Explanatory note

The High Hedges Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 gives local councils the power to deal with complaints about high hedges which are having an adverse impact on a neighbour’s reasonable enjoyment of their property.

A complaint may be made by the owner or occupier of a domestic property if that person’s reasonable enjoyment of the property is being adversely affected by the height of a hedge situated on land owned or occupied by another person.

A complaint must be made to the council in whose area the land on which the hedge is situated lies and must be accompanied by a fee determined by the local council (subject to a maximum amount prescribed in Regulations made by the Department of the Environment).

The local council will investigate the complaint and if it decides that the height of the hedge should be reduced, the council will issue a Remedial Notice specifying the action required to alleviate the problem and prevent its reoccurrence.

Once the remedial notice takes effect, after processing of any appeals, the council will refund the complainant’s fee (if any has been charged) and may then levy a fee on the owner/occupier of the neighbouring land.

These Regulations make provision for this ‘fee-transfer’ process.