Trees falling into garden who is responsible

Waterlily24

Well, hubby said that he's knocked on the neighbours door a couple of times - no reply but his car was there(I know that doesn't mean anything)

Today when hubby was walking the dog he saw the neighbour walking back home and asked him what he was going to do about the trees - he said 'nothing' and walked on

Davesnave

That's not a neighbour, just a person who lives next door.

I would make sure they get all the material back in their garden; it belongs to them and it won't be great firewood.

Waterlily24

Hubby phoned the council and they won't help just told him to go through solicitors don't really want to do that.

Farway

Waterlily24 said:

Hubby phoned the council and they won't help just told him to go through solicitors don't really want to do that.

Looks like you're stuck then. Is neighbour owner occupier or tenant?

If tenant then maybe try landlord, otherwise it has to solicitor, some have free consultation to check your options,  such as pay someone & send neighbour the bill, but given response so far expect to have to follow this up in Small Claim Court and maybe more

Depends how far you wish to go, in the end you could ruin neighbour's credit rating for six years with a CCJ & Bailiffs, but that needs your money first

One thing to be aware of, should you decide to sell your house some time in the future  there will be questions about neighbour disputes, not always helpful when selling

Otherwise it's down to you and a chainsaw awful as it is

Waterlily24

Hi Farway, he is the owner, it's not a standard construction house so I think he owns it outright.

I realise about declaring the neighbour disputes and it might cause us problems but I don't see why he should get away with it.  If he had offered to help with trying to get rid of them I might have seen it differently.

I was most upset that the council wouldn't help - the trees are obviously dangerous and there are still a lot of them there.

I must have been dreaming about the form I thought I saw on the councils site lol.

Davesnave

I can't see this as a matter for the council, unless there is an element of obstruction or danger to anyone using a council road, footpath or land. It seems to be a private matter between two landowners.

The council's interest in trees is mainly with regard to those with preservation orders and those affecting public places, such as along roadsides. There's also inplementayion  implementation of the High Hedges Act, but that hasn't been invoked. The council tree officer might be able to give you some advice, but getting free advice from councils is pretty tricky these days!

Alfrescodave

I would suggest, if you haven't already done so , to take many photos and video of the damage as this is looking like it will need legal action in order to resolve the problem. Make sure your neighbour sees you doing this .

Waterlily24

Unfortunately we can't afford to take legal action, found out on Friday that the solicitors charge £312 an hour and it could drag on for ever.

The council didn't want to know.

We are really stuck.

I feel like cutting the branches off the trees and putting them back in his garden but would probably get into trouble lol.

Davesnave

Waterlily24 said:

Unfortunately we can't afford to take legal action, found out on Friday that the solicitors charge £312 an hour and it could drag on for ever.

The council didn't want to know.

We are really stuck.

I feel like cutting the branches off the trees and putting them back in his garden but would probably get into trouble lol.

Legal action is rarely a solution. You can't get into trouble for returning the branches that belong to your neighbour; after all they're his and you don't want them as a gift.

akwexavante

My thoughts are that it doesn't matter what the reason was for the trees falling into your garden, it's your neighbours responsibility to do something about it and pay for it and your losses whatever they may be.   If the neighbour isn't interested then YOU MUST take action to do something about it.   Insurance policies are for exactly this purpose, it's not your fault and the insurance company will recover all costs from your neighbour for you.

Your neighbours hoping you sort it at your own expense, job done, he wins you pay up