Advice regarding tree on a shared boundary

Durace11Bunny

Hi there,

Hoping one of you guys in the know might be able to help out here, please

Our property has shared boundaries (title register states 'no Ts shown on plan at first registration'). At the bottom of the garden is a huge cherry tree, which is smack-bang on the boundary line (looks to be 'wild seeded', imo). We're considering what to do with it, as it appears it could be causing problems with an outbuilding we have nearby

However, before we head down that avenue, we've tried contacting the neighbour a few times to ascertain their opinion, but alas no success (we've put a note through the door & recently knocked at the property). We can't be 100% sure, but it may be that nobody lives there, although the mail is being picked up (as the note wasn't there a week later)

In circumstances like this, what's your guys advice, in terms of going forwards? Whatever we decide we want an amicable outcome with our neighbour. But i'm really not sure where we stand (legally) in terms of what to do, and these sorts of things are a trigger-point for disputes/fall outs

I guess we may need to consider local council, solicitor, but hoping there are things/advice you guys can share before we reach that juncture

Thanks for your time

Rdwill

Someone will come along with a sensible answer, but my view is that

'It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission'.

Albermarle

Normally the problem is having an awkward neighbour ( or hopefully a nice one).
In your case it seems you are not even sure you have a neighbour, which is a bit of an odd situation ! . Surely you must know something about them ? Is the house rented? Has it been sold recently? How long have you lived there ?

ThisIsWeird

Hi D11B.
In what ways do you think it may be causing problems with your outbuilding? Proper tangible stuff?
And do you think it could be an issue for your neighbour too? What do you reckon they'll think about it?
If it's causing actual damage to your property, or is clearly threatening to, then that is 'useful' when it comes down to action. If your tree, then you'd be justified in at least crowning it significantly. If your neighb's, you'd put them in notice of the potential risk, so that - if it then occurs - they'd likely be liable if they don't take mitigating steps.
It's awkward, tho', that you don't even know who owns it! Or that it could be shared.
Do you have Legal protection included in your house insurance? If so, call them up for advice.
If not, well, what is it you want? Do you want it fully taken down? Or just seriously lobbed? And are you happy to pay for this? If so, then who will you use - DIY or an arborist?
For the latter, perhaps get a few quotes, and also ask their pro opinion on what will happen if the tree is allowed to continue growing as it is. Use their answer to write a final message - by a recorded means - (eg, recorded delivery, and not just a note through the door) to explain what you 'need' to do to protect your property. Give then a reasonable time to respond - "by the Xth Feb" - and then give it the chop.

Durace11Bunny

Albermarle said:

Normally the problem is having an awkward neighbour ( or hopefully a nice one).
In your case it seems you are not even sure you have a neighbour, which is a bit of an odd situation ! . Surely you must know something about them ? Is the house rented? Has it been sold recently? How long have you lived there ?

Hey AM, thanks for the reply

We've only been here 6 months, so not had a long time to know the history of the other owner. Whats more, their house is around the corner, so it's not something we could easily 'keep an eye on' and bump into them.

The house was sold in 2019, but since which it seems to be showing signs of neglect (the outside is looking overgrown & left to go wild). We don't have a clear view, but never seen any lights on at the place, only a car (once) on the driveway

They have a number of large plants in their yard, which will undoubtedly cause issues for us an other neighbours (a few leylandii that are already 7m high and getting out of control. It looks as though whoever is there is not interested in their garden upkeep

I suspect we may need to go down the 'high hedges act' with the leylandii, but we really want to do this in an inclusive way & give the owner chance to rectify. We'll have a word with the neighbours in the coming weeks & see if they know anything

