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High Hedges

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, Part 8: High Hedges

In accordance with Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, a hedge is defined as ‘two or more evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs standing in a line, at a height of over two meters above ground level.’

Any owner/occupier of a residential property affected by a hedge can complain to their local council, providing that they meet the following criteria:

It is an evergreen or semi-evergreen hedge of two or more trees or shrubs standing in a row
The hedge is over two metres high
The neighbours have tried to solve the matter amicably

Introduction

Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which gave local authorities powers to deal with complaints about high hedges came into operation in England on 1 June 2005.

From 1 June 2005, provided you have tried and exhausted all other avenues for resolving the hedge dispute, you will be able to take your complaint about a neighbour's evergreen hedge to Torbay Council.

The role of the local authority is not to mediate or negotiate between you and the hedge owner but to adjudicate on whether - in the words of the Act - the hedge is adversely affecting your reasonable enjoyment of your property.

Fees

The government indicates that referral to the Local Authority is a last resort, and that a fee to cover the actual costs of processing the complaint, including any costs associated with subsequent appeals is therefore fair and appropriate.

The government has determined that the level of the fee should be set by the Local Authority.

Guidance in The Regulatory Impact Assessment: High hedges, implementing Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, indicates that actual costs would be in the order of £400. The fee to lodge and have the complaint determined will therefore be £400.

Exemptions from payment of fee

If you are currently receiving Job Seekers Allowance, Housing/Council Tax Benefit, or any other means tested benefit, and can produce evidence of this, you are entitled to 50% concession, giving a total fee of £200.

The fee is payable on lodging the complaint, unless paid the complaint will not be entertained.

Making the complaint

If you wish to make a formal complaint about your neighbour's high hedge, you will need to write to us at the above address:

You must have followed all of the guidance within the Office of the Deputy Prime Ministers (ODPM) leaflet Over the garden hedge.

For your information, you may want to look at the following related documents produced by the ODPM.

Complaining to the Council

Appealing against the Councils decision

These can be viewed by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page.

Torbay Council cannot negotiate or mediate between you and your neighbour. A local community mediation service might be able to help you. They can be contacted at www.mediationuk.org.uk

Involving the council is the last resort if you really cant agree a solution. We as the council can refuse to intervene if we think you haven't done everything you reasonably could to settle your dispute.

We will take account of all relevant factors to strike a balance between the competing interests of the complainant and hedge owner, as well as the interests of the wider community.

If we consider the circumstances justify it, we can issue a formal notice to the hedge owner which will set out what they must do to the hedge to remedy the problem, and when by. Failure to carry out the works required by the authority is an offence which, on prosecution, could lead to a fine of up to £1,000.

Cutting the tall stories down to size

The legislation does not require all hedges to be cut down to a height of 2 metres
You do not have to get permission to grow a hedge above 2 metres
When a hedge grows over 2 metres the local authority does not automatically take action, unless a justifiable complaint is made
If you complain to your local authority, it does not follow automatically that they will order your neighbour to reduce the height of their hedge. They have to weigh up all the issues and consider each case on its merits
The legislation does not cover single or deciduous trees
The local authority cannot require the hedge to be removed
The legislation does not guarantee access to uninterrupted light
There is no provision to serve an Anti-social Behaviour Order (ASBO) in respect of high hedge complaints.

Frequently asked questions on high hedges

Why should the person who is suffering the hedge problems have to pay the Council to intervene?

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 states that complainants must pay a fee to the local authority when they submit their hedge complaint. There are several reasons why we think this is fair and reasonable:

Most people who responded to questions about fees in the 1999 consultation 'High hedges - possible solutions' thought it was fair that the complainant should pay something for the local authority to intervene in their hedge dispute.

Payment of a fee will encourage people to try to settle these disputes amicably, making sure that involvement of the local authority really is a last resort.

A fee will also help to deter frivolous or vexatious complaints.

It is common practice for local authorities to charge a fee for a service which is likely to benefit an individual (in this case, the complainant) rather than the community in general.

But isn't the complainant the innocent party in this dispute?

It is important to understand the way the legislation works. It allows local authorities to review these cases, as independent and impartial third parties. Authorities are not investigating any offence - none has been committed, even if a complainant 'wins' their case - and so the legislation does not deal in innocent or guilty parties. As a result, the fee is a payment for a service - not a penalty.

How can there be no offence: it's anti-social behaviour?

There is no special significance in the high hedges provisions being included in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. It simply provided a suitable opportunity, and vehicle, to get the high hedges legislation onto the statute book after several unsuccessful attempts through Private Members Bills. Certainly, the Act makes no provision for an Anti-social Behaviour Order to be served on the hedge owner. And no offence is committed until such time as a hedge owner fails to implement a local authority's order to carry out works to the hedge to remedy the problems it is causing.

Can I reclaim the fee from the hedge owner?

There is no procedure under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 for the complainant to obtain re-payment of the fee, either from the local authority or from the hedge owner.

People have asked about taking their neighbours to the small claims court. This is the special procedure for handling smaller claims in the county court. It can be used for most claims for £5,000 or less and so, on the face of it, the procedure may apply to reimbursement of the fee for making a complaint about a neighbour's high hedge. However, issuing a claim at court should be a last resort. People should have tried other ways of settling the matter; for example, by writing to their neighbour to ask for recompense.

Further information is contained in the leaflets 'Making a Claim' (Leaflet EX301) and 'The Small Claims Track' (Leaflet EX307) available from the county court and at www.courtservice.gov.uk. Court staff can advise on the procedures, provide the necessary forms and help people to fill them out, but the final decision rests with the judge. So, court staff cannot tell someone whether or not they have a good claim or comment on their chances of success. People may be able to get free legal advice from a law centre to help them with this.

Why can't I complain to my local authority about deciduous trees and hedges that cause problems?

The legislation is restricted to evergreen hedges because there was substantial evidence that they were a widespread problem - from Hedgeline, the campaign group, and other letters sent in to ODPM from all over the country. And both the problem and possible solutions were the subject of public consultation. The results indicated overwhelming support for new laws to deal with evergreen hedges, including among the majority of local authorities who replied. Our mandate - and commitment - to legislative action is, therefore, to take action in respect of evergreen hedges only.

The consultation revealed no general appetite for legislation to deal with all problem hedges. And it must be said that we have no comparable evidence that deciduous hedges are a general problem. Although we get some letters from people who have problems with deciduous trees, these tend to relate to specific and individual sets of circumstances. They are also outnumbered by the representations we continue to receive on evergreen hedges.

Would the legislation alter if more people wrote to you to complain about deciduous trees and hedges?

Even if there was more evidence of a widespread problem, ODPM would still need to put the issue to public consultation before they could consider extending the provisions in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to allow local authorities to deal with complaints about deciduous hedges. In addition, ODPM will want to ensure the current legislation is bedded in and working effectively before considering making any changes to it.

Further information

More information about the legislation can be found on the website for The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister under the Urban Policy section, or you can contact ODPM by writing to them at the following address:

Trees and Hedges Team
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Floor 3/C5
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London SW1E 5DU