Tree at the rear of the garden

yaz2010

My neighbour came to my house and mentioned to me that a tree at the back of my garden is causing his driveway to crack.
He said he informed the previous occupiers a year back but nothing was done.
I checked his driveway and there is a small crack at the edge of his drive which then has a fence and after the fence it is that tree which for me is at the rear of my garden.
I am just wondering how can the tree be the problem or how can it be checked that tree is the culprit and not something else.

Also I dont want the tree to be taken down as it is a nice tree.

So what are my options?

First time living in a house with a garden, so no previous experience.

Did some search and some people say that the neighbour must contact his insurance about this.

Please provide some suggestions on how to approach this issue as I dont want to spoil relations with my new neighbour.

thank you.

Le_Kirk

Contact a local tree surgeon and agree to split the cost between you and neighbour. The tree specialist should be able to tell you what type of tree it is, whether or not the roots will or are doing any damage and how to rectify it if possible without chopping down the tree. Also check that you don't live in a tree conservation area. By tree surgeon, I mean someone qualified in trees (arboriculture) not someone who just chops them down.

traineepensioner

Check with your council that there's no "Tree Preservation Order" TPO before you do any work on the tree.
If you want to keep the tree then quietly ask if the council would put a TPO on it.

We had a similar issue with a new neighbour who employed a tree specialist to produce a report on our tree in a similar position to yourself. It was on our land and over 5 metres from our house but within 5 metres of theirs. We would have been happy to pay half to have the tree removed (massive tree, 3 days work). I applied to the council for permission to cut it down, forwarding a copy of my neighbour's report stating that it had signs of disease and was too near a school entrance were children congregated. The tree man from council said NO. However, we have retained a good relationship with our neighbours because we tried to have the tree removed....even though we knew that the council wouldn't allow it.:o

yaz2010

Thanks guys I will check with the council and update. The way my neighbour spoke I dont think he has any intentions of splitting the cost.

mttylad

The roots of a tree can extend for a long way, however once they are on his property it's upto him to deal with them - he can cut them and install a root barrier if he wants to as long as he does not cause the tree to be unstable (or there is a TPO on it).

Small cracks in drives that are next to trees are only to be expected if the drive was laid without thought for the tree roots. Ask him what he did to prevent this when he had it laid?

Then ignore him.

jc808

more fool him for building a drive with shoddy foundations

Annie1960

When I was viewing properties last year, one house had had a tree removed from outside its curtilage, even though the tree had a TPO. The insurance company got involved, and got it removed as it was causing damage to the house.


Your neighbour should go through his insurance company, as they will decide how much of a threat the tree is to his property. If it is causing genuine damage which is likely to worsen, the insurance company will sort it out.

torbrex

All your neighbour needs to do is cut the roots at the edge of the tarmac, he does not even need your permission to do this.

yaz2010

Thanks Guys. I will check with the council regarding a TPO.

Honestly I dont want to pay for this and I dont want relations to be spoiled either.

TreeHelp

Hi, I'm a Tree Surgeon and a lot of awkward disputes can happen over this kind of thing. Tree roots can extend up to two and a half times the height of the tree but this depends on species and type of soil etc. Also be careful disturbing and cutting roots as depending on how much they are damaged this can dramatically effect the tree and even cause crown dieback or kill it. I would advise getting either a building surveyor or a arboricultural consultant/surveyor to have a look at it.

Le_Kirk

^^^ As I said in post #2