Picky, picky - they could put in a 10 foot tall privacy fence; embrace the hedge as something to add to your property, not detract from it.

Do you know what kind of hedge? If it grows wide, it seems pretty ridiculous for them to put it RIGHT up against their line. Obviously the rear half of the shrub will always be over your property. Based on my former real estate training, you own the space above your property and have the right to trim anything above your property (although local bylaws and easements may apply).

If it obstructs your view exiting the driveway for safety reasons, you have another issue that you are probably on the right side of. For cosmetic reasons, not so much.

I agree with jimbo that a hedge is not such a terrible thing but there is maintenance required to keep it healthy and looking good. If not, you could end up with an eyesore. I'm not sure how it can deface your property????

You may just be reluctant to accept the change in ownership. I just got some new neighbors that actually use their outdoor space and even put up a basketball hoop in the driveway. kaplump, kaplump, kaplump The two prior occupants (house rental due to slumping sales market), were hermits and were barely seen or heard from. I miss them!

But basketball hoops and hedges and fences are part of neighborhoods, so you may just have to buck up. You will have this neighbor for awhile and may want to stay on decent terms. Maybe there's something in your yard they want to create a screen for???

Check your town ordinances for what's allowed regarding fences, property lines, maintenance, and so on; the ordinances are probably on-line. Many towns set a limit on the height of a fence in the front of the house, and a calm and reasonable phone call to someone in City Hall may tell you if the heights apply to hedges as well.

They should plant the shrubs far enough inside the property line so that the shrubs, at mature size, will NOT go into your property. That may mean that they lose several feet....something that may make them think twice.

Thanks so much for your replies. It's an eyesore because all the houses on the block have open lawns and it will ruin the look of the block. Walking down the block it will block my whole front lawn from view as he wants to run it right down to the city sidewalk in front of my house.

There is only a narrow strip of grass at the edge of my front lawn that might be his and then the concrete to his driveway starts. There really isn't enough room to plant a hedge. It will definitely encroach on my property, and he knows that from the start. If I have the rights above the property line I should also have the rights below it, and the right to remove any roots on my property.

I'm a good, reasonable person, but I don't want this hedge as it will deface my property, and I want him to know I will do EVERYTHING legally possible to not have it there. I'm not being picky. I am defending my right to not have the look and value of my property compromised. There isn't a house on this block worth less than $1,250,000.

I will call the building department. Any idea what city agency is responsible for ordinances?

Thanks again.

Try code enforcement.

"There is only a narrow strip of grass at the edge of my front lawn that might be his and then the concrete to his driveway starts."

Unless you have a survey in your hands and can find your markers this entire discussion is going nowhere.
You need to know exactly where the property line is before you go fighting over it.

I should also have the rights below it, and the right to remove any roots on my property.

Probably so, but then you will most certainly disfigure the hedge compounding the problem.

Is there an HOA involved? Some of these pricey neighborhoods have one. If so, they probably are "in charge of what the block should look like".

blondell, I know what you mean about how fences and hedges can really disrupt the flowing appearance of a neighborhood. I'll be really sad when the day comes that new neighbors decide that they want to wall themselves up. I see it in other locations....that cubby hole look of office cubicles taken outside, lol.

If I were you, I'd have my property surveyed right away and property lines very visibly marked. I hope that you get the answers you want from the City Codes department.

Get your property line marked out and try being nice to the fella. I would hate him to tell you your bermuda grass is invading his fescue or the like and start a decade long battle which will put a frown on your face every morning.

One of the problems witb these McNeighborhoods is lack of ability to do anything w/o upsetting someone. So much for actually owning property. Here comes big government. Move out by me where none of the houses match and you can be an individual with a couple acres instead of a drone for 1/5th that hassle.

I guess I can't say much, since I live out in the country, but to me, open expanses of lawn look rather hot and dry - Almost everyone can use some variety in their life! To me, a hedge would be an excellent way to break up the monotony of a boring, cookie cutter neighborhood...

Does anybody actually garden around there? Sounds a bit...stodgy.

In most (but definitely not all) areas, the land owner does have the right to control what grows onto/over/under their property. Exceptions include areas subject to HOA agreements, areas with laws governing things like scenic views or encroaching shade, areas with laws concerning heritage plants or plants of community value, etc. Many areas do disallow actions that would kill someone else's plant or plants that are on the property line, but most areas will allow pruning and root pruning that doesn't cause direct harm to the health of the plant.

