Selling - Conifers damaging neighbours driveway

hotuk

Hi All,
Please can you help me as to what I should do.
We have put the house on the market and the neighbour called round yesterday after seeing the for sale board and said if I will be asking our insurance company to put right this drive.
We have been here 4 years and the conifers have been there over 20 years, he mentioned this to me a while back and said if I wanted to speak to the previous owners if they wanted to get involved as it’s them who planted the trees. They have now moved abroad and can’t get in touch with them but I think they are not liable for this no more and I am – Am I right?
I have seen his drive and there are some cracks in the tarmac and it does seem they are caused by the conifers roots.
Should I let my insurers know the details or shall I just give him my insurance details and tell him to claim?
I just think it’s unfair as we have only been here 4 years and the trees have been there over twenty years.

We do not want this to be a hindrance to the selling process

Thanks

epz_2

while you will likely be covered by public liability insurance shouldnt your neighbor be claiming on his own insurance and let them sort it out from there.

[Deleted User]

Try asking here www.gardenlaw.co.uk they will give you great advice :beer:

silvercar

Your trees, your responsibility.

Now that he has notified you of a problem you will have to deal with it.

What you need to do, in view of the house sale, is to keep it amicable. You don't want to have to register an neighbour dispute on your selling details.

If he does have a case, your insurers should pay out, less any excass you have. Notify your insurers that your neighbour may have a claim. They may well ask if you have kept the trees pruned.

dannyboycey

silvercar wrote: »

Your trees, your responsibility.

Hmmm.... Unless he makes a formal claim and you get some kind of written dialogue from his insurers then it's his problem. Only then would you need to take action and respond. Even then, you could argue that the cracks in his drive were there when you moved in and are thus, not your liability. Just my opinion though.

benood

Did your trees predate his drive? - if so I would argue that it is at least partially his fault for laying an unsuitable drive surface.

Debt_Free_Chick

Whilst I may be wrong, I agree with epz. Your neighbour should inform HIS insurance company. At the same time, you ought to tell your insurance company that he is contemplating a claim.

If you can swap insurance details, the process might be smoother - but his insurance company should investigate; oversee any action to put matters right and liaise with your insurance company regarding payment of the claim.

hotuk

Thanks everyone for your help in this matter,
I’m not sure about the trees predating the drive but he was telling me he built his house about 30 years ago, our house was built in 1940’s.

hotuk

benood wrote: »

Did your trees predate his drive? - if so I would argue that it is at least partially his fault for laying an unsuitable drive surface.

Thanks everyone for your help in this matter,
I’m not sure about the trees predating the drive but he was telling me he built his house about 30 years ago, our house was built in 1940’s.

Debt_Free_Chick

hotuk wrote: »

I’m not sure about the trees predating the drive

It matters not, for insurance purposes

hotuk

silvercar wrote: »

Your trees, your responsibility.


If he does have a case, your insurers should pay out, less any excass you have. Notify your insurers that your neighbour may have a claim. They may well ask if you have kept the trees pruned.

For insurance purposes, should it also matter about the pruning too as even if the trees are pruned that would not stop the roots spreading, would it?

Thanks