Neighbor is obsessed! Help!

My Neighbor, who rents the property next door thinks she has the right to obsessively plant trees and shrubs where ever she feels like it. We own our property and my driveway is right in between our houses and extends the length of the property. the property line is right at the edge of the driveway and there is a strip of ground approx. 2 to 3 ft. between our driveway and her house.

I and my husband have lived here nearly 12 years and we take pride in keeping our property nice. The house next door is a rental. No matter what tennant lived there in the past, I have always mowed and trimmed along the driveway (property line) to keep up the appearance, and there was never a problem. About 4 years ago the property was sold and the old tennants moved out. A new owner took over and is now renting it to this woman.

Since this Women moved in she feels the need to constantly plant shrubs and trees approx. 12 inches or less from our property line. These are trees that will eventually crack our driveway and cause major problems with the water lines. There just isn't room to grow a tree in a 2-3 ft area and right next to the house?, Especially a mumosa or a japanese maple! She also has ***** willow trees growing and those big ugly pom pom looking plants that grow 5 ft wide every year. She is also growing those big castor bean plants.

As these trees and plants get bigger I won't even be able to drive my car into my driveway. She also does not mow her grass on a regular basis and put up a fence in the back area of her house 1 ft. from the line and used metal stakes and chicken wire. (How attractive)!!

She also has junk piled up on her front porch and rusting old metal furniture in the back of the house. This has to stop! Her property is only approx. 50ft wide and 150 ft. deep with a house and 20 sprouting trees and big shrubs. So you can imagine what it looks like. (One big bush)! The neighbors who live on the other side of her also have a problem with her planting.

This story gets better! I have gone through all the channels with her. To start out, I asked her nicely to not plant so close to the line. She refuses. I wrote a letter to her landlord, Asking him to please see that the property is taken care of. (Yeah right)! Just another Slumlord who just wants the rent money! I went to my township and filed a complaint. The officer came out and she mowed her grass one time. Big deal, those little trees are still growing! Then about a week later she decided to pick an argument with me one morning about all this and when the argument was over and I left for work, she called the cops and said I was harrasing her! (of course no charges filed).

Why should I let this women who is clearly nuts, plant trees that are going to cause major problems in the future when they start reaching a higher level of maturity?

What level do I go to next to get some sort of satisfaction?????
Please help!!!!

[Law200]

She can basically do as she wishes until the plants cross your line or start to cause damage--you can trim back to the property line if they cross it in any way.

Best of course if something could be worked out.

just go out there inthe middle of the night and poisen the trees with bleach or hell just pull them up and play dumb. I would consider also (since she seems to like the police) put a couple of potted pot plants in the corners of her property and call the narcs she wont f with you again....lol

It is surprising that a landlord would give this much unilateral freedom to a tenant. Surely the landlord must realize that should damage occur on your property as a result of her planting these trees and shrubs, he is liable and not her?

Unfortunately, if he gives her permission to do so, and she is not crossing your property line, there is really nothing you can do about it.

I wouldn't recommend trespassing onto that property and pulling the plants up or any other advice you've been given. That will only get you in trouble with the police.

I do agree with the poster who recommended that you prune anything that crosses your boundary line, and I also suggest you get some deep in the ground border hedging that will stop roots from continuing a path toward your property.

What she has piled up in her back yard, front yard, front porch is not really any of your concern, so I'm not sure why it has to stop. It's not your property and it's not really affecting you in any way. The possible damage from the roots systems of the plants, perhaps, but what she has in the confines of her own space, no.

The only other solution is to move.

Well she sounds a lot like my Mother in law! By the way, maybe this could be your only vaild recourse - You know, those Castor Bean Plants are HIGHLY toxic and deadly. The entire plant is poison so perhaps you can say, I am afraid for my child(ren) or pets because she is growing toxic plants too close to my home!

I have a neigbor I've know for several years and recently bought a house next to theirs. He has replaced his fence and is over property lines for us and the town. He threatens everyone who doesn't like him and the whole town has problems with him, but the town manager won't do anything about it. What can be done to get him off our property? I can't afford a surveyor. He had his property surveyed but refuses still to move his fence off our property. He says he has had his fence there for many years and because of it he can keep the property. Well, I would like to have the whole property that I actually have bought and paid for. He is over several feet. What can be done?

Go to your local registry of deeds and get a copy of the map of your lot. If the fence IS on your property, you are free to take it down, as it is on your property and not his.