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Tree causing damage to neighbours paving slabs

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Comments

  • dacouch
    dacouch Posts: 21,636 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Just because your tree roots have damaged your neighboors patio does not always mean you are liable. For him to be able to successfully sue you for damage he would have to prove negligence. This is generally that you could reasonably have avoided the damage, I assume him recently telling you about the damage is the first you know about it. If this is the case you probably are not liable but would be liable for any future damage if you do not take preventative measures.

    As stated by previous poster get a tree specialist, they are generally know as aborculturalists, carry out any work they recommened which will probably be to crown the tree and keep a record of it in case the neighboor tries to sue as this will probably be enough to defend the claim
  • jebervic
    jebervic Posts: 861 Forumite
    dacouch wrote: »
    Just because your tree roots have damaged your neighboors patio does not always mean you are liable. For him to be able to successfully sue you for damage he would have to prove negligence. This is generally that you could reasonably have avoided the damage, I assume him recently telling you about the damage is the first you know about it. If this is the case you probably are not liable but would be liable for any future damage if you do not take preventative measures.

    As stated by previous poster get a tree specialist, they are generally know as aborculturalists, carry out any work they recommened which will probably be to crown the tree and keep a record of it in case the neighboor tries to sue as this will probably be enough to defend the claim

    To be honest, he recently bought the property, so I think he is on a loser, he bought the property knowing the patio had problems and probably should have had it checked prior to buying, I only found out about it last week, so I think im fine with past damage, but I need to do something to prevent any further claims.
  • dacouch
    dacouch Posts: 21,636 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Jebervic that is basically how it works, if it was unreasonable for you to kno about the damage and thus not be able to take preventative measures then it would be difficult for him to successfully sue you. If you had been aware of the problems and had taken no effort to prevent further damage then he might be able to sue you for any subsequent damage.

    If he did have a claim against you the liability part of your home policy would cover any claims that you are legally liable for.

    As I said before keep a record of any work or advice you receive or have done and any correspondence or conversations you have with him.

    Your local council will normally have an employee who is in charge of trees, they will often come out for free and advise you if the tree has a presevation order on it and will often advise you on what work needs to be done. (If it's a large old tree they will sometimes put a presevation order on it when they come out though).

    It's generally a case of removing the crown of the tree which will normally prevent the roots growing outwards any more and having the crown trimmed every few years. Have a read of some of these websites as you may find them helpful

    http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=subsidence+tree+roots&meta=&aq=1&oq=subsidence+tree&fp=408428c3d949fea1
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