High trees close to property

abankerbutnotafatcat

I hadn't really considered this until I was asked the question whilst obtaining home insurance quotes; we have several trees that are higher than Victorian houses at the bottom of our garden and at the bottom of neighbouring gardens. Being Victorian town properties the gardens are the typical small strips and to the eye these trees could hit our house although they'd probably hit one of the neighbours first due to their location.

None of the trees are in our garden. It's hard to tell from our window which garden most of the trees are in but at a guess we're talking three or four separate gardens. None of the trees appear to be old ones with wide trunks; a couple are skinny trees and a couple are conifers.

Can I or should I do anything?

System

Are the trees healthy or healthy looking? If so then why do you believe that healthy trees would suddenly fall?

abankerbutnotafatcat

I don't, but my thinking was that this was the scenario that insurance companies were factoring in. I suppose with a storm any tree could fall.

Ms-Money-Penny

The insurance companies are concerned about subsidence/heave due to tree root encroachment, can also cause damage to drains.

Davesnave

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

Can I or should I do anything?

You can't do anything about trees in someone else's garden unless they are physically affecting your property, dead, diseased and/or obviously unstable.

Looking like they might affect your property at some point in the future doesn't count.

moneyistooshorttomention

You can do something about trees in a neighbours garden - IF its "two or more trees" and could be deemed to constitute "a hedge". This is under the High Hedges Act.

This Act is faulty and there is a reason for it - ****** in case as to who the reason is...

Therefore the "hedge" has to be "two or more trees" in number - and that leaves solo trees free to cause as much trouble as the owner pleases. Under this Act a home-owner can go to their local Council and get neighbours treeS in the form of a "hedge" cut down to a reasonable height (not sure if that is 6' or 10'?).

So - if its a hedge it means a bit of hassle, but it can be dealt with.

sinbad182

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

You can do something about trees in a neighbours garden - IF its "two or more trees" and could be deemed to constitute "a hedge". This is under the High Hedges Act.

This Act is faulty and there is a reason for it - ****** in case as to who the reason is...

Therefore the "hedge" has to be "two or more trees" in number - and that leaves solo trees free to cause as much trouble as the owner pleases. Under this Act a home-owner can go to their local Council and get neighbours treeS in the form of a "hedge" cut down to a reasonable height (not sure if that is 6' or 10'?).

So - if its a hedge it means a bit of hassle, but it can be dealt with.

No, they cant just go to the council and have 2 or more trees 'dealt with'.

If you deem the trees to be a current threat to your property, land, or reasonable enjoyment of said land/property (ie blocking significant light etc), and all dialogue with the tree's owner has not resolved the grievance, you can approach the council.

If all attempts to solve the issue with the tree's owners have failed, the council will look at the issue under the ASB act (part 7 or 8 I think) as a last resort. They will only rule on the cutting/removal of the trees if they are deemed to form a hedge that significantly impacts on you. I'd be suprised if several trees in several different gardens would come under this, especially when OPs issue is more about future 'what-ifs'.

This procedure is in place to stop people like you who simply enjoy complaining from wasting council's time and having valuable urban/suburban greenery removed on the basis of spurious grievances.

abankerbutnotafatcat

I think some people are picking up on a tone in my OP which just isn't there.

I would obviously prefer these trees were a bit shorter because if they were they'd be more attractive and block less light. However, all I'm asking in this post is an open question about the issue of tall trees as it was highlighted to me as part of my insurance quote and I would like advice on what is standard/reasonable/the law in this circumstance as I am unsure.

I am not proposing asking anyone to cut their tree or in reporting anyone to the council. I am asking for advice from those who have been in the situation before (which I haven't) and/or are knowledgeable on this subject.

I hadn't considered subsidence issues. But it makes no difference why the insurance company is interested as the trees are over the heights indicated (5m) and are nearer than the distance indicated (7m). However, I believe a lot of householders would also be subject to this, certainly the other 9 or so gardens I can see from my window.

Davesnave

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

However, I believe a lot of householders would also be subject to this, certainly the other 9 or so gardens I can see from my window.

....And tens of thousands of others in similar situations, which is what my post implied.

If you are in any kind of conservation area, that can complicate matters as well.

There is therefore little that you can do for certain, though their owners might take up the offer of financial assistance to have the trees trimmed.

Most trees take trimming well enough.

Strapped

As someone who just had to cut a break short due to a neighbour's (very large and very old) tree caving in our kitchen roof, I can only say I sympathise with the insurance question! Fortunately our insurers have been very efficient, despite the BH weekend.

princeofpounds

Generally people don't do anything with tall trees, even if they could theoretically fall on their houses.

In the absence of hurricanes or rivers/streams, trees almost never fall over spontaneously.

The exception is if they are in poor condition or very old, which is when it is worth getting a properly qualified tree expert in to inspect.

The other thing to watch out for is root damage on the house. This is not actually very common because houses are such a heavy lump, but it might be an issue if you are on clay soil or have lightly-constructed outbuildings or walls. You'll see cracks developing or other movement before anything serious happens.