FREEHOLDER AGAINST HOUSING ASSOCIATION

tarkat

Could someone help. I have, in my opinion, a safety issue with a tree in my next door neighbours garden which is owned by a Housing Association. I have complained to the Association but they say they have dealt with my complaint and as far as they are concerned, the matter is closed. Because I am not a tenant of the Association and I am a freeholder, the Housing Ombudsman cannot help. A report on the tree was carried out which raised further safety questions and these are not being answered. All the info I have managed to find suggests that the tree type should be a minimum of 17m from buildings. The report states that the tree is just over 3.5m from my property.

Aylesbury_Duck

How old is the tree and how old is your property?  If the tree is say, 30 years old and your house was built 10 years ago, there shouldn't be a problem.

davidmcn

I suspect you'll get better answers on the House Buying/Selling board as this appears to be a property dispute rather than a consumer rights issue.

Can you clarify what exactly you mean by "safety issue", "complaint" and "safety questions"? I doubt the tree merely being tall requires action to be taken.

jon81uk

Is it blocking your light, or overhanging your garden or causing any other immediate safety issues such as damage to foundations? If so then you could contact your local council who should be able to advise.
If it is overhanging you can prune back to the border.

Have you spoken to the tenant who lives next door to see if they have concerns and want to remove the tree? They might be happy to do some gardening and want to remove it anyway (assuming its not a protected tree).

Some advice here
If you disagree with your neighbour about a tree or hedge - Citizens Advice
Trees and the law / RHS Gardening

eddddy

It sounds like you have put the housing association 'On Notice' of the risk of damage from their tree. And I guess the Housing Association's professional advisors have checked the tree and decided that there is no reasonable risk of damage - so they won't do anything.

If you want to escalate things, you could instruct an arborologist (or structural engineer) to do an inspection and prepare a report confirming the risks to your property.


Be a bit careful about what you ask the Housing Association to do, without taking professional advice. For example, if you ask them to cut the tree down, it might cause 'heave' which could cause structural damage to your house.

tarkat

Aylesbury_Duck said:

How old is the tree and how old is your property?  If the tree is say, 30 years old and your house was built 10 years ago, there shouldn't be a problem.

The tree is now about 20 years old and my property was built approx 70 years ago.

tarkat

davidmcn said:

I suspect you'll get better answers on the House Buying/Selling board as this appears to be a property dispute rather than a consumer rights issue.

Can you clarify what exactly you mean by "safety issue", "complaint" and "safety questions"? I doubt the tree merely being tall requires action to be taken.

The roots of the tree in question has already caused damage to my fence and was repaired by the Housing Association 18 months ago. Roots from the tree are visible on my property. A specialists report on the tree has stated that there is still a minimal risk to my property. There shouldn't be any risk to my property.

Manxman_in_exile

tarkat said:

davidmcn said:

I suspect you'll get better answers on the House Buying/Selling board as this appears to be a property dispute rather than a consumer rights issue.

Can you clarify what exactly you mean by "safety issue", "complaint" and "safety questions"? I doubt the tree merely being tall requires action to be taken.

The roots of the tree in question has already caused damage to my fence and was repaired by the Housing Association 18 months ago. Roots from the tree are visible on my property. A specialists report on the tree has stated that there is still a minimal risk to my property. There shouldn't be any risk to my property.

Eh?  Have you typed what you meant to type?

jon81uk

Manxman_in_exile said:

tarkat said:

davidmcn said:

I suspect you'll get better answers on the House Buying/Selling board as this appears to be a property dispute rather than a consumer rights issue.

Can you clarify what exactly you mean by "safety issue", "complaint" and "safety questions"? I doubt the tree merely being tall requires action to be taken.

The roots of the tree in question has already caused damage to my fence and was repaired by the Housing Association 18 months ago. Roots from the tree are visible on my property. A specialists report on the tree has stated that there is still a minimal risk to my property. There shouldn't be any risk to my property.

Eh?  Have you typed what you meant to type?

They meant the situation they want is zero risk to my property.

MattMattMattUK

tarkat said:

davidmcn said:

I suspect you'll get better answers on the House Buying/Selling board as this appears to be a property dispute rather than a consumer rights issue.

Can you clarify what exactly you mean by "safety issue", "complaint" and "safety questions"? I doubt the tree merely being tall requires action to be taken.

The roots of the tree in question has already caused damage to my fence and was repaired by the Housing Association 18 months ago. Roots from the tree are visible on my property. A specialists report on the tree has stated that there is still a minimal risk to my property. There shouldn't be any risk to my property.

If the tree causes damage they would be liable to repair/rectify the damage, I am not sure you can do anything pre-emptively. 

Aylesbury_Duck

tarkat said:

davidmcn said:

I suspect you'll get better answers on the House Buying/Selling board as this appears to be a property dispute rather than a consumer rights issue.

Can you clarify what exactly you mean by "safety issue", "complaint" and "safety questions"? I doubt the tree merely being tall requires action to be taken.

The roots of the tree in question has already caused damage to my fence and was repaired by the Housing Association 18 months ago. Roots from the tree are visible on my property. A specialists report on the tree has stated that there is still a minimal risk to my property. There shouldn't be any risk to my property.

No specialist is going to put their name to a report that states there is zero risk to your property.  The fact that it says "minimal risk" probably closes off any avenue of action you could have pursued.