Access to neighbour’s property

AdrianC

MinnieTed2016 said:

I wondered if anyone has any knowledge of property law or experience in arranging access to a neighbour’s property to carry out maintenance to your own?

...
There is also a large dead tree and two tall ash trees on their land but inches from our wall which need to come down as they present structural risks to our property.

Not only is this not maintenance to your property, but you have zero rights to cut their trees down.
Not only that, but the ashes may well be under TPOs preventing even the owners from cutting them down.

Certainly it would be wise of them to cut the "dead" tree down if it is indeed dead, because it may pose a risk to the public, as well as to property.

Wanderingpomm

Can you not write to them and tell them their trees will damage your property and they need to sort them out? 

mlz1413

Most businesses will charge you if you ask something legal.  Basically they are going to have to pay a solicitor to look at your request so they get you to pay upfront. 
How much would you pay a solicitor to look I to this matter for you?  Maybe you could get a solicitor to write to the owners and set out your requests, that you would cover all costs and advise on any claims they could have.  The owners may then feel more comfortable with your request.  But equally they could still insist you pay their legal costs for their solicitor to work form them and not you.

I'd suggest you stick to doing weeding and accept that you bought a house with 2 trees nearby. 

Jeepers_Creepers

MinnieTed, do you have Legal Protection as part of your house insurance policy? Good. If you have a legitimate concern, they should be able to give you good legal advice, and might help you with things like letters and stuff (or an actual claim if your house falls down due to these trees...)

Next thing, is this truly a matter of you being concerned about possible structural damage? Or is it that the trees are so big as to block light, or just give a feeling of encroachment? If the former, then - as I understand it - all you should need to do is to put the owner 'on notice' that you have these legitimate concerns, they have now been advised of them, and that any subsequent damage to your property due to their inaction will be actionable. This should be done in writing with proof of delivery. If you have LP, then I'd hope they could do this for you - with the added weight of coming from a solicitor. 

If the latter, I fear you are stuffed. 

MinnieTed2016

Jeepers_Creepers said:

MinnieTed, do you have Legal Protection as part of your house insurance policy? Good. If you have a legitimate concern, they should be able to give you good legal advice, and might help you with things like letters and stuff (or an actual claim if your house falls down due to these trees...)

Next thing, is this truly a matter of you being concerned about possible structural damage? Or is it that the trees are so big as to block light, or just give a feeling of encroachment? If the former, then - as I understand it - all you should need to do is to put the owner 'on notice' that you have these legitimate concerns, they have now been advised of them, and that any subsequent damage to your property due to their inaction will be actionable. This should be done in writing with proof of delivery. If you have LP, then I'd hope they could do this for you - with the added weight of coming from a solicitor. 

If the latter, I fear you are stuffed. 

My concern over these trees is purely structural. They don’t block out light or anything so it’s not an aesthetic issue. There are several tall trees on the large plot which are all fine except these two which have been seeded right next to our wall. Ash trees are known as super self seeders too so they can get out of control if they’re left to their own devices as these have been.

I guess my concern for action is two-fold, dealing with these trees and maintenance requirements to our property initially (as our property had previously been empty and neglected no one has kept on top of it) and secondly future proofing access just to maintain it from there.

I might just serve them notice about these trees as a separate issue and insurance can handle anything that might happen after that.

princeofpounds

Hi again - I wanted to address the tree issue briefly, as that's clearly the most important topic here.

Trees that are on your neighbour's property are obviously their property. Where they overgrow onto your land, they can constitute a legal nuisance. That means that you are allowed to 'abate' that nuisance. In practice, that means you can cut back branches to the boundary. You can also cut back roots to the boundary (and yes - that can be quite an effort and usually involved a trench). You can install a root-defence liner as well - this is a shield that forces roots to grow around and underneath it. Whilst it's unrealistic to expect complete defence against tree roots, it does protect the immediate area around the foundations and that's the most important area.

Then, the law goes a step further. IF a neighbour is aware they are responsible for a nuisance AND they are negligent in managing that nuisance, then they can become liable for damage. So if you can demonstrate to them any slight evidence of emerging problems (e.g. evidence of significant roots) and put them on notice, your position regarding demanding they take action becomes stronger. You can also apply for an injunction from the court at that stage, if you want to legally force action.

Ozzuk

Worth considering their point of view, you've lived there 6 months - the trees have been there a lot longer than that, if you were worried then perhaps it wasnt the right house for you as expecting your neighbours to remove established (and protected) trees isn't that fair.  Removing established trees could actually cause issues with your house.  
Most insurers would require you to state what trees are close to your house (certain high/range usually specified) so as long as you've declared them, then your insurer would hopefully cover any issues, unless neglect can be proved.