I believe that as long as blondelle's situation doesn't fall into one of the limitations listed above, he/she has a right to determine what grows onto/over/under his/her property. It doesn't really matter what we think we would like, it's about what blondelle likes, since he/she owns the property. If the neighbors can keep the hedge on their property (and no HOA guidelines or laws are violated), then blondelle should have no say-so about the planting.

It's also possible that state law applies. In my own state, for example. an area 5 feet in on each side of the actual property line is considered to be nearly owned in common as far as plantings go. Trees and shrubs within this area are designated "line plants" and maintainence etc. is a shared responsibility. That does not mean a neighbor can deliberately encroach 5 feet onto the other's property and plant something but recognizes that something planted within 5' of the property line is very likely to extend at least five feet over. Trimming back to the actual property line is still permitted, but the law encourages cooperation over confrontation. The latter might be worth a try even in a neighborhood of million dollar+ houses.

Actually in many states, including mine, you can trim encroaching plantings up to the sky and down to the earth, and if the plant dies, too bad for the neighbor.

The responsibility for getting a survey (and paying for it) belongs to the neighbor, not the OP, in the majority of jurisdictions.

Well, if I was the neighbor, I'd start considering a nice chain-link fence. The nice kind, with the plastic privacy slats in it....

"Well, if I was the neighbor, I'd start considering a nice chain-link fence. The nice kind, with the plastic privacy slats in it...."

The kind with the white and green alternating stripes? Remind me to never get you mad.

I believe Marcolo is correct. We had a tree (we did not plant) that hung over our neighbor's porch. They asked our permission to trim it and we concurred. We eventually took the tree down. Now one of our neighbor's trees overhangs our garage. We ask his permission to trim it, or sometimes he will trim it for us. Most communities have a zoning board that meets once a month or you can find your zoning ordinance online probably as a link from your county's website.

I doubt that chain link fences, even the 'nice kind', would be acceptable in a neighborhood with million dollar homes. I'm just sayin'.

I doubt that chain link fences, even the 'nice kind', would be acceptable in a neighborhood with million dollar homes. I'm just sayin'.

"Actually in many states...you can trim encroaching plantings up to the sky and down to the earth, and if the plant dies, too bad for the neighbor."

That would be the exception, NOT the rule.

"The responsibility for getting a survey (and paying for it) belongs to the neighbor, not the OP, in the majority of jurisdictions."

It may be the responsibility of the neighbor to get the survey before planting, but if he doesn't, then so what. The OP would have to PROVE that the plantings were planted onto their property. No state, of which I am aware, requires a survey before planting trees on one's own property. SO the proof falls back onto the person who's property borders were infringed.

This example may seem whacky, but it's like saying a robber must get permission before entering your home.

I have a property diagram from when I moved in. Tells me how far from this and that my rectangle of earth starts. If something were to come up that would make it matter if my 411' starts at the street of three feet off it I would just have my darned lines professionally marked.

I can think of two reasons not to:

It is not free and either because of the economy, medical issues or whatever you might be broke right now

Or if I hated my neighbor since he she or it may whatever I might wait until they plant their trees or pave their driveway and make them undue it at their cost. Seems like more trouble than most nice ppl would wanna cause though but I would understand.

Really the right thing to do is be pro-active. Know your boundaries, communicate with the neighbors like humans. And of course they might be butt heads and uncle sam will have to step in to save the day.

in the end, this is a legal question. know what lawyers say about free advice? from people who are talking about their own areas, not the area in question?

that being said...in my experience, the neighbor's plants can overhang your yard. I know of nothing in any legal code or community covenant I have ever come across thwt wouldbrequire anplant on your property be kept entirely on your property. And if you object to the offending branches, I know of nothing that would prevent you from cutting them back. However if any action of yours would cause the plants to die...

yeah. this sounds like like we should sell popcorn.

Maybe the hedge could be stepped down from back to front., beginning 4 feet way at the back and as low as 2 feet towards the front lawn. A well-pruned 4 foot length of hedge, could be stepped down to 3 feet for a certain length and then dropped to 2 feet at the front. I am picturing a hedge that looks like a stairway with step downs that are sharply defined.

By law, you have the right to trim branches and limbs that extend past the property line. But you can cut only UP TO the property line.

