Usually, yes, you can cut back branches that overhang your garden, as far as the boundary line and no further, at your own cost, and you do not normally need your neighbour’s permission to do it. That right comes with real conditions. You must not cross the boundary, the cuttings still belong to your neighbour, and if the tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order or stands in a conservation area the position changes completely, so check that before anything else. What follows is general information on the common position, not legal advice. If your situation is already contentious, or a valuable tree is involved, take proper advice before you cut.
What you can usually do
The long-standing common position is that a landowner may cut back growth that crosses their boundary, back to the boundary line. A few practical rules follow from that:
- Work from your own side, unless your neighbour agrees to give you access.
- Cut only to the boundary. Reaching over to take more, however tidy the result, goes beyond the right.
- The branches, and any fruit on them, remain your neighbour’s property. Offer the arisings back rather than throwing them over the fence, and if they are not wanted, dispose of them properly yourself.
- The cost is yours. There is no general right to make the neighbour pay for trimming what overhangs your side.
There is also a limit of common sense. Cutting so hard that the tree is destabilised, badly disfigured or killed can leave you open to a claim, even if each cut stopped at the boundary. Roots are treated in a broadly similar way, but severing them is far more likely to harm the tree or affect its stability, so take advice before touching them.
Check whether the tree is protected before you cut
This is the step people miss, and it changes everything. If the tree is covered by a Tree Preservation Order, or stands in a conservation area, you will generally need the council’s consent before pruning it, and that includes cutting back growth on your own side of the boundary. The fact that the branches hang over your garden does not lift the protection, and it makes no difference that the tree belongs to someone else.
Carrying out work on a protected tree without consent is an offence and can bring fines, which for the most serious breaches can be unlimited. For a tree under an order you apply to the council for consent. In a conservation area the usual route is a written notice to the council, known as a Section 211 notice, given six weeks before the work starts. The council’s register is the definitive record of what is protected, so check with the council directly and check current guidance before committing to anything. Our guide to finding out whether a tree is protected explains how to do this.
Talk to your neighbour first
Even where the law is on your side, a conversation usually gets a better result than a saw. Your neighbour may not realise the tree is causing a problem, may prefer to have the work done by their own contractor, or may simply want to agree the extent of the cut so the tree still looks right from both gardens. Explain what you intend to do, agree access if you need it, and keep a note of what was agreed. Many overhang questions are settled over the fence without ever becoming disputes.
It is worth separating two questions that often get tangled. What you may cut back is one. Who is responsible for the tree, and who is liable if it causes damage, is another, and we cover that in a separate article. This one deals only with the first.
Where our team can help
Our surveyors provide independent tree surveys across Preston, Lancashire and the North West. The independence matters here. The report stands alone, it does not depend on us carrying out any work, and you are free to take it to any contractor you choose. Before you cut, our team can check with the council whether a tree is protected, assess its condition, and set out in writing what can sensibly be removed without harming the tree or your own position. If a disagreement is already brewing, a factual written report gives both households something neutral to work from.
Great Oaks is an ARB Approved Contractor (AC2637), and we carry public liability cover of five million pounds and professional indemnity cover of one million pounds. Survey visits are booked within days, the report follows days after the visit rather than weeks, and the price we quote is the price you pay.
If you are unsure whether the tree next door is protected, or what the council will need before any work goes ahead, use the free scope check form at our tree surveys page or call 01772 369694. We will tell you what you need, and just as readily what you do not.
