Hi
Hoping someone could help, although I think I am on a hiding to nothing, but even confirmation that this is the case would be appreciated.
I have an area of grass next to my end terrace at the end of the road. The land is council owned and planted with fairly established trees. I have owned the property since 2006 and every year, one of the trees in particular, blocks my gutters with its leaf fall, and I have to pay to get these cleared. A few years ago, I even installed brush strips, but these seemingly do very little.
I started contacting my council in 2010 to request they do something with the one tree in particular, given the impact it has on my property. Over several months I was passed from one department to another, and nothing was ever done. Tried again a few years later. The council told me an inspector was sent out to look at the trees, but they were deemed acceptable so again nothing was done. And so it goes on every few years. In 2024, due to dampness at the property (mostly because the current inhabitants were causing really bad condensation admittedly), I had a RICS damp survey done on the property. The survey noted:
h) The gable side wall is largely sheltered by tree cover from large trees located in the adjoining green. This will lessen the impact of exposure to wind driven rain, however there will be a lack of solar gain thus reducing the thermal performance (retained heat and surface temperatures) of this wall.
i) Owing to tree cover it is evident that rainwater gutters are regularly blocked with leaves. It is understood that these were recently cleared, and brush strips fitted designed to prevent blockage of downpipes. Previous leakage has led to saturation of the main wall, evident by vegetation growth to mortar joints.
j) The chimney stack is saturated and vegetation growth has taken hold of mortar joints. This has likely led to destabilising of the brickwork along with damp penetration internally.
This required the chimney stack to be removed, the wall repointed, the roof timbers that were damp replaced, the gable end interior plaster removed, replaced with insulated plasterboard and replastered. Obviously, all of this was at significant expense.
I have written to the council, enclosing a copy of the report, as on their website they state:
Things that the council is responsible for
• the removal of nuisances, such as publicly-owned trees interfering with buildings
However, the council have come back with the following:
‘Council inspects its tree stock on a cyclical basis to monitor condition and address any safety concerns. Tree owners, including local authorities, have a duty of care to ensure that their trees do not pose a foreseeable risk to people or property. However, there is no legal obligation to prune or remove trees in response to seasonal characteristics such as leaf fall, shading, or minor debris. We will arrange for the trees in question to be re-inspected within the next couple of weeks. Please note that we will only consider removal or significant pruning if the trees are found to be dead, dying, diseased, or structurally unsound.’
I also asked for a claim form for reimbursement for the works which they attached but warned me:
‘Regarding the damp survey and your request for compensation: if you wish to pursue a claim against the Council for property damage, you may do so by completing and submitting the attached claim form to our Risk and Insurance Team. However, you may wish to seek independent legal advice beforehand to better understand the rights and responsibilities of property owners living adjacent to trees.’
Has anyone legal any idea of what the rights and responsibilities of property owners living adjacent to trees is as I do not recall anything in the conveyancing documents?
However, having tried to follow tree law, I fear there is little I can do. I am grateful the Council are re-inspecting but don't think anything will be done as they don't have to, as I think the law deems leaf fall to be natural and none of the above to be property damage - ie property damage being more likely a falling branch damaging a roof not to shelter etc. Would be grateful if anyone could confirm?
Many thanks for any help!