You may not go onto the neighbor's property or destroy the tree. If you harm the tree, you could be found liable for up to three times the value of the tree.

gary is most likely correct.. but laws vary.. city by city.. state by state ..

ken

I wonder if Gary is some how familiar with the original poster's particular situation and local laws or just one of those people that doesn't read the rest of the thread and shoots blindly from the hip.

I have no problem cutting my neighbors' plants which overhang the fenceline.

Deleting my response, since I see the OP was written 3 years ago.

Our last home was on a golf course with wide expanses of grass and most had pools. My neighbor was jealous of our pool (design), so they put up a hedge blocking our view of the T Box, and we like golf and could no longer see it, but the hedge stayed. Finally he got so allergic to the grass with migraines that they moved. The new neighbors and us carved a path through the hedge so we could visit. We took care of our side and when it got too tall, we trimmed it lower. We have since moved to a place with no HOA and no control over what our neighbors do. But we have 1.5 acres now, so whatever they do doesn't affect us.

I have been looking at some of these comments and it seems that many are of the understanding that; if a neighbor plants a tree or shrub on the property line and it grows over onto your property that there is not much you can do about it. I always though there was ordinances that specified how far or close something could be built or planted reference to the property line. By taking some of the advice above, if the neighbor plants on the property line and it grows onto your property then the neighbor just took away some of your property that you paid for and pay taxes on and you should just deal with it. I think not.

It really depends on the CC&R's or city ordinances. You should know what those are before starting a war.

Who can I call to get the neighbor's bushes off my driveway is taking up a whole parking space

"Who can I call to get the neighbor's bushes off my driveway is taking up a whole parking space"

There is no agency you can call or ordnance in place in North America that will compel your neighbor to cut branches that encroach on your property. In return, you have the right to cut back encroaching vegetation to the property line.

One small caveat...in some states, that absolute right to cut vegetation back is limited if the work can reasonably be expected to seriously impact the health of the tree/shrub.

Have you already spoken to the neighbour?

Once again, we have someone very late to the party sign on to the site to make their first and only comment to an eleven year old thread and clearly without reading any of the other comments. Anyone with any functioning gray cells knows this is not a one-size-fits-all situation and that individual state/provincial, municipal or HOA rules may or may not apply. "it's the law." Who's law??

It is also does not lend much credibility when their first post is filled with insults. 'Moronic, indeed!!

We've lived in our house for coming up on 25 years. We got new neighbors about a year ago. Occasionally, if our mail woman goes on vacation, we get all their mail. They get a bunch. Being neighborly we take it over next door and leave it between their storm door and main door on the side of their house. The had a lock installed on their mailbox when they moved in. No door in front. They're not home but we wouldn't bother them if they were. This a courtesy as the alternative, leaving it in our box with the flag up so it can be re-delivered could take days.

They are virtually never out in the yard. Met the husband once when he had just moved in, but that's it. He called me over to tell me there were baby squirrels nesting in our yard because he sees them playing when he has coffee in his kitchen. He said he was worried they'd chew through our electrical wire. I thanked him for letting me know. But I didn't do anything because we've always had squirrels. Not sure what we're supposed to do.

Well this year, instead of talking to us or sending us a note, they call city code enforcement. Why? Because our ashleaf spirea is hanging over their property line. In the past, neighbors usally do one of two things if anything hung over a fence on any side of our yard (three neighbors): 1) trim it (would take literally 15 minutes inclduing raking or putting in a yard waste can), 2) mention it to us. This would prompt us to offer trim it and clean up, or 3) let us know they'd like to trim it as a courtesy.

They are early 30s and we are late 60s. Possibly they are hesitant to ask or find it awkward? I have no idea. The ashleaf spirea is beautiful with sprays of white flowers.I have actually deadheaded it after it blooms last year so that it looks its best. I talked to code enforcement and proposed that I bisect the plant. It will look bad on their side. Fortunately it is hardy so cutting it severely won't kill it. Each fall I cut it almost all the way back. It grows to 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide during each growing season.

Strange way for new neighbors to behave among many families who have lived in our neighbor for decades. Thay are next to a street on the other side.

seagreen, you are the kind of neighbors I treasure. Don’t give up on the ’youngsters’. We were able to lead our new, stand-offish neighbors over to the friendly side over time.