Tree root question

[stewies_minion]

The house my gf owns is a mid terrace 2 up 2 down. There is a tree in the back garden whose roots have caused some movement in next door's patio.

Legally do we have to take any action?

Some considerations that may or may not matter

The tenant likes the tree
We have never met the neighbours and probably never will
We will probably never set foot in the house again
The tenants are good and we don't want to make anything awkward or difficult for them
Am very keen to keep cost and effort to a bare minimum

Cheers

[numtumfutunch]

How do you know your tree trashed their patio?

Although "We will probably never set foot in the house again" probably sets the tone in respect of your relationship with the wobbly patio neighbours

Cheers

[Mr Tidy]

stewies_minion said:

The house my gf owns is a mid terrace 2 up 2 down. There is a tree in the back garden whose roots have caused some movement in next door's patio.

Legally do we have to take any action?

Some considerations that may or may not matter

The tenant likes the tree
We have never met the neighbours and probably never will
We will probably never set foot in the house again
The tenants are good and we don't want to make anything awkward or difficult for them
Am very keen to keep cost and effort to a bare minimum

Cheers

You've obviously been made aware of it being an issue, so why wouldn't you take some action? I'm sure you would if you lived next door and had issues with your patio! But then if it cost anything you probably wouldn't bother would you?

It doesn't matter if your tenant likes the tree - it isn't the tenant's issue! It's yours - but you don't seem ar*ed

You may never meet the neighbours, but someone is stuck with living next to your tenant so you could always think about how they feel, but you don't seem interested!

Still hopefully it will be someone like that next door to you one day!

I'm fed up with the cr*p I get from "buy to let" tenants in the 2 houses next to mine - I guess I can thank you for that.

[ClaphamBoxS]

Ok so have the neighbours complained about the damage?...you are legally responsible for damaged caused by something on your land....

is there a TPO Tree Preservation Order on the tree?..that will complicate matters as you will need to get permission to do any work on it...

It’s an insurance issue so contact your house insurance and let them deal with it..doesn’t matter if the tenants love the tree or not if it’s causing damage it needs resolving...

Post some pics of the tree height distance from house species etc...and an Arborculturists report would be a good start...

[SmoothCriminal]

Hopefully the tree damages your gf's property then you'll have to do something about it.

[fat80b]

SmoothCriminal said:

Hopefully the tree damages your gf's property then you'll have to do something about it.

I would have thought as a landlord, the best thing to do is to get rid of the tree if it is damaging nearby property as it might be your property it damages next.

As you don't plan on living there and looking at the tree / not tree - for the sake of a few hundred quid, I'd get rid. It'll be less hassle in the long term.

[NGee]

ClaphamBoxS said:

..and an Arborculturists report would be a good start...

This is definitely the first thing to do. The problem is only going to get worse and the longer it goes on the more expensive it will be to solve.

[Wacky Racer]

How would you like it if you were them?

If the answer is you couldn't care less, it doesn't put you in a very good light.

Also the roots from this tree COULD be doing damage to your (her) property, drains etc.

The first place to start is to actually see if it is the tree that's causing the problem.

I hate trees anywhere near houses, cause all kinds of problems...Lovely to look at elsewhere.

Good luck.

[mattyprice4004]

If you’re desperate to keep cost and effort to a minimum, are you really fit to be a landlord?

[gazza285]

There’s some very angry and judgemental people in this thread, although I did like Mr Tidy’s blaming the OP personally for the quality of his neighbours...

[Davel]

Since your g/f knows about the issue, I'd suggest that she legally has to look into it.

It may not be caused by the tree roots but, if it is, something will have to be done otherwise you could suddenly end up with a substantial insurance claim.

It's quite possible that your neighbour's insurers may try to claim against your g/f's insurance and doing nothing will not help her.

She has a responsibility to at least look into it and it may be wise to alert her insurers about a possible claim.

[herewego]

There's no mention of how old either the tree or the patio are. I would have thought laying a patio close to a large tree was asking for trouble.

[Lindun]

herewego said:

There's no mention of how old either the tree or the patio are. I would have thought laying a patio close to a large tree was asking for trouble.

And don’t forget the cheek of the neighbours for living in a house near the OP’s tree too

[stewies_minion]

Thanks for the helpful and less than helpful comments.

Off to contact our insurer to make sure it's dealt with properly.

[wa16]

you've been notified of damage

it is up to them to prove it - simply by lifting the damaged area and seeing what is there

you didn't say if it was indirect damage due to soil shrinkage as a result of tree growth processes or direct damage from root growth

indirect damage is a little more complicated, direct damage is easy - the root(s) will be present, allowing for root size, just cut it off and re-lay said patio
indirect damage is subject to soil tests and root samples unless its is the only large biological water pump in the immediate vicinity

all subject to tpo and conservation area checks

[timrud]

Dominate the garden, that should scare the pesky neighbours off

[stewies_minion]

Spoke to the insurer:

Do nothing as you may make it worse. Neighbour to claim on their insurance who may elect to make a claim against ours.

[Pica-Pica]

stewies_minion said:

Spoke to the insurer:

Do nothing as you may make it worse. Neighbour to claim on their insurance who may elect to make a claim against ours.

I am glad I have decent neighbours. Together we sort things out before they become big issues, either in terms of damage, or in terms of relationships.

[stewies_minion]

They do.

By all accounts our tenants are a delight.