Neighbour's tree and subsidence

rohirrim

My neighbour has a conifer within 10/12 ft of my house. It is now as tall as my house having grown with great rapidity over the past 2 years or so.
I have been monitoring some hairline cracks on the front of my house close to the tree and these have grown and have spread to the top of the house. It is almost certainly subsidence and quite likely to have been caused by the tree. A report would be needed, I appreciate, for any degree of certainty.
What I'm wondering about is the situation with regards to the tree. My immediate reaction is to talk to my neighbour and try to persuade them to have the tree cut down. In all likelihood the situation would be contained if the tree was removed, what with this dry summer etc.
What rights do I have?
Is it their insurance that would pay for the reamoval-if they so wished to claim?
Would any damage to my property be down to them (and their insurance if they claimed)?

mexicanhat

You would need to take specialist advice before asking them to remove the trees, in all likelihood complete removal is likely to cause further problem, trees will need to be cut back. If it causing damage to your property then notify your Insurers and they will take the relevant action. Your neighbours would be covered under the liability section of their household insurance for any action that you take against them

dacouch

mexicanhat wrote: »

Your neighbours would be covered under the liability section of their household insurance for any action that you take against them

Providing the OP can prove Legal Liability eg the neighbour was negligent which from their post it sounds like it could be difficult to prove legal liability

slummymummyof3

Check out the term 'vicarious liability' and speak to your buildings insurance provider.

Dangermac

slummymummyof3 wrote: »

Check out the term 'vicarious liability' and speak to your buildings insurance provider.

Not sure what vicarious liability has got to do with the price of fish. This is simple direct liability against the neighbour (assuming that liability can be established).

There are two potential causes of action against the neighbour:

1. Negligence
2. Removal of support (which is a fundamental right under commond law).


I would recommend that you put this claim initially through your own insurer in the first instance, as they should be able to work with you in a non-adversarial way to resolve the damage (which may or may not be subsidence).

Dangermac

dogbot

Get the matter investigated by your buildings insurer - let their loss adjuster get investigations done and a report compiled. They will sort out the damage and work out what the cause is as well as looking for potential avenues for recovery. This is a complex topic and there are expert loss adjusters in the field who deal with these claims.

If the tree is a cause then there is a claim to be made against your neighbour but this is best left to your buildings insurer. They will probably look to make a recovery of the costs of the repair - you can also claim for your excess (probably £1000 for Subs damage) - as well as looking for the tree to be removed. It is a claim under the tort of nusance not negligence.

rohirrim

Thanks all for your advice.
Just a thought-if i go through my insurers then in future my premium will presumably be hiked even if monies are reclaimed. If I try to go to another insurer, many would, I imagine, either refuse cover or again have a high premium. Either way I lose-for ever.
1 course of alternative action-get a report and try to sort it without involving my insurer. The fly in the ointment is the question asked- have any houses suffered from cracking, subsidence, heave, settlement.. in your area at renewal.