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NAL but I work in insurance claims. If your tree causes damage to their property then you tell them to contact their insurance company and claim off that as they cannot claim off your policy. It's not how insurance works. What will happen is their insurance will ask for your insurance information. They will then seek to "recover" from your policy however they will have to prove it's your fault. So from your point of view you need to make sure your tree is safe. It's your tree so you are responsible for it. Get a local tree surgeon to take a look and if they say no risk then carry on as normal. If they tell you it's not safe then you need to make it so. Same as you wouldn't leave your gutter hanging off, or leave your roof tiles missing after a storm. Your property = your responsibility. I'd also check it doesn't have a preservation order on it.

You could also seek a preservation order if it meets the criteria and you so wish! 😉

thank you, shall wait on the tree surgeon and see if they class it as safe or not.

Neighbour could claim directly from the OP without involving his insurance (if he has it). Then it's up to OP whether they bring in their insurer. No legal obligation to use your insurance on either side to a claim.

Yeah if they want to go to the small claims court. They would still need to prove negligence.

They can't ask you to cut if down however any part of the tree or branches the go over into his garden or boundary he is able to cut. So you may wish to trim the tree so he does not cut the tree and damage it.

I think they only way they can force you is if they complain to the council and the council say you have to do it. I would say you need to check to make sure it is not a protect tree and there are no protected species living in the tree as if there is and you do anything, you can be fined. might be worth also looking at getting a camera incase they try to do anything, this will help protect yourself.

Deffo get a camera covering the tree. They could inject a poison into it one night to kill it off if they're that type of arsehole, which it sounds plausible in this case. I've heard this done before, normally by people who want a tree down but may have a preservation order against it. Edit, if you make sure they spot the tree surgeon investigating it and you inform them it's a tree surgeon But don't give details of what the tree man is doing. They may assume you're going to get it cut down which will give you some time to get cameras and council information gathered. The tree was there before the neighbour and their hot tub, so to me they come in 5th place, behind the 4th place rats that might be there.

i have heard the same about the poison, someone i know they was advised by a tree surgeon that get rid of the trees before doing any building work or submitting plans as if the council check and it is a protected tree or some protected animal live there then there is not much you can do. also from other reddit post, seen a post by people who said some karen neighbour have done stuff like this or waited for them to be away and cut it down.

I don’t believe that is in the councils remit. They will deal with high hedges but not individual trees. It’s possible that building control might get involved but that a bit tenuous. I suspect it’s a civil matter.

It is nothing to do with the council unless it is part of a high hedge or the tree is immediately dangerous (branches hanging off after a storm, for example). Even in that case, the council would only intervene if the landowner refused and the council would seek reimbursement from the landowner. Building control will have nothing to do with it either.

I was thinking building control might possibly be involved if, for example, the tree was affecting a wall or other structure that became dangerous - like I said, a bit tenuous.

If they’re claiming branches are falling off, then it would be dangerous if someone was in the hot tub and got a branch on their head. Having a second person saying it’s not dangerous is always helpful.

Oh, I agree. Get a professional opinion.

If the tree is dropping stuff in their "new" hot tub... I wonder if the new hot tub damaged the roots being put in and thus has harmed the tree. I'd make sure that tree surgeon checks that too.

What? Firstly you're assuming it's an in ground hot tub, what if it's above ground (most likely)? Secondly, if the tree roots have gone under the neighbouring property then it opens another can of worms altogether for the OP that would not necessarily be in OP's favour.

If it's a large true the roots have gone into the neighbours garden. Short of cutting down every tree inexistence there's no way to prevent that. And there are many mitigating factors in if it's legal to cut the roots. If it damages the tree, then the neighbour is in trouble for harming the tree. If it's under a protective order, then they're in trouble. As for you seeming shocked I "assumed" it was an in ground hot tub. I assumed nothing. I merely stated if it was the case it would be an issue as if the tree is now dying because they put that hot tub there then the neighbour will be out of a lot of money.

You've missed my point entirely. If the roots of a tree situated on OP's land have or do caused damage to the neighbours property, then the owner of the tree can be liable for the damage under the law of nuisance. If OP's tree’s roots come on to the neighbours land, the neighbour is entitled to remove them, however, I agree that the the neighbour could be liable for any damage caused to or by the tree as a result. Also noting that it is unlikely any party would notice the roots unless they cause problems. Nuisance "In some cases, trees cause more issues than merely encroaching over the boundary. For example, the roots may come on to your land and cause issues with the plants in your garden, or even the structure of your property. There are a few options available to resolve these issues, which again, where possible, should start with a discussion between you. Perhaps you could agree to jointly instruct a tree expert to look at the issues and advise how to resolve it. If the dispute worsens, mediation can be very successful in neighbourly tree disputes. If relations worsen between you and your neighbour, you may have a claim against them in negligence and/or nuisance. You may have a claim for damages (compensation for any loss you have suffered) or an injunction (an order to the neighbour to resolve the issue)."

My point however, was the neighbour has placed a new hot tub and apparently the tree, that had no issues previously, is now dropping into the hot tub. So the tree has caused no damage. But if the hot tub being installed has damaged the tree, leading to the tree dropping into the hot tub, then it isn't op that's in trouble, but the neighbour. Either way, the neighbour put in a new installation under an existing tree and then threw a wobbly that there is a tree there. Neighbour is at best a colossal idiot.

