Jump to content

Planting a new hedge up to wall of neighbours property.


Ysatis
 Share

Recommended Posts

Evening all.

I'm really hoping someone can help.

The rear of my neighbours house backs directly onto our front garden. Quite literally my garden goes right up to his wall. The gable end of his house is on the road as is the rest of my front garden.

Last April I planted hedge cuttings along my boundary and up to his wall. He saw me do this. However, in October last year we returned to find that he (I'm guessing) has posted and roped off a 1m from his house down the length of his house and weedkilled everything within this area including my new cuttings. Friends of ours informed us that you have to keep 1m 'free' so he can maintain his property. Why he didn't have a quick word with me when he saw me planting I don't know. I'm also hoping he hasn't done this to make a claim on the land. I'm sure he's just making a point that I can't plant up to his wall.

So now I have this hedge growing 1½m in from the road along my boundary (a gap for some gates) and the hedge continuing towards his house but stopping 1m from his property and a few metres in from the road because it was planted on an angle.

This has created a 1m opening so any animal or person could wander into my property. It looks so odd having a hedge and then a gap. I have photos but I have no idea how to get them from disc to this forum.

Does anybody know the rules for planting near property please.

Is there anything I can put / errect there to stop wandering feet?

Kind regards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Ysatis "]Last April I planted hedge cuttings along my boundary and up to his wall.  Friends of ours informed us that you have to keep 1m 'free' so he can maintain his property. [/quote]

IIRC it is rather that you have to plant your shrubs/hedges 1 metre away from the boundary so that you can maintain your hedge from the far side of the hedge. Your neighbour has the right to come onto your land to maintain his property, if necessary; but has no right to use the land in any other way. You have no right to plant right up to his wal, even if the land is yours as marked on the cadastral plan, as there must be a maintenance zone for you to use.

Sue

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about access to maintain his property but the law (in the absence of any local bylaws) is.....

Under 2m high should be planted no closer than 0.50m from the boundary

Over 2m high should be planted no closer than 2m from the boundary

Art.671 of the code civil applies.

Basically it's the opposite of the UK in France in that stuff planted on your land is your responsibility so if neighbour has a fence and it goes over or through the fence it's your job to cut it not your neighbours. Obviously you need to have access to cut it hence the distance from the boundry.

Also many houses have some form of crepe on the outside so growing a hedge up against a wall of a house can cause all sorts of problems with the wall both outside and inside (condensation for example). I understand it's a bit late now but a chat with your neighbour before you planted the second hedge may of helped. As far as the current situation is concerned perhaps a fence (metal grille) on the border of your garden to the road with a gate and then a word with your neighbour so you can extend it up to his property. Perhaps it may then be possible for him to walk round between the fence and the hedge to his wall and tell him he can do that any time he likes if he agrees. Take a gift and have a friendly chat before you move any further forward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Sue and Quillan.

 I'm aware now of the maintenance issue and guessed that I'd done something wrong regarding my planting. I'm also assuming that letting weeds and stinging nettles grow near his property are also a no no, that's why they got a zapping. I hope that when I get round to seeding grass in that area it won't get the same treatment.

I did consider approaching him to see if he would agree to us putting a gate, possibly with a lock (both of us having a key) between the hedge and his wall. Somehow I don't think he will agree to this. We always say hello and we do get a forced grunt back. I think he either doesn't like us or he's very suspicious of us. We have tried to be as considerate as possible as neighbours but perhaps our ignorance to the rules annoy him, not that I think we have broken many and certainly not intentionally.

I am also aware of the height rules, but it was planting up / near property I have no knowledge.

So thanks again both of you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My french is reasonable.

I nearly did Hoddy but bottled out. He used to walk by 3-4 times a day but now, due to his health I think, it maybe once a week. But he looks so unapproachable. To be honest I'm a little scared of him. I have no reason to be other than he intimidates me a little just by his look. I feel like I'm walking on egg shells and worry constantly that I'm doing something wrong. Perhaps I'll pluck up the courage the next time I see him. It did spoil my holiday to start with because I thought it was quite harsh way of telling me something. Especially as he had walked by whilst I was actually planting. I would have been more than happy to have been told what I can and cannot do. Perhaps he thinks I'm unapproachable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you have a neighbour on the other side of your house that you talk too. They will probably know the chap. Do be careful especially if you live in a small commune as they may be related. Round here if you kick one in the crutch the next morning the whole village walks with a limp. [:D] I have seen a few come undone with that one. Start a conversation with one neighbour, ask them if they know the chap and perhaps explain that you think you might have untentionally upset him when you planted your first hedge because you didn't understand and how sorry you are. Chances are it will 'leak' back to him which opens the door for you to speak with him, explain to his face that you made a mistake due to ignorance and different custom's, explain what you want to do and ask him for advice. I have also discovered that the French chaps quite like a little snort of Whisky from time to time.[;-)]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Quillan"] ... explain to his face that you made a mistake due to ignorance and different customs, explain what you want to do and ask him for advice. I have also discovered that the French chaps quite like a little snort of Whisky from time to time.[/quote]

Now that sounds like a really good idea.

