Planting of plants (hedges, trees, bamboo...)

Verified 12 December 2025 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You want to plant plants on your fieldfor example, a hedge, a tree, bamboos? Some rules from distance and height are to be respected vis-à-vis your neighbor's property. Lthe interview of plantations adjoining or located on the property boundary and the picking from your plantations also meet a precise regulation. We tell you what you need to know.

Plantations such as hedges, trees, bamboo can be planted near the boundary between your land and that of your neighbor, provided respect a certain distance.

This distance may be set by local rules (existing special regulations or local uses). To find out, you must ask your town hall.

Who shall I contact

Please note

If you don't know the exact boundaries between your land and that of your neighbor, it may be useful to have a field boundary.

In the absence of local rulesHowever, the minimum distance to be respected from your neighbor's land depends on the height of your plantation.

If you plant a plant whose height exceeds 2 meters, you must comply with a minimum distance of 2 meters up to the boundary of the neighboring property.

Plants planted more than 2 meters from this limit are not subject to a height restriction.

On the other hand, if the plant measures 2 meters or less, the minimum distance to be respected is 0.5 meters with respect to the separative limit.

The height of a plantation is calculated from the ground to its top, while the distance is measured from the middle of the trunk.

Plantations that comply with these rules can nevertheless cause an abnormal neighborhood disorder (due, for example, to the shade they provide to the neighboring land). In this case, it is recommended to discuss with your neighbor to find a compromise (pruning, regular pruning, or even slaughter if necessary).

FYI  

You can plant trees, shrubs or shrubs directly against a side wall, without having to respect a minimum distance. However, these plantations should not exceed the height of the wall (called the crest of the wall). Unlike conventional plantations, which must be some distance from the boundary, those that are guided along the wall (they are fixed to grow flat) can be settled directly against it.

Your neighbor has the option to demand that your plantation be uprooted or reduced to the legal height. However, you may object to this request in certain specific cases:

  • You have a title, i.e. a written agreement authorizing you to keep your plantation as it is
  • You can invoke the father's destination if the plantation already existed on the land before it was divided
  • You can invoke the 30-year prescription if the plantation exceeds the legal height for more than 30 years. This prescription starts from the day the plantation has exceeded the allowed height in relation to the distance from the boundary separating your neighbor's property.

Apart from these situations, your neighbor is entitled to demand the uprooting or reduction of the height of the plantation.

It is recommended to talk to your neighbor to find a compromise. If no solution is found, your neighbor must send you a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to report the discomfort and remind you of the regulations. A template can be used to write this mail:

Ask your neighbor to cut down trees that are too high and too close

If the dispute persists, you can resort to an amicable approach. This can take the form of:

  • Of a conciliation (free procedure)
  • Of a mediation (free or paid process according to the current arrangements)
  • Of a participatory procedure (paid procedure with recourse to a lawyer).
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The attempt at an amicable approach is a mandatory step before any possible appeal to the judge.

If the amicable approach fails, your neighbor can seize the court the location of the land.

Who shall I contact

Please note

The action is directed against you, the owner of the land, even if it is your tenant who is at the origin of the disputed plantation.

It all depends if the plantation is semi-detached or private.

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Semi-planted

If the plantation is adjoining (for example, a hedge), maintenance is the responsibility of your neighbor and yourself: everyone must trim their side. It is advisable to cut the 2 sides at the same time.

FYI  

You can remove the terraced plantation up to the boundary of your property, but only if you build a wall on that boundary.

Private plantation

If the plantation belongs to you (for example, a tree) and if the branches advance on your neighbor's land, you are responsible for cutting them. Your neighbor may force you to cut your branches, but they are not allowed to cut your branches themselves.

As for the roots or brambles encroaching on your neighbor's land, your neighbor can freely cut them, and this right is imprescriptible. However, the size must be carried out at the exact limit of its property.

It all depends if the plantation is semi-detached or private.

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Semi-planted

Products from the terraced plantations, such as fruits and flowers, belong to for half to your neighbor and yourself.

Their collection must be carried out at common expense, whatever the cause:

  • Natural (they fall by themselves)
  • Fall caused (e.g. by shaking)
  • Direct picking.

This means that the harvest, such as labor, equipment or organization, must be borne by you and your neighbor.

Private plantation

Your neighbor has not the right to pick the fruits and flowers from your tree that overflow on his land.

On the other hand, he can pick up freely those who fall of course on his land.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Administrative information by phone - Allô Service Public

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      For more information on this subject, you can contact Allô Service Public.

      Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and therefore cannot provide information on their progress.

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