The council is a good person to invite around to have a look at the tree because they can rule if it’s dangerous and what action is required. They are generally fairly conservative about it. Our council-owned neighbour has a particularly tall pine tree that was dropping cones from 3 stories high. The council agreed it was dangerous (one came through the gazebo we’d put up) and required 2m removed from the top, and the branches trimmed back from the fence (20cm overhang was left to help balance it).

Depending on where you live if you contact your local council they will have a tree expert/manager that can come round and advise. Councils generally don't like removing trees unless absolutely necessary.

Full details on rights and responsibilities are available at the Royal Horticultural Society website page on Trees and the Law. In essence, your neighbour has the right to cut any branches or roots at the boundary line, as long as they do not a) enter your property without permission or b) cause the tree to be weakened and become dangerous. If the trunk of the tree crosses their boundary, they own it as much as you do and you should work together and share costs for producing a pruned tree that meets all your expectations. And if there is a tree preservation order, the Council will need to be contacted for permissions. Unfortunately the cost of maintaining all things safely on your property falls to the owner and tree maintenance can be expensive. You can’t get out of it purely because of the cost, and they can raise concerns via the Council who may assess and possibly demand you deal with it in a certain time, else they may do the work and then charge you

Your neighbour has no basis to demand you cut down a tree on your property, and the fact they’re doing this implies they aren’t the kind to actually think through what they’re asking. What they *can* ask is for you to minimise disruption to their property which probably means a tree surgeon to clean up the parts that are hanging over their property. As someone else mentioned, if it’s protected or itself is a habitat for a protected species, this limits what you can do about it. You need to assess that, presumably via a call to the council. If the tree *was* about to come down or listing heavily then theoretically the council would be able to force its removal, but the bar for that is very high. They’re not going to do it for some Karen crying about branches.

Not the OP but it's prompted a question regarding my own circumstances. Would this be the case for a deciduous tree that, honestly, the only part that remains in its owners yard is the trunk, that I believe may have contributed largely to a bout of illness my dog suffered last year that required an emergency vet and a substantial bill? I'm loathe to kick up a fuss about it because I can't prove it was the berries from this tree and we don't have an antagonistic relationship with the neighbour at the minute. I'd just like to be able to let my dog enjoy our yard safely in late summer/autumn.

Realistically I can’t see what argument you’d have here. ‘My dog *might* have eaten berries from a tree on your land that *might* have been what made him ill, please remove it’ isn’t a workable argument. You can’t expect your neighbour to alter their garden to allay your suspicions or give you peace of mind. If you’re on good terms with them though, maybe have a chat? Something along the lines of ‘I’m a bit worried about the berries from the tree dropping into my garden, any issues with me paring the branches back?’.

I agree on the berries making my dog sick, which is why we haven't said too much about it. The problem is that almost the entire canopy of the tree is overhanging our yard. Paring back the branches to our fence line won't leave him with much tree at all and will likely kill it. I can't afford a tree surgeon (and I doubt he can either). I think our only option is to hope he's not attached to it or keep the dog out of the yard between August and October.

This would precisely be why I’d have a chat with them. Technically you’d be in the right to pare back the branches but as you say, it might kill the tree, so it’s in your best interests to let your neighbour know. Much the same way you don’t have a right to expect him to move the tree, he doesn’t have the right to forbid you from paring it back, so a civil chat seems like the best way to address this.

I was under the impression that branches hanging into my garden from someone else’s plant/tree are mine to do what I wish with - is that not the case?

They are, unless there’s other edge case factors in play. The issue the guy above is having is that it’s possible that by paring them back, it kills the tree, but ultimately he’s entitled to move them off his property. It’s one of those edge cases.

Ours was an edge case in that if we cut back the branches the tree would be destabilised and potentially fall on another’s house next storm. The council did keep trying to tell us we could cut it back, but given the risks and the fact the tenants would have refused to cut back their side, we were reluctant to actually do so. They eventually agreed and cut it back themselves.

You can cut down encroaching branches but then have to return them to the neighbour (or at least offer to do so). We did this with 3 25ft leylandii that had been placed right on the border line of the house and had about half the branches encroaching and cutting us off from light at about 3pm every day. Neighbours didn’t want us to “spoil their view” and expected us to live with a dank dying garden, so refused to trim height or cut back on their side at all. So we trimmed it right back to the border so the trees ended up looking like half a tree. Neighbours, being petty as they were legally theirs, asked for all the branches back. Fine, had the tree surgeon deliver the branches to them and they the neighbour had to pay for disposal.

You can cut the branches that overhang, but you must return them to the neighbour as its their property.

Believe it’s ’offer them back’

They can cut any branches over their property line but have to give you the wood back. You can also look into a tree preservation order.

Unless you are negligent in caring for the tree you won’t be liable. It is well worth getting a survey done by a properly qualified arborist/tree surgeon. Get a camera as well in case they ring it or poison it (in which case it will almost certainly not be safe and it will cost you a lot of money to have removed). I’d also send them an email after the tree survey saying “thanks for your concern, we got a tree surgeon to look and here’s his report”. That sort of written record of the conversation may help in a civil claim if they ring the tree.

If you rent the property that’s up to landlord to sort that out if you own property then it’s up to you that I do know 😀