Neighbour cut down tree and it ruined my property

bailsofhay

Hi all, This afternoon I heard what I thought was a strimmer followed by shattering glass. I went out back to find a tree from my rear neighbor's garden in my greenhouse. I took pictures and wandered over to have a word with the neighbor.

She told me that she had a guy come out to remove ivy from the tree and he inadvertently cut it down. I told her it had destroyed the back side of my greenhouse and broken some fence panels and posts as well as damaging my next door neighbors shed to which she played dumb even though I could hear her out back with the contractor surveying the damage minuets before I got there.

I told her I wasn't angry but needed everything put right as if it had never happened. Evidently the tree surgeon/ handyman she hired had to leave but would be back on Mon to assess the damage and remove the tree. Seemed to me like I was being fobbed off but agreed to wait and see what the handyman says on Monday.

Before I enter into any more talks with either the homeowner or handyman I would like to know where I stand legally. We rent and as such only have contents insurance which does not cover out buildings so claiming on our insurance won't work. At the moment I am looking at a huge bill( I cannot afford) if the responsible parties won't play ball i.e. greenhouse removal(lots of broken glass) repair(if possible) of the greenhouse or replacement as well as the costs of repairing the fencing that has been destroyed. We live in Cambridgeshire if locality has any bearing on advice.

Any advice I could get would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

PasturesNew

If you rent, I'd get onto the letting agents to let them deal with the insurance of the structures/fencing etc.... restrict your interest only to "personal items" of your own that were damaged.

The letting agent needs to send somebody out to take their own photos and write their own letter to next door etc.... it's best you stay out of it as much as possible really, except to assist with information/facts.

bailsofhay

PasturesNew wrote: »

If you rent, I'd get onto the letting agents to let them deal with the insurance of the structures/fencing etc.... restrict your interest only to "personal items" of your own that were damaged.

The letting agent needs to send somebody out to take their own photos and write their own letter to next door etc.... it's best you stay out of it as much as possible really, except to assist with information/facts.

Thanks for the response, We rent from a local housing association and according to our tenancy agreement the tenants are responsible for fencing and all garden maintenance also I own the greenhouse as it did not come with the house.

glasgowdan

This isn't maintenance of the fence though. It's neglectful damage. Do what Pasturesnew says and pass it over to them.

Money_maker

I wonder if he inadvertently cut it down and was just removing ivy if it was protected by a TPO? Ivy doesn't need removal with a chainsaw.

Davesnave

Like Money maker, I'm suspicious..

I cut down trees with ivy on them occasionally, or cut ivy from trees, but by the time the ivy is thick enough to warrant using a chain saw, the tree is reasonably substantial too.

It doesn't take long to go through ivy or a tree trunk, but I can't imagine how a sentient person might cut a tree down 'by accident,' unless they were either Paul or Barry of Chuckle Brothers fame.

I'm not suggesting your account is false. However, I wonder if the reason why this 'accident' occurred,was because someone imagined an 'accident' would be cheaper than a heavy fine for deliberately cutting down a tree with a preservation order on it. I think they'd be wrong in that assumption, as they'd still be responsible, but who knows how some people's minds work?

I would check with the council's tree officer whether there is a Tree Preservation Order in place.

If there is no TPO, then the neighbour might simply be making-up a tale which, in her mind, sounds better. If there is a TPO, she's in trouble.

Either way, she contracted this not very handy person to do work on the tree, he messed up and he's liable. You have no contract with him, so you/your HA will need to go after the lady for recompense, which she should obtain via the none-too- handyperson's insurance/back pocket.

Good luck. I have a feeling you'll need it. Getting lots of good photos is a start.

bailsofhay

I must say I have my suspicions about the motives behind the ivy removal. I also wonder, if the 'handyman' had come out to do the ivy why he had to rush off as soon as he 'accidentally' felled the tree when if he had done the job properly would have been there half the afternoon clearing ivy. I also very much doubt the tree has a TPO as it was mainly a trumped up 20ft tall branch with a couple tonnes of ivy for a canopy. I think it was well in need of removal just not one that leaves it in my greenhouse.

In any case I have finally gotten the lady to tell me her name at least which she seemed reluctant to give when I introduced myself. She has promised to make things right but wants to wait till Mon to see what the handyman suggests.

I've taken lots of photos and will do some more on Mon when the tree has been removed (fingers crossed).

Thinking about it last night I do wonder if the lady was scared of me expecting some sort of windfall out the situation as there were 2 missing glass panels I had replaced with clear plastic tarp so the greenhouse looks a bit tired. I'm going to wait and see what she suggests and providing there is no damage to the frame might offer to share the cost of a pack of polycarb panels to replace the lot. Then its just the cleanup and fence panel/ post to deal with.

My main goal here is to get everything sorted to both of our satifaction without creating an enemy out of a neighbor I only met yesterday.

In any case thanks all for your suggestions and advice.

Norman_Castle

bailsofhay wrote: »

She told me that she had a guy come out to remove ivy from the tree and he inadvertently cut it down.

Evidently the tree surgeon/ handyman she hired had to leave but would be back on Monday.

How thick is the tree trunk? I've removed trees up to about 4" and don't believe anyone could "accidentally" cut through them. I've also tried to kill trees with 4"+ trunks by cutting into them all around the trunk and they remain stable even with quite deep cuts. If you look at where the tree has been cut you should be able to work out the handymans intentions.
I've cut through ivy stems of over 4" with a bow saw and found it very easy to cut. Up to about 1" it can be pulled away from the tree and cut with loppers.

If I'd accidentally cut a tree down damaging a fence and greenhouse I'd have found time to apologise to everyone involved. Are there tyre marks where his car was parked? Don't hold your breath for his return.

choille

Sounds like a bodge up job. It's quite skilled taking down a big tree. They should have been using ropes. Sounds like a odd jobber with no experience of tree work.

Agree with what's been said - loads of photos and possibly a call to trading standards to help persuade the chap to come back and make decent - although would you want a cache handed eejit with a chainsaw on your plot?

dacouch

Call it a lucky guess but he won't be back on Monday

sheramber

dacouch wrote: »

Call it a lucky guess but he won't be back on Monday

and she only has a phone number that he doesn't answer