Owning a home is everyone’s dream for a reason. You have freedom to make your house look like your dream space. But, most houses come with neighbors, and they’re often not a dream to deal with.

That’s the situation one homeowner found herself in after moving into a nice suburban neighborhood. When she bought the house, everything seemed perfect, including the backyard. But after spring arrived, she realized that several trees on her neighbor’s side would drop leaves and branches onto her property.

She tried everything before taking a more drastic measure, but eventually she had to take matters into her own hands.

Read the full story below and decide whether she was in the wrong.

AITA for trimming my neighbor’s tree branches that were hanging over my yard?

I (35F) recently moved into a house in a quiet suburban neighborhood. The property itself is beautiful, and one of the main reasons I bought it was the backyard.

It’s fairly private, but my neighbor on the right side has a line of large trees planted close to the property boundary.

When I first viewed the house in winter, the trees didn’t look like a problem.

They were bare, so I didn’t really notice how much they extended over into my yard.

Nature does its thing, though.

But once spring and summer came, I realized just how much they actually overhang my property.

The branches stretch quite far over my side of the fence and create a few issues.

They block a good amount of sunlight from my garden and patio, and they drop leaves, sap, and sometimes small branches onto my yard and even my outdoor furniture.

I’ve been cleaning it constantly, and it’s become really frustrating because I spend a lot of time trying to keep my space tidy.

She tried talking about it in a civilized way.

After a few weeks of dealing with it, I went to speak to my neighbor politely.

I asked if they would be willing to trim the branches that extend into my yard, since they’re causing shade and mess on my side.

They told me the trees are healthy, they like the privacy and shade they provide, and that trimming them would “ruin the shape” and potentially harm them. They basically said no.

I left it alone for a while, but nothing changed and the branches kept getting worse.

It was impossible to ignore.

Eventually, I decided to trim back the parts that were hanging over my property line myself, just the sections that were clearly on my side.

I didn’t touch anything on their side of the fence.

A few days later, my neighbor confronted me and was really angry.

They said I had no right to touch their trees, that I could have damaged them, and that I should have asked again or gone through some official process instead of doing it myself.

They also said I was being disrespectful and trying to “control nature” on a property I don’t fully own.

Now things are tense between us, and they’re still upset about it.

I genuinely thought I was within my rights since the branches were overhanging into my yard and affecting my space, but they clearly see it differently.

AITA?

It was giving her extra work she couldn’t handle, so she had to do it.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a tenant who decided to stop returning his neighbor’s misplaced laundry after two years.

But what did Reddit think?

It was a risky move but she got away with it.

It’s the law.

Another reader chimes in.

Simple like that.

That would be nice.

Being on bad terms with a neighbor can turn even the most peaceful place into an uncomfortable place to live, especially when both sides believe they’re in the right.

In this case, the homeowner just trimmed the branches that extended over her property line didn’t go over the neighbor’s side or damage the trees. That’s really good because she followed the law. She simply maintained her own yard clean after trying to resolve the issue through a friendly conversation.

Of course, her neighbor doesn’t see it that way. They argued that what she did was wrong and she should have followed “a formal process”.

But honestly, they don’t have anything to hold against her.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about someone who asked their neighbor to move their fence off their property, then learned the neighbor was trying to claim their land as theirs instead.