Garden Laws to Learn for Tiny House Living
Placing a tiny house cabin inside your garden is a big responsibility, and it’s not just about ensuring that it looks nice but it is also law abiding so you don’t get into trouble with your neighbours. When it comes to our gardens, there are a plethora of little-known rules and regulations that we should be abiding by. Many of them we do automatically, but some of them you might be breaking without even knowing it.
Lawn laws are mainly in place to ensure that you do not harm your environment, operate safely, and do not have a negative impact on your neighbours.
With this in mind, If you are thinking about a tiny house cabin for inside your garden, here are some little-known lawn laws that you might not realise that you could be breaking.
Boundaries for your tiny house
The issue of boundaries is an important one for homeowners. It is essential that you are aware of where the boundaries are to your property, and you know what you are responsible for. The best way to understand your property boundaries is by looking at the deeds to the property, as these will clearly state who is responsible for which fences.
“Having a pleasant and cooperative relationship with your neighbour builds a bond that is essential when dealing with boundary issues. We recommend speaking to your neighbour before taking any action regarding the land boundaries between you” say garden and lawn experts at Mowers Online.
As a rule of thumb, brick walls and hedgerows are a joint responsibility of both neighbours, but if you have a wooden fence, the side with the posts on should be on that of the person responsible. If in doubt check your deeds!
Privacy for your neighbours
The issue of privacy is also an important one. Whether you have security cameras or a trampoline in your garden, you must ensure that they do not overlook your neighbour’s garden. They have a right to ask you to move or remove them, so they are not invading their privacy.
Tiny Home/Garden Pod Height and Location
If you have a tiny home, garden pod, or garden shed in your garden, it is important that it complies with the rules regarding its height. The law says that whilst you will probably not need planning permission to install it, you should abide by other regulations. These include:
Planning permission is required if your property is a listed building.
The height of the eaves should be no higher than 2.5m.
The maximum overall height should be 3m, or 4m if it is a dual-pitched roof.
If it is within 2m from one or more of the boundaries, the maximum height allowed is 2.5m.
There are also rules relating to the location of a tiny home or garden pod. You should be aware that if you live in an AONB National Park or World Heritage site, you will need planning permission to install one. It should not be located at the front of your property, and often you cannot use any more than 50% of your original garden space for the development of a tiny home or garden pod.
For tiny houses, which are taller than 4m, as a loophole, there is nothing stopping you from digging down to position the home lower to meet the maximum height limit.
Plants and Boundaries
Many people have trees or other plants at the boundaries of their gardens, which can often cause issues with their neighbours.
If your neighbour has a tree with branches that overhang into your garden, you are allowed to trim the branches of the tree that are on your side of the boundary. However, you can’t lean into your neighbour’s property to trim branches without their permission, as it is deemed as trespassing.
If any tree is covered by a Tree Preservation Order, you may not ever chop any of its branches.
Any fruit, flowers, or branches that hang in your garden from a neighbour’s tree – although you can technically trim them – do not belong to you. Whether the fruit or flowers are still on the tree or have fallen off, they still belong to your neighbour, so legally, if you wish to keep them, you will need to ask your neighbour’s permission.
You should also be aware that you must not just throw fallen fruit, flowers, or branches back over the fence as you could then be garden waste fly tipping.
When leaves fall off a neighbour’s tree into your own garden, the law also says that they are not required to clear them.
Trees and Light
Although you generally have the right to plant any kind of plants that you wish in your garden (within reason), the Rights of Light Act stipulates that if a neighbour’s window has had natural light for at least 20 years you cannot block it with a new tree.
Summary
If you considering placing a tiny house cabin in your garden, it’s important that you know the law, ensuring you maintain a good and healthy relationship with your neighbours! Whilst we may have given you the most up-to-date details of the law and gardens, they are always subject to change. So, we’d always recommend that you seek independent legal advice if you have any queries or questions surrounding yours or your neighbour’s garden!
