Homeowner refuses to replace bushes cut on her own property or pay for a fence after her neighbor blames it for unrelated problems months later: ‘His insurance won’t let him keep his dirt bikes in the garage anymore’

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  • AITA for refusing to replace bushes and pay for a fence after my neighbor blamed us for his garage being broken into?

    Thumbnail with a frowning man, cut branches, a blue truck, and text reading “He demanded we replace them.”
  • I (26F) moved into my house last year with my partner and our young son. Last summer we hired a gardener
  • to remove a huge row of overgrown bushes at the back of our garden. Before doing it, we
  • checked the property boundaries and confirmed the bushes were on our side of the fence.
  • They were completely overgrown and the roots were ruining our lawn, so we had them removed.
  • In November, my neighbour's garage, which is behind where the bushes were, was broken into by a group of teenage boys.
  • I heard the commotion and went straight over to make sure they were okay. The next day my neighbour thanked me for checking on them.
  • He mentioned he thought the burglars might have come through our garden now the bushes were gone, but he had no proof.
  • Blue truck loaded with cut branches parked beside a house, with piles of greenery scattered across the yard.
  • That was the end of the conversation, and everything seemed fine. Fast forward to May. My partner was getting home from work when our neighbour came over furious.
  • He claimed the bushes we'd removed were actually his and said it was our fault his garage was broken into.
  • Man frowning straight at the camera in an olive overshirt against a plain light background.
  • He demanded we replace the bushes and put up a fence because his insurance apparently won't let him keep his dirt bikes in the garage anymore.
  • My issue is: We checked the boundaries and the bushes were on our land. If he believed they were his, why didn't he say anything when they were removed nearly a year earlier?
  • If they were his, he'd never maintained them anyway. They were completely wild. I don't believe bushes behind his garage would've stopped determined burglars.
  • We told him we can't afford a new fence. I offered to split the cost 50/50 if he wanted one that badly, but he refused and insists it's entirely our responsibility.
  • Since then he's become really hostile. He glares at us whenever we see him. When new neighbours moved in opposite us, he immediately went over and I overheard him pointing at our house saying things. about "the English lot across the road." He also complained that we're loud.
  • My son is au tic, so he vocal stims and sometimes has meltdowns, which made those comments hurt even more.
  • Now for the petty bit... Parking on our street is awful. My son also has mobility issues, so being able to park close to home is important.
  • Whenever I leave in my car, either my neighbour or his wife comes outside and moves one of their cars to block the space.
  • They regularly park across two spaces, then move back when his wife gets home so she can park outside.
  • Between them they have four cars and a van and somehow always manage to keep the spaces outside their house.
  • Meanwhile, I'm left parking on the next street and carrying my dis ed son home. Now I feel uncomfortable even leaving the house because of the dirty looks and the tension.
  • AITA for refusing to replace the bushes or pay for a fence, or is my neighbour just looking for someone to blame?

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