Tree Overhanging Our Property - Mid House Sale

gingercordial

You can't force your neighbour (old or new) to cut back the tree to your liking *unless* you can get it independently assessed as being genuinely dangerous.  Start by looking on your local council's website, or you may have to engage a tree surgeon to carry out this assessment.

If they don't assess it as dangerous, then all you can do is to cut the branches that overhang your garden, at your expense, assuming there isn't a TPO.  You need to make sure you don't damage the tree which can include unbalancing it, so it might not be possible to completely cut back as much as you want.  If there's a TPO there may be nothing you can do.  Either way your neighbours won't be paying for it.

If it is assessed as dangerous then you might be able to force your neighbour to trim it but that is going to be a long process so nothing you'll have "ready" to hand over for during their pre-exchange negotiations.

princeofpounds

Bet the cost nowhere near that, unless your neighbour has a forest. 

But you're missing the point. YOU want the branches gone. The neighbour doesn't have any obligation to do it. So if you want it, you pay for it, like most things in life.

es5595

If “exchange isimminent” I imagine the ETA will not tell the buyer at all, in case it scuppers the sale! There is absolutely no incentive whatsoever for them to inform the buyer, and lots of reasons not to, because I imagine they’re expecting a nice commission from the sale. 

As pp have said, if you want them removed, it’s up to you to commission a tree surgeon to remove the overhanging branches, you could always try the ‘tea with cake’ approach, once the new buyer has moved in, or you are able to contact them, and see if they want to go halves to have the whole tree pruned or significantly cut back. 

swingaloo2

Why would you assume the branches are likely to fall? I think you may well be setting yourself up for a very difficult relationship with your new neighbours.

eddddy

tekton23 said
 I'd estimate this is around £2-3k's worth of work, from recent quotes I've seen at other properties.

For cutting a few overhanging branches? That sounds like less than half a day's work for a tree surgeon gang.

I don't know where you are, but in the south-east, expensive corporate tree surgeon teams might charge £1k per day (and turn up in smart matching workwear outfits, and macho pick-up trucks).

Or a self-employed team with a transit tipper might charge about £650 per day. (So maybe £350 to £400 for half a day.)

Maybe more in London, maybe less outside the south east. 

davidmcn

tekton23 said:

How can I contact and make the buyer aware? Is the estate agent obliged under law to notify them, if I give the agent notice of this issue?

No.

What other methods are there?

None. The identity of the prospective buyer isn't any of your business. Negotiations are confidential between the vendor and buyer. You'll find out who they are if and when they complete the purchase.

Swasterix

As someone who has been through something similar myself recently (as the tree owner), I’ve done a fair bit of research into this. 

As has been mentioned numerous times, the tree owner is under no obligation whatsoever to pay to remove anything overhanging your boundary. If you would like to have the tree cut back, either you do it or pay somebody to do it. You must offer any cuttings back to the tree owner. If they don’t want them, you must dispose of them at your own expense/inconvenience. The only caveat to this is if the tree is in fact dangerous, but you can not decide this yourself (assuming you’re not a tree surgeon). 

The tree was there before you bought the house. You should have been negotiating with your vendor before you bought the house as to who would bare the cost of said tree works. Neither the current nor future owner of your neighbouring house has any obligation to help you out. 

Having said all of this, if you approach them, nicely, after they’ve moved in, they may contribute to your cost as a neighbourly gesture. 

Ps. The cost to do the work will be nowhere near £2k-£3k!

AdrianC

tekton23 said:

AdrianC said:

tekton23 said:

We have just bought a house and are refurbishing it, ready for a move in 3-4 months. The house next door is being sold, it is currently under offer and they are doing the paperwork with exchange imminent.
There are some large trees in the neighbour's garden, with big branches (circa 30-40 cm diamater) that overhang our garden. They do not look safe and we'd like them removed.

Why do you say "don't look safe"? Simply because of the size? 30-40cm diameter really isn't that big, even before any allowance for exaggeration for dramatic effect. Are these trees under a TPO, either explicitly or blanket?

Let's see some pics...

Unsafe as they ben 90 degrees upwards at the mid-point in their length and are around 10 m in length oversailing our garden.

That doesn't mean they're unsafe. It means you don't like them. BIG difference.

Pictures are not relevant, the trees branches do need to be managed and at least reduced in size.

IYHO.

Why did we buy? The issue of overhanging branches is not such as serious issue as to put us off buying the house.

Yet you don't want to accept the cost of managing the tree to your preference.

Yes, of course I have considered the vendor doesn't want to spend the money on an item such as this. The whole point is to notify the buyer, so they can negotiate the cost of this against the sale before they move in.

But, again, you ignore the elephant in the tree.
What if they don't WANT to? What if they actually like the tree as it is?

And what if there's a TPO?

Sure, a good tree surgeon should leave no trace but access is far easier currently as the side yard is open and it is easy to reach with a truck or van.

What do you think they'll need to get access with? A powered cherry-picker?
They can probably climb the tree from the neighbour's side, and rope the timber down that side, too.

Do you have any useful comments or advice on how to contact the buyer?

There are literally only three ways...
1. Ask the vendor to pass a message on.
2. Ask the EA to pass a message on.
3. Wait until they move in.

tekton23 said:

The problem here is the cost associated, as they are huge and will require tree surgeons and a significant amount of waste to cart away. I'd estimate this is around £2-3k's worth of work, from recent quotes I've seen at other properties.
As the branches are likely to fall, my thinking is this is a safety issue that is the owner's responsibility.

<blink> You what...?!?
The tree surgeon I use charges about £300/day for himself, less for his lads. This sounds like a morning's work for two people.

All the brash will get chipped on-site into the back of their pickup and taken away. It's what they do. If these are substantial branches, the timber itself will almost certainly have value. What tree is it?

3card

I can see people saying that the branches are not that big but i would say that 30cms-40cms is pretty big and don't think it a DIY job at that size. These sizes are as big as most trunks on trees
Saying that i agree that its the OP's problem and he needs to arrange for them to be cut

Soot2006

South East, I had an almost 30ft monster sycamore removed from the bottom of my garden. No access other than a small narrow side gate. The tree overhung my neighbour's glass greenhouse.  £400 to a local recommended tree surgeon and the whole thing was gone and removed. I cannot imagine your branches are that costly to remove - these tree people absolutely know what they're doing and are used to working in tricky access situation with damageable objects down below.

I have other trees that I like and I do ask my neighbour if my tree surgeon can access their side for maintenance, which I pay for, but that's entirely up to me and I do it for the health of my trees, not for the good of my neighbour. In fact, same neighbour does NOT maintain her trees which overhang my way, so I have that done at the same time as my own. Over time, you can develop a canopy to your liking as you keep them to a desirable shape from your side (provided no TPO which complicates things a little though not insurmountable) but you cannot expect your neighbour to pay for it! Such entitlement ....