Help Please

[cunningham1]

Hi everyone,

I really need some help on a matter if anyone can advise me on this I would be grateful.

I moved in to a council house 25 years ago and went on to buy this property about 10 years ago, when I moved into the property the council had planted a willow tree in my back garden.

After 25 years cracks have started to appear in my house therefore I had someone from my Insurance company attend and advise me it was the tree that has caused this and I would have to pay £1000.00 excess to get the repairs done, he advised me to contact Warrington Borough Council as they should accept liability on this as I dod not plant the tree originally.

I have contact the council who have advised they are not going to accept liability and I have no other option but to pay out £1000.00 which I do not have to have these repairs done.

I would appreciate any advice or help anyone can gove me.

Thanks

[Lancashire Lad]

I would suggest seeing a solicitor on a no win no fee basis for this. (I would advise taking along any correspondence that you have had from your insurer that confirms the tree to be the cause of the damage).

I don't see how the council can flatly refute responsibility if they planted the tree in a location that could eventually cause damage to the property.

They employ specialists who should have known what would be likely to occur within the lifespan of the tree.

I hasten to add that I have no legal expertise, but common sense suggests that there must be a liability here.

Regards,
Mike.

[PMG]

Don't take any notice of what the council tells you - their knee-jerk reaction is always to say NO and hope you go away Get a solicitor as Mike says and take their advice - they will know whether its worth pursuing - never be fobbed off or go away quietly - always enquire

Pauline

[Fuzzy-felt bloke]

This is typical of putting the blame on the tree, unless the stem of tree is right next to the house I doubt a root the size of your little finger will damage concrete foundations. You really need to see a specialist arboriculture consultant who will tell if it is the tree or not that is causing the damage and then he can recommend a lawyer do deals with this type of claim I would not use a No Win No Fee as they will not have the experience , I’m afraid whatever you do its going to cost you money.

A word of warning, do not have the tree cut down without a proper inspection, as ground heave can cause even more damage, if the tree is the problem.

Fuzzy-Felt Bloke

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by cunningham1

I moved in to a council house 25 years ago and went on to buy this property about 10 years ago, when I moved into the property the council had planted a willow tree in my back garden.
After 25 years cracks have started to appear in my house therefore I had someone from my Insurance company attend and advise me it was the tree that has caused this and I would have to pay £1000.00 excess to get the repairs done, he advised me to contact Warrington Borough Council as they should accept liability on this as I dod not plant the tree originally.
I have contact the council who have advised they are not going to accept liability and I have no other option but to pay out £1000.00 which I do not have to have these repairs done.

I'd say this is simply part of the responsibilities of property ownership. You really need to establish your priorities before jumping into legal action. The advice from the Insurance company may not be accurate, the structural failure to your house may not be due to the presence of the tree - BUT - your insurance company is agreeing to pay for all the work short of the Excess. How much is that total cost ? it may be many thousands, and if the Insurance company is making removal of the tree a condition on their paying out, are you in a position to argue with them. Owning houses costs money, in this case it may cost you £1,000 to keep your property in good order, that's life.

I personaly doubt that, unless there was a preservation order or some element that required keeping the tree, written into your contract of sale, that after ten years the seller will have any provable liability. Like any other defect or potential defect it was down to your surveyor (if you used one) to advise you on the implications. I also doubt that you will find a solicitor willing to take on a claim against the seller, on a no win no fee basis. And in any case I don't think you will be best served by going to such a firm. Most solicitors offer a free or reduced cost first consultation and what you need is good quality advice, either go to the solicitor who handle the purchase of your house (if you were happy with them) or ask friends and family for recommendations of local solicitors. Ask your chosen solicitor to advise you on the whole of the situation, not just trying to get money out of the Council, as you need to be clear what the Insurance Company is requiring of you, what exactly they are going to pay for and what guarantees apply to the works carried out etc.

For more background info here are some useful links:

Garden Law Discussion :: Index

A Guide to Tree Planting Distances

Subsidence - Home Insurance

http://www.trees.org.uk/

CM

[animartco]

hi Cunningham1 The culprit here seems to be your insurance company. I don't see how it could be the responsibility of the council. How do you know that they planted the tree? It could have been the previous tenants. And sad thing is, the house has been yours for ten years and trees can grow a lot in ten years. Your only chance is to prove that the damage was not caused by the tree. How far away is it from the house?
The pity of it is that you didn't get advice, or join this site sooner. I remember advising a neighbour to transplant a willow that he had planted too near his house. Fortunately he took my advice.
I think you will probably have to hock the car or the widescreen and cough up the cash.

[SeamusMor]

hi

rather than go to a solicitor who might not have the right experience, i would go to my local Citizens' Advice Bureau, who have a wide range of experience and access to local experts of all kinds. good luck!

[Paul mabbott]

My first thought was why would anyone plant a willow tree - they grow easily enough on their own! We have a tree in our garden (distant from the house) which just appeared. I coppice it annually and get a nice collection of twigs!

This apart, I don't think anyone would be tempted to grow a native willow in a garden: sometimes dwarf, weeping willows are planted but not the large species.

Originally Posted by animartco

hi Cunningham1 The culprit here seems to be your insurance company. I don't see how it could be the responsibility of the council. How do you know that they planted the tree? It could have been the previous tenants. And sad thing is, the house has been yours for ten years and trees can grow a lot in ten years. Your only chance is to prove that the damage was not caused by the tree. How far away is it from the house?
The pity of it is that you didn't get advice, or join this site sooner. I remember advising a neighbour to transplant a willow that he had planted too near his house. Fortunately he took my advice.
I think you will probably have to hock the car or the widescreen and cough up the cash.

[bigdave60dog]

If you needed to get a mortgage to buy the house you would have needed a survey. If the surveyor did his job you would have been warned that thsi may be a problem in future. If you take action against anyone. This survey will need to be produced. You need to prove that your surveyoy did not pick this up in his survey. If he did it is your own fault for not cutting the tree down before it caused a problem.
If he did not pick up on this you may possibly have case against your surveyor. However most people know that willow trees are notorious for this sort of problem and you must take some of the responsibilty on yourself.
If I were in your position I may have a go at claiming of someone on the offchance that I may get lucky. It would really be my own silly fault for not maintaining my property sufficiently for the last ten years.
Dave

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

If you needed to get a mortgage to buy the house you would have needed a survey. If the surveyor did his job you would have been warned that thsi may be a problem in future.

In many cases where 'right to buy' has been exercised, there is no comprehensive survey undertaken, just a mortgage valuation. In that circumstance there is no surveyor report to fall back on. And it's now not just with 'right to buy' that purchasers are skimping on survey costs, with the Mortgage companies demanding such high deposits, increasing numbers of open market purchases are being made without a full survey.

CM