Seller cut down listed tree - risk to property?

brazillondon

Hello all,

I'm in the process of buying a property - hopefully soon to exchange. The seller, over the past year, chopped down a tree near the property, which turns out to have had a preservation order. My solicitors are aware, and are now to obtain an indemnity policy.

From my understanding, this will protect us as buyers against the risk of later being fined for an act we didn't commit - but does this still leave us at risk of the chopped down tree affecting the property structurally? Can chopping down a tree lead to water related risks, or any other kind of issue that we should be aware of?

Am trying to determine if obtaining an indemnity policy is enough, or if this means we should go further and get expert opinion on whether it could put the actual house at risk going forward?

Thanks for any assistance.

G_M

The indemnity policy will not protect you from the (missing) tree causing damage. Neither physically nor financially.

The fact that it was Protected will not increase the risk of damage.

Whether the removal of any given tree might cause damage would depend on

* the type of tree
* it's age
* it's height
* it's proximity to the property
* the type of soil
* the depth and type of foundations
* other factors.

If you are concerned, consult either a surveyor (providing full details as above) and/or an arborist.

dc197

Yes, there is a structural risk.
How big depends on the factors mentioned above.
Google will point you to excellent explanations of the mechanics involved and you will see how those factors interplay.

glasgowdan

As above, size, proximity, type of tree?

moneyistooshorttomention

The word you are looking for, I believe, is "heave". You need to know whether that tree removal is going to cause ground heave.

Seconded to ask a tree specialist on this - telling them the type, height, proximity to house, type of soil in the garden, etc of the missing tree.

brazillondon

Hello all,

Thank you for the responses. It turns out our solicitors were not aware of the tree being cut down - something I assumed would have been brought up during the searches. After all, had I not had a casual conversation with the neighbour, I wouldn't have known either.

I'm pretty eager to exchange and complete on the house - but at the same time I don't want to knowingly proceed with a risk of the missing tree coming back to bite us. Should we get a tree expert to look at the situation, is this a cost that could be charged to the seller given that it's not an issue we caused?

Thank you

Davesnave

I can't see what the indemnity policy would indemnify you against.

How is the council going to fine you for something you didn't do, if you simply inform them of what appears to have happened between exchange and completion?

brazillondon

Ah good point - so should I be contacting the council to make them aware a tree was removed? It was my understanding that there would be an indemnity policy which covers me, should the local council find out and want to fine. But them knowing it upfront would prevent such an issue I assume - albeit potentially bringing trouble onto the seller who would otherwise perhaps walk away without issue.

Davesnave

brazillondon wrote: »

Should we get a tree expert to look at the situation, is this a cost that could be charged to the seller given that it's not an issue we caused?

You could certainly attempt to pass the arborist's report fee to the seller, since it is likely to be more expensive than indemnity insurance.

If they refuse, and they might, take the couse of action I've outlined above and pay for it yourself. A report would automatically indemnify you from prosecution anyway.

Browntoa

indemnity is fine , avoid the council but check exactly what was cut down as pointed out

AdrianC

brazillondon wrote: »

It turns out our solicitors were not aware of the tree being cut down - something I assumed would have been brought up during the searches.

The solicitor never visits the property. Even if he did, he's not going to go around the plot and count trees, cross-checking them to whatever TPO list may or may not come back as part of the searches, even assuming the tree is explicitly protected, rather than coming under some catch-all due to size.