastic man who lives in the house that the hedge belongs to. My husband has approached their gardener who is doing the trimming but he turns a blind eye and makes no comment.

As an occupier of a Housing Association property I certainly advise you go to your Housing Association. Check your terms of occupation because the tree may be the H.A's. responsibility.

I get on well with the neighbours on my street. Next door have a Leylandii hedge which is about 9ft tall, and I would prefer it to be 6ft, but it's not worth falling out about it. He trims it on his, and my side twice a year.
My widowed neighbour, on the other side, has a conifer at the bottom of her garden. The people who live to her rear demanded that she had it lopped, and she paid £300 to have it done. I was cross with her, when she told me. The rear neighbours have a huge copper beech tree which is beautiful, but far too big for its situation. It overhangs the gardens of their next-door neighbour, my widowed neighbour, and also mine. They have a cheek to complain about another person's tree which was tall and narrow, and causing no problem.
There are so many disputes about boundaries, hedges and trees, and people get very territorial about their property. Sometimes it seems impossible to please people.

I'm fed up with my neighbours trees, so I sympathise with your neighbours. Why don't you just cut the whole thing down? What are you keeping it for? It's YOUR tree, you need to sort this out.
IF it is part of a hedge it shouldn't be more than eight feet tall.

tomtom i agree, best not to even talk rather than argue
My fence has been up for over 10 years, possibly more,cant see what the problem is all of a sudden, just awkwardness i think, not worth losing sleep over imo
Hardly ever see neighbours either side, my young neighbour the other side has had 2 babies, didnt even know she was pregnant,
These houses are very closed in back gardens have a lockable door at the front to get to the back, and trees and high hedges all around, you could almost sunbathe naked and no one could see you

I have one that live next door to me short of taking him to court I just don't speak any more that get peace

Bustertank panels are not in bad condition, also have a panel by my window by the way, between windows,he complained about that too, said dont fasten it to his fencepost, that is properly fixed thoughand if you read the full thread you will see that i have done all i can to give them more light, not for my benefit, some old people just get cranky, and nothing but what they want will do hope to god i never get like that,

My interpretation of the tree issue would be that the owner of the tree is responsible for pruning / cutting back etc. However, if the owner does not maintain the tree/bush, then the neighbour whose property is impinged by the overhanging branches/foliage, is allowed to prune it back, but it's my understanding that they have to give the pruned parts to the owner.

In this case, as the owner was having the tree pruned, as a neighbour, I would have expected the entire tree to be dealt with, not only the parts that are in the owner's garden.

Actually, in this case, as it's a housing association property, I'd almost argue that the owner of the tree is the HA and not the tenant. Unless of course, the tenant planted the tree.

I'm sure there must be a way of attaching the fence panels to the fence posts that are there - even cable ties would offer some degree of permanence so that they can't be just pushed over - doing that does seem incredibly petty of them.

Gabrielle you are right,that fence panel is leaning towards their side,i have done that since the complaint that it is touching their fence,it was upright before, there is nothing but weeds behind that fence panel, he never even goes up to that end,his garden that is a nice part ends lower down,
Re,the housing association cutting the tree they wont, as said in an earlier post, i asked them and unless the roots are causing a problem they wont do it,
I have told the neighbours in the past that anything hanging over their side they are welcome to cut off, but they dont want to,
Our Housng association are brilliant,i cant fault them in any way, but like most they only have so much money to spend, and gave me a contractors no,he wanted £400, well beyond my
I think those thinking it is a mental health problem are possibly right, the looks i got and venomous attitude shocked me
Fences seem to cause a lot of problems my son rents a house out and their neighbour complained about their cat going into his garden, so they put a fence up a higher one than before, now he is complaining it is too high , cant win sometimes, and for the record i am 76, so i do understand up to a point,

For whatever reason next door are not happy and as you have to continue living next door to them can you not ask someone from the Housing Association to come round and mediate? That way you find out what their beef is, have the opportunity to put your point of view and a mediator to well mediate and hopefully find a reasonable compromise. I don't see that you have to do anything else.

Sounds like a mental health issue.

crazyH A housing Association is an agency that rents homes. They are the land lords, some are fantastic like Wessex housing ( so I am told ) some not so good.

The council tree cutter sounds a bit jobsworth. A proper tree surgeon would have cared about the health and appearance of the tree and reduced it evenly

Surely if you live in a rented housing association property, it is not your responsibility to pay to have a tree cut or to attend to a broken fence as neither belong to you.

In the second picture, there looks to be a fence panel at the bottom rigbt-hand side of your garden which appears to be leaning outwards towards next door.
Is this/are they the panel(s) of who h you speak?
I'd ask the council worker who cut down your tree if he can adjust the panels so they are upright...if it doesn't cost too much.
I do think that they are being picky but gardens, driveways, animals, children and noise are the most common complaints between neighbours. You are not alone. I hope it's resolved amicably.

If the tree is on your property it's up to you to keep it trimmed and not intrusive on your neighbours . If it is blocking out there light , it is up to you to do something . As for the fence panels , if there garden is just so . It probably looks an eye sore from there side . If the housing association gets involved you would probably be made to cut the tree right down and remove the fence panels if they are in bad condition .

Why not go round and ask them over for tea and a friendly chat? Say to them that you're aware that relations between you have become strained lately and how about you both discuss it and find ways to solve the problems?