Sue [:)]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is the situation regarding a clôture, specifically chain link fencing?

There is a tennis court behind my property, the poles and grillage are about very close to my boundary wall, too close to squeeze through, I removed the grillage with permission to render my wall and never replaced it on the basis that I may have had to re-do it as I really did not know what I was doing.

It has remained like that for several years with the court rarely being played on, now the factory want to turn it into a car park, in fact extending the one beside it, clearly a more substantial fence or barrier will be needed although perhaps not as high as the present one.

I would like to negotiate pro-actively with them on this issue so what are the regs concerning fences/access alongside boundary walls?

The Art 671 only seems to be concerned with trees.

Thankyou.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't answer that I am afraid so I would suggest you have a word with somebody in the legal profession to get advice before deciding what to do. It does seem however that you have a reasonably good rapport with the somebody in the company so you should be able to sort it out to the benefit of both sides. If they want to make a car park perhaps you could suggest they put a curb in at a reasonable distance from the wall then turf (or gravel if they want something maintenance free) from the curb to the wall, say a metre wide. That would help stop people from accidentally hitting the wall and leave them far enough away so that if they park 'back in' the exhaust fumes from the cars don't mark the wall making it look dirty and grubby. An alternative might be that they take over responsibility and maintenance of the wall but you retain the 'title'.

Our mayor told me that with regards to Art 671 hedges are treated the same as trees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No problem with the friendly negotiation its just I want to achieve something else to my benefit, knowing that for instance they stand to lose one or two meters of the width were the relevant code to be insisted on would strengthen my hand.

I do have a good relationship with the company and I have my own key and written permission to access the tennis court whenever I want. Indeed I want the negotiations to be of benefit to both sides its just without the proverbial stick they may not see what their benefit would be.

I am pretty sure there is something about a minimum distance being kept free of obstructions for maintenance purposes, the landowner of course giving permission to access the wall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me tell you a story from first hand experience.

We were told no fishermen in our garden were allowed and there was no 2m (or whatever distance it is) public access along the river bank. I asked to double check so many times the notaire got fed up with me. It turns out that not only are they not allowed in the garden but half the river is mine and that technically they can't go in that either.

Three months after arriving in my 'new house' there is a fella with a fishing rod wandering around in the garden. I asked him politely to go as it was private, he got stroppy saying it was his right. I went and got the document and said something along the lines of "not according to this it's not". He got really mad, called me all sorts of names, did a poo outside my gates and that was the last we saw of him, for a while.

I sent a letter to the president of the local fishing club asking him to come for a chat, I sent him another and he still never replied nor visited. The next time I saw somebody fishing in my river which in a sort of fortunate way was the chap from my garden (he was a stroppy chap and I knew he would be down the presidents house like a bullet), I told him to leave.

Word got back to the president who arrived a couple of hours later on my doorstep in a bit of a mood. I lied and said I was goning out but he cold come back in a couple of days. When he did I showed him the letter, opened a bottle of Scotch and we had a chat. The result is that people can fish in my side of the river but they can't come in my garden. Anyone buying a licence will also get a piece of paper from the club telling them that from a certain point and upstream from there people can't enter gardens as they are private and that this 2m rule does not apply.

Sometimes it's nice to have a card up your sleeve to use only when you have to. Likewise it's always best to do things face to face. There is always a middle path and a big stick like threatening to set the law on them is not always needed. It is a good idea however to research and know your rights.

As a foot note the president got the stroppy chap to write a letter of apology to me and Mrs 'Q' and when I see him fishing I always say Bonjour and get a Bonjour back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Quillan"] Start a conversation with one neighbour, ask them if they know the chap and perhaps explain that you think you might have untentionally upset him when you planted your first hedge because you didn't understand and how sorry you are. Chances are it will 'leak' back to him which opens the door for you to speak with him, explain to his face that you made a mistake due to ignorance and different custom's, explain what you want to do and ask him for advice. I have also discovered that the French chaps quite like a little snort of Whisky from time to time.[;-)][/quote]

I like this approach and will try and do it when I'm there next. I also think a chat at the Mairie to be clear on what the rules are might be a good idea too.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes Quillan, I did intend to keep the stick up my sleeve, if ever I use something like that its along the lines of "I am sure neither of us wants to see you having to lose 2 meters of your car park, I am sure between us we can come up with a compromise beneficial to both parties", you know the kind of thing, it sounds like you are quiet adept at it.

I too have had someone lay a cable in my trailer after I had politely asked them not to cross my land climbing over the baches covering my materials in order to squeeze through the gap in the fence to use the tennis court, I said that they could knock on my door anytime and I would open the gate for them if they had a club membership card which of course they didnt or they would have had their own key.

Mine appeared during the night, I assume your guy didnt do his in front of you!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...