Woman horrified as neighbour threatens to sue her over a plant

A woman has been left horrified after her neighbour threatened to sue her over a plant between their gardens - but some people have said that she's in the wrong and should pay up

Property disputes can turn into an absolute headache - especially if neighbourly relations are a bit frosty.

One woman's experience is a prime example after the property adjacent to hers got bought by a new owner who was keen on sprucing up their garden space. Sharing her saga on Reddit, the wisteria enthusiast wrote: "Our house has multiple ancient wisteria plants growing on the chain-link fence between my property and my neighbour's.

"I maintain my side of the fence regularly and love having it there, but my neighbour was a bit of a recluse and allowed it to overtake his apple tree and other plants in his yard. He recently sold his house and the new owner came over asking me to help pay to have it removed from the tree and generally trim it back.

"She wanted me to split an estimate for $2300 (£1,800). She got a second estimate for $900 (£700), but I feel like if I help pay it it will only be the beginning of her getting money out of me." The wisteria expert told her new neighbour she'd sleep on it. But after mulling it over, she concluded that it wasn't her duty to finance her neighbour's landscaping issues.

The story took another twist when she relayed her decision: "I told her that and she of course got really defensive. She said she's overwhelmed by how overgrown her whole backyard is from all sides, but 'It's not my fault the previous owner neglected their yard'. She claims it's my responsibility because the plants are on my side, though extremely interwoven into the chain fence and is going to sue me for the money."

The woman then added that she also fights back unwanted plants from other neighbours but would never think of asking them for money or help in pruning it. She added: "To me, it's just part of owning a home and sharing a space. I take care of whatever gets into my property the way I want, and she has the right to do the same. From a legal standpoint, is this still true? I don't know what to do."

Attempting to give her advice, one person replied in the comments: "You didn't plant the Wisteria. She can cut back anything on her side of the fence, but you aren't obligated to help her or pay for it." And someone else countered: "There's a caveat to this: If her cutting/clearing of the growth on her side of the fence/her property causes the wisteria to die, she'd be responsible for it's replacement/value."

Another person wrote: "Don't let her bully you, didn't she see the back yard when she bought the house? It's her own fault."