In most situations, gardens are safe havens where you can enjoy the great outdoors without interference from other people. However, many laws dictate what you can and can’t do in your garden and regulations that protect your rights to your outdoor space.
Read on to discover common but important garden laws that you should be mindful of, especially if you’re a homeowner.
Topics covered:
Garden Boundaries
Disputes can easily arise with neighbours about boundaries, trees overgrowing into gardens, and who is responsible for doing specific jobs such as fixing shared fences. With over 1000 boundary disputes raised per year[i], it’s more important than ever to know your rights.
Your house deeds will dictate garden boundaries, so if you believe a neighbour is breaching these, you should refer to your deeds to see where your border is. If you need a copy of your house deeds, you can request them from the government here.
Boundary laws are inherently complex as boundaries aren’t always clear and usually move over time as people move in and out of properties[ii]. If you have an ongoing dispute with your neighbour regarding your garden boundaries, you can seek advice on what to do next from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
We’ll address some important questions below.
Who is responsible for the upkeep of fences on boundaries?
This depends on whether your boundary is shared or not. You can check this in your house deeds. Although your neighbour may agree to split the cost of replacing or repainting a fence, they are not required to do so (especially if house deeds dictate the fence falls on your land).
If the boundary belongs to your neighbour and it is in disrepair, they don’t legally have to do anything about it. If they don’t want to fix a fence, for example, all you can do is negotiate with them over it.
My neighbour’s fence is on my land, and I want to move it – what should I do?
If you’ve compared your deeds to your neighbours and their fence is definitely, obviously on your land – you should always start by speaking to them about potential solutions before going down a legal route. It usually isn’t worth going through the courts with issues like this. Legal fees can add up to thousands of pounds, so you need to decide whether it’s worth it. If the fence is only taking a couple of inches of your land up, it’s unlikely the courts will make your neighbour do anything about it.
Trees, Hedges and Shrubs
When trees and hedges aren’t maintained, they can start to cause problems and disputes between neighbours.
We’ll address common questions below.
What can I do about trees and hedges that are growing into my garden?
If your neighbour’s tree or hedge grows over onto your property, you can legally trim them, but no further than the property boundary. You’re legally obligated to offer the trimmings back to the neighbour. If they don’t want them, it’s your job to dispose of them.
It’s best to let your neighbour know that you’ll be doing this before you go ahead. You’ll need the council’s permission if the tree or hedge is in a conservation area and is protected[iii].
My neighbour’s tree or hedge is too tall, can I do anything?
If your neighbour’s tree or hedge is too tall and is causing problems, you should ask them about cutting them shorter before going to the council for help. You can start by sending a letter or leaving a note if you’re uncomfortable having this conversation in person.
Suppose the hedge or tree meets some or all of the following criteria. In that case, it is considered as a ‘high hedge’, and you can take your complaint to the council if you can’t agree on a solution with your neighbour, and you feel like you’ve taken reasonable steps to resolve it.
- It is taller than 2 metres
- It stops light coming into your garden
- There is a line of 2 or more shrubs/trees
- It’s evergreen or semi-evergreen (the leaves don’t fall off at any point in the year)
You can find contact details for your local council here.
Branches or roots from a neighbour’s tree/hedge have caused damage to my property – who should pay for repairs?
In this case, your neighbour is liable for any damage caused – especially where you have tried to resolve the issue before damage was caused.
Planning Permission
In many cases, you don’t need planning permission to build a structure on your land. These structures are referred to as outbuildings and include sheds, garages, kennels, polytunnels and any other relatively small structure. You generally don’t need planning permission to go ahead with plans for outbuildings, as long as they follow these rules:
- The building should be less than 2.5m in height if placed within 2m of a property boundary
- A maximum eaves height of 2.5m for buildings such as garages, with a maximum overall height of 4m.
- The structure should not be larger than 30m2 (internally).
- The building should not be used as a living accommodation.
- The building shouldn’t take up more than 50% of the space around the original house.
- The structure shouldn’t be built in front of the house.
If you’re unsure whether your building falls under these criteria or not, it’s wise to get in touch with your local council for guidance. You’ll need to apply for planning permission if your building doesn’t meet the above standards.
Bonfire Laws
Fires are especially likely to affect properties surrounding you, mainly due to the smoke they produce. Although domestic bonfires are legal, if you light them and produce smoke frequently, it may interfere with your neighbour’s enjoyment of their properties.
Smoke that is produced frequently is known as ‘nuisance smoke’. You can complain about ‘nuisance smoke’ to your local council, providing the following information to help their investigation[iv]:
- How much smoke there is
- The frequency that you have to deal with the smoke and for how long
- What activity is producing the smoke and how unreasonable the activity is (e.g. burning paperwork every day may be seen as unreasonable, whereas cooking may not be seen as unreasonable)
In addition, the following is against the law:
- Burn household waste that could make people unwell or cause pollution
- Allowing smoke to travel across roads and cause danger to traffic
If you are considerate with what you burn, when, and how often – you should have no problems. If your neighbour’s gardens are near your garden, it may be wise to let them know you’re planning a bonfire so they can close their windows to stop the smoke from entering their homes.
Light
If a window has received light from the sun for 20+ years, it’s against the law to block this. When planting new trees or installing new fences, you should be wary of whether it will affect the light going into your neighbours home.
Birds
There are laws around garden birds that you should be mindful of, especially when it is time to trim or prune hedges and trees.
- It is illegal to disturb a birds nest intentionally whilst it’s being used – even if it hasn’t been finished[v]. Because of this, it’s wise to leave cutting hedges and trees until the winter, where there isn’t any chance of disturbing an active nest.
- It’s against the law to take eggs that belong to wild birds, so if you find one, leave it where it is.
- It’s also illegal to intentionally disturb wild birds whilst they’re in a nest that contains their young, or eggs. This could cause them to abandon the nest.
References
Crane, 2019. Planning Permission For Timber Garden Buildings. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cranegardenbuildings.co.uk/articles/planning-permission-for-garden-buildings
[Accessed February 2021].
GOV.UK, 2015. Nuisance smoke: how councils deal with complaints. [Online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nuisance-smoke-how-councils-deal-with-complaints
[Accessed February 2021].
GOV.UK, n.d. Resolving neighbour disputes. [Online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes/high-hedges-trees-and-boundaries
[Accessed February 2021].
Hookway, A., 2018. Drawing the line on boundaries. [Online]
Available at: https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/27/drawing-the-line-on-boundaries/
[Accessed February 2021].
Ministry of Justice, 2016. Boundary Disputes. [Online]
Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395258/boundary-disputes-a-scoping-study.pdf
[Accessed February 2021].
RSPB, n.d. The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. [Online]
Available at: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wildlife-and-the-law/wildlife-and-countryside-act/
[Accessed February 2021].
Sources
[i] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395258/boundary-disputes-a-scoping-study.pdf
[ii] https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/27/drawing-the-line-on-boundaries/
[iii] https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes/high-hedges-trees-and-boundaries
[iv] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nuisance-smoke-how-councils-deal-with-complaints
[v] https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wildlife-and-the-law/wildlife-and-countryside-act/
Sean Barker is the MD of First Tunnels, and is enthusiastic about providing quality gardening supplies to gardeners across the UK