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Neighbour's roots lifting my driveway?
Louise B
Posts: 81
Hello, We bought this house a few years ago and the driveway showed signs of the roots from the neighbour's boundary trees lifting it. I'm now looking into having a new driveway put down but it seems a bit pointless with the roots there and I fear that if we just hack through them during the process of laying a new driveway and the tree dies that the neighbour will cause as much trouble as possible because he's a prat. I looked into the legalities of it online and it basically says to let the neighbour know asap to give them time to rectify it and sue them for damages otherwise. I don't know where we stand because I haven't given them formal notice of the damage being caused, although I'm sure I shouted it at him during an argument once, and I don't know how they could possibly rectify the situation other than chopping the trees down and leaving the boundary totally exposed. I'm not bothered about damages for this driveway and I don't want to have to seek them in future. What should I do? Things are very hostile between us already. Thanks
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Basically you could sue him for damages if he doesn't remove the tree and repair your drive - as you say above.
Firstly - speak to your insurance company firs, even if you don't intend to claim now - if it gets messy you dont want to have nullified your insurance. (get names, times of call to them etc)
In general terms however, to be successful you need to willing to compromise, discuss, and solve the problem before taking court action. Therefore take photos, showing the problem, the damage, explain he is liable but offer a compromise solution to the problem if it is resolved amicably and quickly. (he removes the tree, you'll do your drive)
BUT discuss with your insurance company first - they may want to take the action and you don't want to make a move without their okay. His insurance is probably not going to cover this as he obviously hasn't maintained the tree.
Sounds like there is no point doing the drive without removing the tree.
The above sounds good. It is best to reach an amicable agreement. My neighbour replaced his drain pipes, taking water from his gutter to a soakaway. And I dug up the holly trees whose roots had destroyed his drains. No legal expense, no arguing, happy neighbours. Remember he is next door and can make you life miserable, so it pays to be friendly. You do have the right to cut roots on your land, but if that causes the tree to fall or kills it, you might be liable.
It is a shame relations are hostile. You could write a polite, to the point letter, setting out the issue. Say you want a new drive, but that is pointless with the tree in place. Indicate you are willing to ignore the damage to the drive as a gesture of goodwill if the tree is removed.
I wondered if you could put in a barrier, such as sunken breeze blocks? What is the tree and how big?
First thing to check is whether there is a TPO in place which covers the trees. There is a good chance that there is and this will have a huge impact on the issue. With a TPO neither you nor your neighbour will be allowed to damage the trees in any way without permission from your Council even if the roots are causing problems with your drive. Fines for damaging a TPO protected tree are severe - up to £20,000 for destroying a tree even up to £2,500 just for causing damage such as cutting through roots. And there is no point in trying to plead ignorance, you would still be prosecuted.
In practical terms, so much depends on what species of tree it is. If it's one that will only get bigger and more damaging, then it is clearly inappropriate for the site. That should be your starting point. Trees that will make 40 feet high are clearly not wanted between the front drives of a row of suburban semis.
Louise, the best thing you can do is leave it in the hands of the insurance company. If they are having to pay for any remedial work that has to be carried out then their legal departments will pursue your neighbour through the courts for any costs.
Doing it this way leaves you out of any direct confrontation with your neighbour.
You'll never have good relations with him, and that as I know, is better than confrontation. It provides a barrier and decreases the stress levels to you personally. I am surprised your surveyor didn't raise the issue prior to your purchase of the property, but you get what you pay for with those guys.
It'll be an expensive job, so letting the insurance and loss adjusters do the work will lift a huge burden from your shoulders, and you can be pretty smug about it when your neighbour tries to raise the issue, by just telling him to deal with the insurance company. It save you instigating court action and all the hassle that goes with it.
Trees are extremely valuable and the tree in question was there before you moved in. If there is any way the tree can be retained without causing further damage to property, I would want to explore that first. (Assuming the tree is healthy and in good condition, and there are no issues with the actual foundations of your house).
I've worked on housing developments where it has been possible to build not only drives, but houses, in quite close proximity to large trees. It's simpler and cheaper to chop them down, of course, but local councils quite rightly take account of the benefits of good quality large trees on the attractiveness of urban areas. With the advice of arboriculturalists, and sympathetic construction methods, it's usually possible to retain trees.
For example, on a driveway, if it's not possible to exclude the root area of the tree as mentioned above, you can lay a cellular grid to contain a free draining base for the drive, which prevents compaction to the roots, and use permeable paving to maintain aeration / water penetration.
Would be interesting to see the driveway in question.
With due regard to your profession, WillDB, I don't think that all trees are equally valuable, let alone extremely valuable. And Louise B refers to trees in the plural. I'd want to know what these trees are before commenting further on possible solutions.
I very much doubt that most garden trees have a TPO. We don't even know the species. My Camellia has cracked my paths. Cotoneasters a metre tall cracked my patio. Dandelions have pushed through the newly laid pavement tarmac.
I once had an offer accepted on a house. I then googled it, and saw the small leafless tree in the garden became a huge oak in summer, completely shading the house. It had a TPO so I withdrew the offer. The council did not care that it was a forest tree in a small garden, blighting the house.
Councils can be happy to sit on their hands on these matters, so they need a good push in order to see sense.
The council chap said there was no chance of removing a TPO. It was a lovely tree adding to the area, but lighting the garden. I am told the only way to remove one is to find an issue such as structural damage to the house. Causing damage to the tree, such as deliberately poisoning it, is an offence as I am sure you know.