Tpo

GeorgeTWD

Hi,

I live in a council bungalow with my wife, we put into buy this bungalow and got some tree surgeon s out to give us a price to take the tree down. Next thing was the local council put a "Tree Preservation Order" on the tree, this tree is over fifty feet high and is twenty feet four inches from the bungalow, the strange thing is the council say it is a "Rare Black Popular" tree. We found out that there was an assessment done on the tree and under freedom of information we requested a copy of the assessment, from that we found out that the council had put down false information as the assessment said they did not know if it was a "Rare Black Popular" tree!, they would have to do a DNA test to determine if the tree was a "Rare Black Popular". Meanwhile, two tree surgeons who looked at the tree said they didn't think it was a black popular tree!. We complained to the council and got an email from the councils tree surgeon that had put the "Tree Preservation Order" on the tree that we could engage a tree surgeon to pollard/prune the tree, on investigation we found out that it would cost us £500.00 for an assessment off the tree and a further £500.00 every two years to get a tree surgeon out to look after the tree!!!, popular trees are very aggressive growing trees and have very large roots, the root system we were told grows to twice the height of the tree. We. were advised by our solicitor to get quotes for buildings insurance which we did with a brokerage firm, we were told by the brokerage firm that no insurance company would insure this bungalow even on enchance premium terms as they consider the tree too dangerous. I would also like to add that the tree has a very large hole about seven feet up from the ground that extends about three feet into the trunk, the tree (confirmed by a tree surgeon) is desesed but on the tree assessment it says "No obvious signs of desese" there was at the time of the assessment very obvious signs of desese.

Does any know if it is possible to get buildings insurance on this bungalow, and where from. Thanks for any help anyone can give us.

diggingdude

Might just be easier to keep living in the bungalow and not buy it? If not you some the discount you will get on the bungalow to pay for the upkeep of that true

Browntoa

It's unclear , do you now own the property ?

You are stuck with the full £500 fee and limited to what the TPO officers allow. Unless it's dangerous or definitely dying then it can be removed with agreement

GeorgeTWD

Hi diggingdude,

Not as easy as that I fear, we would take on all the liabilities a tree with a TPO brings with it, the tree is about two feet from a pathway and about eight feet from a road, if it comes down in high winds the law says we are responsible and would have to pay compensation for any injuries caused even although we want to take the tree down, go to the goverment web site and see what it says about people that own trees that have TPO on them, the council have NO liability even as it is them that won't allow the tree to be taken down, it is part of the insanity that rules us fear.

babyblade41

you have lived there a reasonable time ?? we have had some severe winds in the past few years and a tree surgeon has come out and not mentioned that it needed taking down as it's dangerous ??

There are no problems with foundations or damage at all ??

My previous house was surrounded by some very large trees.. taller than this one, never had a problem with house insurance .

Your best bet is to get a tree surgeon out to do a report on it and make the conclusions from that

Why did the insurance company ask about the tree? it's not something I have been asked when sorting out my insurance , unless you specifically said the tree is imminent of falling

After having many TPO's on nearly all of my properties , they aren't put on lightly or willy nilly . Yes they take some money to look after and must be done by a registered surgeon and fr me I'm happy to do it.
Unless the tree is dangerous then leave it be and not buy the house , has it bothered you before ??

GeorgeTWD

Hi Browntoa,

No we don't own the bungalow, we pulled out of buying it, trouble is we know from watching the Parliament channel that it is know looking like that goverment will sell off all council houses to the private sector in the future, we don't want to be at their mercy, it's the way things are we fear. Hence we would like to still buy but can't afford to buy private, as my health is not good I don't want to leave my wife in a bad position, I am very worried what the future will bring.

davidmcn

GeorgeTWD wrote: »

if it comes down in high winds the law says we are responsible and would have to pay compensation for any injuries caused

Which would be dealt with by your insurance company (once you've found one who's happy to take on the risk of having a tree that close to the house in the first place).

GeorgeTWD

Hi babyblade41,

I fear that you will find that when you put a claim into your insurance company thay will say your claim is void as it is up to you to have told them about the trees. I think there are a lot of people out there that are under the illusion that they are insured, they may find out they are not.

GeorgeTWD

Hi babyblade41,

I would also like to know this, if you can't get buildings insurance on a property how do you get a mortgage on it?, can't see how that works, also you will have to tell any future buyer that the property was uninsurable. Did you have a mortgage on those properties you live in?, how far away were the trees from your property.

Slinky

I'm sure I've often been asked by insurance companies about location of trees near the property. It's a standard question I think.

babyblade41

Slinky wrote: »

I'm sure I've often been asked by insurance companies about location of trees near the property. It's a standard question I think.

You maybe right, I just can't think if I was with my recent purchase.

I'm surprised a TPO would be on a tree when it's dangerous and causing damage