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Am I legally responsible for pruning a tree in my rented house?

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  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    While I think it's reasonable to ask you to "prune" a tree that's normal sized and, say, up to about 8-9', anything over that's starting to get into the dangerous/specialist knowledge area and I think it should be the LL's responsibility. They might choose to let it grow, or send a man round once a year to lop it, but they aren't the easiest of things to sort out - especially if you're renting and didn't "choose" a tree and have no power to get rid of it - and you have no vested interest in investing in the equipment you'd need to deal with it yourself.

    I'd just leave it ..... then 'fight it' at the end if the LL gets 4rsey.

    Some tree lopping can cost £500-1000!
  • Miss_Samantha
    Miss_Samantha Posts: 1,197 Forumite
    dc197 wrote: »
    Could you ask her to define neat for these purposes?

    Sure. She will reply that it means pruning the tree ;)
  • DRP
    DRP Posts: 4,287 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Given that it requires a professional to do it safely (and presumably was large enough to require a professional before you moved in), then imo it is unreasonable to ask you to get it done.

    It is up to how the DPS interpret the contract though i suppose.
  • booksurr
    booksurr Posts: 3,700 Forumite
    the LL would be foolish to ask you to undertake pruning of a "large" tree without providing the equipment to do so since that means they would be responsible for your safety as you would be working to their instruction. If they did provide the equipment they would be barking mad since that means they would also have to give you training in its use and ensure that you operated it safely.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,571 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    nikki048 wrote: »
    At the end of the garden is an apple tree that is getting very untidy.
    nikki048 wrote: »
    the tree is as tall as the house

    That's very big for an apple tree.

    What exactly do you mean by 'untidy'? Many old apple trees are just left to grow - unless you're trying to maximize the fruit production, they can be left natural.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I have half a dozen or so mature oak trees which seem to me very attractive, though they're not 'neat.' If they were neat they'd be orderly, but oak trees aren't meant to grow in orderly columns and they'd look very weird if someone trained or pruned them to look like that.

    It's the same with a non-dwarfed apple tree, like an unrestricted Bramley seedling. Something like that will be as vigorous as an oak, or even more so, and it was never intended to look 'neat.'

    The landlord is clearly at fault. If they wanted a neat, easily pruned garden tree, they should have planted one on a dwarfing root stock, not tolerated some monster like this. Now it's out of control.

    If it were me, I'd get up there and cut the thing right down to where it branches, leaving some short stumps which will soon grow out. Then I'd prune it it regularly as a lollipop. It would look ridiculous, but neat. :D

    Meanwhile, I'd offer the branches on Gumtree or Freecycle to anyone with a open fire or stove. Apple wood smells nice when burned.
  • ognum
    ognum Posts: 4,879 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Mojisola wrote: »
    That's very big for an apple tree.

    What exactly do you mean by 'untidy'? Many old apple trees are just left to grow - unless you're trying to maximize the fruit production, they can be left natural.

    I would also be careful we pruned an old apple tree in our garden two years ago, it died! It had a preservation order and we did do it correctly with all the right permissions so it can happen.
  • Miss_Samantha
    Miss_Samantha Posts: 1,197 Forumite
    booksurr wrote: »
    the LL would be foolish to ask you to undertake pruning of a "large" tree without providing the equipment to do so since that means they would be responsible for your safety as you would be working to their instruction. If they did provide the equipment they would be barking mad since that means they would also have to give you training in its use and ensure that you operated it safely.

    Not at all.
    If the tenancy makes the tenant responsible for this (and I'm not saying that this is the case here) then the tenant is responsible for the result.
    It is for the tenant to decide how to fulfil his obligations, and he should hire a professional when needed.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Mojisola wrote: »
    That's very big for an apple tree.
    We had one that size at our old house. Terribly dangerous when fruit weighing 1/2 a kilo falls 6m onto pathways. Doesn't do a lot for the fruit either!
  • theartfullodger
    theartfullodger Posts: 15,701 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    .....If the tenancy makes the tenant responsible for this (and I'm not saying that this is the case here) then the tenant is responsible for the result.....
    Not necessarily, certainly not if "unfair" - see

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unfair-terms-in-tenancy-agreements--2
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