A neighbor wants to do some new landscaping and says he has found some instructions on a web site to staple sheets of news paper together & cover the area that you want to kill off, top w/ 6-8 inches of LEAVES & keep soaked down, then you have to wait 2 months to add any new Top Soil or Rock on top of all that to start new Landscaping.

This sounds like one good use for raked leaves, but why would he have to wait 2 months? Six - eight inches is too thin a layer to produce compost. Couldn't he just heap 6 - 8 inches of good soil on the moistened leaves and go ahead and install the plants?

Yes you could. I have done this with cardboard before. If you have the money to pile 6 inches of good stuff on it then its fine. Make sure they water thier news paper or cardboard really really really good before puting compost or mulch on top.

I am very cautious about bringing in more soil. Once he puts 6 inches of soil down, he will have a permanent hill that is 6 inches high. It will never go away until he carries it away or it washes away. Leaves, on the other hand, will cover the grass and eventually decompose all the way. This will leave the soil at the level it is at now.

I think the newspaper is overkill but not harmful. Staples are definitely overkill. Just throw the paper out and adjust it until it covers. Then cover with leaves. Or just cover with leaves.