Durace11Bunny

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi D11B.
In what ways do you think it may be causing problems with your outbuilding? Proper tangible stuff?
And do you think it could be an issue for your neighbour too? What do you reckon they'll think about it?
If it's causing actual damage to your property, or is clearly threatening to, then that is 'useful' when it comes down to action. If your tree, then you'd be justified in at least crowning it significantly. If your neighb's, you'd put them in notice of the potential risk, so that - if it then occurs - they'd likely be liable if they don't take mitigating steps.
It's awkward, tho', that you don't even know who owns it! Or that it could be shared.
Do you have Legal protection included in your house insurance? If so, call them up for advice.
If not, well, what is it you want? Do you want it fully taken down? Or just seriously lobbed? And are you happy to pay for this? If so, then who will you use - DIY or an arborist?
For the latter, perhaps get a few quotes, and also ask their pro opinion on what will happen if the tree is allowed to continue growing as it is. Use their answer to write a final message - by a recorded means - (eg, recorded delivery, and not just it's a note through the door) to explain what you 'need' to do to protect your property. Give then a reasonable time to respond - "by the Xth Feb" - and then give it the chop.

Thanks TiW - great advice

I noticed some 'ladder cracks' in the breezeblock outbuilding, and the cracks are in the area nearest the tree, It could be entirely coincidental, but it's certainly suggesting it's related to the tree (i've read cherry tree roots are extremely invasive and damaging)

Our thoughts would be to do whatever a tree surgeon suggests, but hopefully crown it about 6ft high and then keep it under control if it decides to keep growing. We're aware costs will be several £k, so as it's shared we're hoping to split the costs between us and the neighbour

Agree, we'll exhaust every channel and give repeated letters/contact, before doing anything. I'm hoping the council might have some advice, but likewise they might just give us some generic blurb

PS: Good shout with the home insurance - i can take a look

TELLIT01

Albermarle said:

In your case it seems you are not even sure you have a neighbour, which is a bit of an odd situation ! .

Not that odd.  We have lived our house for 37 years and have no idea who lives in the house behind us, how long they have lived there, or how many have come and gone in that time.  Our back garden is 150 feet long and theirs probably about 50 feet long.  There is a 6 ft high fence in their garden so we wouldn't see anybody if we were in the garden. 

The only contact we have had with that property was a snotty note stuck through our door complaining about the large tree blocking light from their garden.  They didn't ring the bell or knock the door as the note wasn't there when we came home one evening but was there the following morning.

I replied, telling them the tree was actually in their garden as a previous occupant had put the 6 foot high fence up about 6 feet into their garden.  We heard nothing more.

I presume there is currently somebody living there but have never taken any notice of any lights on.  In fact I've just looked down there and there are no obvious lights on in that house, but they may have heavy curtains.

There is also a bungalow a few streets from us which has apparently been empty for over 10 years.  Neighbours keep the gardens tidy so it's not too obvious that nobody lives there.  I doubt the people in the property backing onto it are aware of the situation.

RAS

You know the house number and street, can obtain the post code easily.

So go to the Land Registry website and it now costs £7 to down load details for the owners (twice the price last year).

Go to the location of the public electoral register (possibly the local history or local studies library) and ask to see the entry for the address. You can't photo it but can transcribe.

GDB2222

Maybe, wait until you see the cherry tree in blossom before deciding what to do. They really look gorgeous for two weeks of the year,and you might decide that you can put up with some damage to the outhouse. 

Durace11Bunny

GDB2222 said:

Maybe, wait until you see the cherry tree in blossom before deciding what to do. They really look gorgeous for two weeks of the year,and you might decide that you can put up with some damage to the outhouse. 

Love the sentiment, but i'm afraid no amount of blossom will mask any damage done to the outbuilding

I'm going to mark (and date) the cracks, so i can track its 'progress'. Hopefully, by which point we will have spoken to the neighbour and agree what's the best course of action

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

From what I understand the tree belongs to the land upon which it first grew, if that isn't clear you could try to establish exactly where the boundary is and where the tree grew from, whether it's worth the cost is another matter.

Rdwill said:

Someone will come along with a sensible answer, but my view is that

'It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission'.

I know this was in jest but if you cut down a tree that doesn't belong to you, you may find yourself charged with criminal damage.