I pay a service charge and the people in charge are refusing to cut down a large tree

[Pingman777]

Hello

background

where I live , we have 12 houses , a grade 2 listed house and about 15 flats. The flat were originally sold as leasehold and we have communal land , so we all pay service charge for the upkeep of the land and the flats ( flat owners pay more ) . I loved into the house new and this was about 23 years ago. the flats got together and went leasehold and created a management company and they outsource the management of the estate . None of the houses were consulted and we never received any paperwork to sign

i am asking for a tree to be cut down which is over 20feet . Both myself and my neighbour have asked the management company and they are refusing to cut the tree down. have cited right of light but that falls in deaf ears

the fact that the houses pay money , surely we have some rights + we were never asked to sign anything . To date , we get zero comms unless work is being done on the flats where the directors reside and the comms is usually after the fact

Do we have any options ?
thanks
john

[Ukmicky]

Why should they cut it down just because it’s 20 foot and you want it down. If we cut down all the trees simply because they had reached 20 foot their would be no large mature trees left .

What right to light law are you on about when you quoted right to light to them.

[MIKE770]

Resolving neighbour disputes: High hedges, trees ... - GOV.UK browse this might cover issue???


In general, there is no specific limit to the height that a tree is allowed to grow, but if the trees form a vegetative screen that is limiting a neighbours usage/enjoyment then it could be a High Hedge issue which Planning Enforcement would potentially get involved with. ]

If a neighbour's hedge or trees are blocking light in your home

[atticus]

Given that the house is listed, I wonder whether this tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order.

[Ukmicky]

Forget the high hedge law. As it need to be 2 or more trees mainly comprising of conifers ,evergreen trees.

[Pingman777]

Ukmicky . thanks for your reply; . If this tree was in my garden, i would just pay a tree surgeon but the tree the tree is on communal land. 23 years ago when I bought the property , 2 trees were planted , I asked for both trees to be removed as we park under them and it makes a mess of the cars + my neighbours light is blocked. The management company did cut one of them down , again , no consultation , it was just done . given they got a tree surgeon out, surely doing both at the sametime would make sense, just to be clear, there are plenty of other trees in the communal area MIKE770 . not sure this is a neighbour issue as my neighbour also wants the tree down , its the muppets in the flats who dont and the tree does not block their light. I am sure if the tree was an issue for the muppets, they would cut it down , I also believe we have a secondary issue which is , we pay maintenance and don't get a say in the houses . it would be useful to understand if we have any standing when it comes to things like cutting trees down.

[Pingman777]

just to add - I moved in 24years ago , so I will assume the below applies

According to the Rights of Light Act 1959, if the owner of a property has been able to receive natural daylight for more than 20 years, they have the right to object to the obstruction of this light. This means neighbours cannot build anything or plant trees which could block this light without prior permission. If a tree is planted, which significantly reduces light, the owner will be entitled to damages, and the tree owner will have to restrict further growth and reduce shading.

[Ukmicky]

Firstly you are not entitled to all the light that could potentially make its way through your window. The level I believe is determined by what is required to make a room habitable during the day without the use of artificial lighting. Others may be able to expand .

This would involve complex measurements . There are companies which deal with making such measurements at a cost obviously and they would be required for any case to proceed .

The right to light is an easement right gained after 20 years and the Right to light Act is legislation designed to Provide landowners with a means to prevent such easement rights being gained.

Also If your land has a legal relationship with the land that the trees are on it could add complexities which could prevent any right to light being gained as you can’t gain an easement over your landlords property as any such easement attach to the land and are therefore gained for the benefit of the landlord not the tennant.

If not you could have covenants preventing any right to light claim, have you checked.

The natural growth of trees and plants is treated differently to something like a building which is erected suddenly reducing light entering a neighbouring building .There may be some but I can’t remember any cases where the right t been used due to light being restricted through natural plant growth..

If any rights were gained which I doubt , it wouldnt mean the tree would not need to be removed ,only trimmed back to the point where the rights were gained . That however would be hard to determine which is one of the reasons why I doubt you have a case.