Luschwitz v Waterhouse & anor [2017] NSWLEC 1604

Luschwitz v Waterhouse & anor [2017] NSWLEC 1604

The applicant's principal view is severely obstructed by the hedge. No issues raised by the respondents, including privacy and heritage, outweigh the applicant's interests. Pruning the trees annually to the height of the garage roof will restore the view and not cause significant detriment to the respondents.

Parties
Applicant: Helen Luschwitz; First Respondent: Janette Waterhouse; Second Respondent: David Waterhouse
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
31 October 2017
Procedural Posture
Tree Dispute Application / Judgment
Outcome
Application upheld
Legal Topics
Trees, Obstruction of Views, Orders for Pruning, Privacy, Heritage Listing
Property Law Neighbour Disputes Trees Obstruction of Views Orders for Pruning Privacy Heritage Listing

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Parties

Helen Luschwitz

Applicant

Janette Waterhouse

First Respondent

David Waterhouse

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Tree Dispute Application / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the hedge severely obstructs the applicant's view
  2. 2 Whether the applicant made a reasonable effort to reach agreement
  3. 3 To what height should the trees be pruned

Ratio Decidendi

The applicant's principal view is severely obstructed by the hedge. No issues raised by the respondents, including privacy and heritage, outweigh the applicant's interests. Pruning the trees annually to the height of the garage roof will restore the view and not cause significant detriment to the respondents.

Court Disposition

Application upheld

Orders

  • Application upheld
  • Within 30 days and thereafter annually in November, respondents to engage a suitably qualified arborist or horticulturist (minimum AQF level 3) to prune each tree so that it is no taller than the garage roof immediately adjacent