Home / Residents / Community Information / Community Advice / High Hedges

High Hedges

The council deals with complaints about high hedges blocking light into neighbouring property.

Make a High Hedge Complaint

The High Hedges Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 gives local authorities in Northern Ireland the powers to deal with complaints about high hedges that block light to a neighbour’s property.

This means that if a neighbour makes a complaint about the height of your hedge, we have the authority to serve you with a notice to cut it down to a reasonable height.

Criteria for Complaints
There are a number of criteria that a hedge needs to meet before someone can make a complaint. If you own a high hedge, you need to consider the following questions about your hedge.
- Is it (or the portion that is causing problems) made up of a line of two or more trees or shrubs?
- Is it mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen?
- Is it more than two metres above ground level?
- Even if there are gaps in the foliage or between the trees, is the hedge still capable of obstructing light?
You Cannot Make a Complaint About
- single trees
- non-evergreen hedges or trees
- trees within a forest or woodland (more than 0.2 hectares)
- roots, dangerous trees, or leaves.