I live in Melbourne, VIC and have five mature Capital ornamental pear trees (around 10m tall) along my driveway on the boundary with my southern neighbour. My neighbour initially asked me to cut the trees down to roof height because he wanted better solar panel efficiency and to install a battery. We love our garden and didn’t want to trim the trees, so I contacted both my local council and the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV) to understand my obligations. They advised that I’m not legally required to prune or remove the trees unless they’re causing actual damage or a legal nuisance, and that normal leaf fall is generally not considered a nuisance. My neighbour was unhappy about leaves in his gutters and yard and suggested we should work together like the previous owners apparently did. Even though I wasn’t legally required to, I paid $700 to have the trees extensively pruned because I wanted to be a good neighbour and avoid future conflict. After the pruning, I told him that I wouldn’t be undertaking ongoing maintenance and that he could trim overhanging branches on his side in the future, as permitted under Victorian rules. Since then, he has become passive-aggressive and has started throwing green waste from my trees back over the fence and recently left a pile of leaves near our letterbox. I’m trying to avoid escalating things and just want to live peacefully next to each other. Am I being unreasonable here, and how would others handle this situation going forward?

Victoria, Australia: Neighbour complained about my trees, I compromised, and now he’s acting passive-aggressive. Advice?