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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/Few_Orchid1376 on 2023-09-02 00:24:55.

I’ve already posted this asking for legal advice but thought I’d ask for moral advice too.

Last year we bought a historical property, with a fair size chunk of land. The previous owners had ran it as a small hotel but couldn’t keep up with the pace at their age anymore.

We turned the property back into a private residence. A main country road runs right by the longest edge of the unfenced garden so we decided to plant hedges for privacy and to block off access in case my nephews visit and play football etc.

There is a small “gardener’s cottage” right at the edge of this line, which was sold separately when we bought our home. We made sure to keep any bushes between us and them on our side of the property line.

We were unaware that the elderly couple had sold the cottage to a relative of theirs and that he had planned to turn it into an Airbnb. We only know this now as after a summer of growth the owner had finally noticed the small “hedge” and realised what we’d done.

He, and the couple, have sent official looking letters stating we are impeding their reasonable enjoyment of the property as they had planned to market the cottage as part of the property with “views of a historical landmark” and once our hedge is full height that view will be greatly diminished if not almost entirely gone.

So AITA for potentially damaging someone’s income by planting these hedges?