What can I do about a neighbour's hedge that blocks my light?

This is one of the most common neighbour disputes in Britain and one of the most misunderstood. There is no general right to light in a garden, no rule that a hedge must be under any particular height, and no obligation on anyone to cut a hedge simply because you would prefer it shorter. What does exist is a specific statutory complaint route, and it has narrow criteria and a fee attached.

What you'll need

• A camera
• A notebook or diary
• A tape measure (optional)

Step by step

1. Establish whose hedge it is.Check the title plan and deeds. A hedge might be entirely theirs, entirely yours, or on the line and jointly owned. What you can do differs completely between those cases.
2. Know what you may already do.You may generally cut back growth that overhangs your boundary, to the boundary line only, provided the hedge is not protected. The cuttings remain the owner's property, so offer them back. You may not reduce the height of a hedge on their land, and you may not go onto their land without permission.
3. Check whether anything is protected.If the hedge includes a tree with a Tree Preservation Order, or you are in a Conservation Area, cutting even the overhang can be an offence. Ring the council and ask before you touch it.
4. Talk to them, then put it in writing.A friendly conversation resolves most of these. If it does not, write a short polite letter setting out the problem, what you would like, and a reasonable timescale. Keep a copy. This is not just good manners — the council will require evidence that you tried.
5. Gather evidence while you wait.Dated photographs from inside the affected rooms and from the garden, at different times of day and different seasons. Measurements of the hedge height and its distance from your windows. Notes of every conversation and letter.
6. Check the complaint criteria.The high hedges provisions in England and Wales cover a line of two or more mainly evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs, over 2m tall, forming a barrier to light or access, that adversely affects the reasonable enjoyment of a domestic property. A single tree is not covered. A deciduous hedge is generally not covered. Roots and falling leaves are not covered.
7. Understand what the council will and will not do.Councils charge a fee, which is often substantial and usually not refundable. They assess whether the hedge unreasonably affects your property, taking both households' interests into account, and can issue a remedial notice requiring work. They will not act as a mediator, and they will reject a complaint where you have not tried to settle it yourself.
8. Expect the outcome to be moderate.A remedial notice typically requires reduction to a specified height rather than removal, and 2m is a common benchmark rather than a guarantee. Councils will not order a hedge below 2m, and will not order removal of a hedge.
9. Consider mediation before the formal route.Community mediation services are far cheaper than a council fee, much faster, and preserve a relationship you will still have in ten years. Councils frequently suggest it, and it works more often than people expect.
10. Know the position in Scotland and Northern Ireland.Scotland has its own high hedge legislation with a similar 2m threshold and its own application process, and Northern Ireland has separate provisions again. The principles are similar but the detail and the fees differ, so check with your own council.

Tips

• Anything you must declare when you sell the house is worth avoiding. A formal neighbour dispute is generally disclosable on the seller's property information form, and it puts buyers off.
• Ask for something specific and reasonable — 'could it come down to about 2.5m' lands very differently from 'that hedge is a nightmare'.
• If you cut the overhang, do it neatly and offer the cuttings back. Dumping them over the fence has been treated as fly-tipping and it destroys any goodwill you had.

Common mistakes

• Cutting beyond the boundary line — Cutting growth on their side of the boundary is trespass and can be criminal damage. Cut to the line and no further, and do not lean over to reach.
• Going straight to the council — The complaint will be rejected if you cannot show a genuine attempt to resolve it directly, and the fee is generally not refunded.
• Assuming there is a right to light in the garden — Rights to light are a narrow area of property law relating to long-established light through defined apertures such as windows, not a general right to sunshine in a garden.
• Cutting a hedge containing a protected tree — A Tree Preservation Order or Conservation Area status applies regardless of whose land the overhang is on, and penalties are serious.

Questions people ask