My neighbour’s tree overhangs my garden: what can I cut?

If branches from a neighbour’s tree hang over your garden, you can usually cut them back yourself. GOV.UK puts it simply: you can trim branches or roots that cross into your property, but only up to the property boundary. Go further and your neighbour could take you to court for damaging their property. Before you reach for the saw, there are a few things worth checking.

Check the tree is not protected

A tree with a Tree Preservation Order, or any tree in a conservation area, may need the council’s permission even for branches over your side. Halton is clear that consent is needed before any branch or root pruning on a protected tree, and Cheshire East warns that starting work without permission, where it is needed, is a criminal offence. Our guide on how to check if a tree is protected has each local council’s records.

Cut back to the boundary, from your side

The councils we cover set out the same limits:

• Only the parts that cross into your property, and only working from within it. St Helens Borough Council’s tree policy
• No crossing the boundary to reach them, which could be treated as trespass, and no taking the top off a neighbour’s tree. Cheshire East
• This is a common law right, so you do not need your neighbour’s permission, but you must not cross the boundary. Cheshire West and Chester

Look after the tree

Cutting a branch at the boundary line is not always good for the tree. Cheshire East asks that the work is done to good arboricultural practice and does not cause die-back, let in disease or leave the tree dangerously lopsided, and points out you could be liable if the tree becomes dangerous as a result. St Helens strongly advises asking a professional tree surgeon unless the work is small enough for hand secateurs.

The cuttings belong to your neighbour

St Helens’ policy says that legally you do not own the parts of the tree that overhang your property, and you should arrange to return them. Cheshire East says the same: offer the wood back to the owner. What you should not do is throw it over the fence; Cheshire West and Chester says so in as many words. In practice most neighbours are happy for the cuttings to be taken away, so agree it with them first.

Talk to your neighbour first

St Helens strongly advises telling the tree’s owner what you plan to do. Its policy notes that talking first avoids later claims of damage, and your neighbour may agree to more work than you are entitled to do on your own. If you hire someone to cut back a neighbour’s tree, you pay for the work.

What about a council tree?

The same common law right applies to a council tree, and the same limits. St Helens will not prune its own trees just to stop branches overhanging, and Liverpool sets out its own position on trees overhanging private property.

How we can help

We check whether the tree is protected before any work, and if it is, we can make the application for you for a small fee. We cut back to the boundary from your side, and the cuttings are chipped and taken away unless you or your neighbour would like to keep them. In spring and summer we check for nesting birds first; our nesting season guide explains why.