According to the latest research by Tiger Sheds, neighbourly garden habits have topped the list of things most likely to lead to a dispute.
Official data backs up this company’s findings with 3,270 neighbour disputes relating to gardens in 2017 alone and nearly 20,000 reported to local councils between 2012-2018.
The study by the shed company asked homeowners about what garden habits most annoyed them and it found the following:
- Having an untidy garden that makes the area look unsightly (17 per cent)
- Having loud parties/BBQs (16 per cent)
- Playing loud music (16 per cent)
- Having an untidy garden that spills into my garden (14 per cent)
- Using loud gardening tools late at night/early in the morning (13 per cent)
Incredibly, 65 per cent of British residents said that they had got annoyed with neighbours about their garden, with two-fifths saying that they were irritated with the amount of time their neighbours spent in their own green spaces as they considered it an invasion of their own privacy.
It is therefore not surprising that 31 per cent of people had reported having an argument with their neighbour relating to their garden.
As part of their research, Tiger Sheds carried out a series of Freedom of Information requests with local authorities to determine how many complaints councils had registered about gardens.
It found that the top ten councils with the highest number of disputes from neighbours from 2012-2018 are as follows:
- Warwickshire County Council – 1,256 complaints
- Cornwall Council – 941 complaints
- Sheffield City Council – 630 complaints
- Portsmouth City Council – 544 complaints
- Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council – 502 complaints
- East Ayrshire Council – 494 complaints
- South Gloucestershire District Council – 418 complaints
- North Lincolnshire Council – 413 complaints
- New Forest District Council – 365 complaints
- Durham County Council – 351 complaints