Surely this cannot be right - housing developers!

[Dmanny30]

Good afternoon all,

I’ll try & keep this short if possible!

7 years ago I bought a new build house off a good reputable developer & moved in, in the summer 2016 & all has been really well.

well, on Friday I was sat doing some work in the office when I heard voices coming from the back garden. I looked out to see two young lads in my back garden after managing to get through the gate. I went out & they were from the property developer. I said how they cannot just come into my garden when they feel like it but that’s hardly here nor there at the minute.

they are wanting to plant a tree (quite big one actually) in the middle of my back garden. Literally the middle. I explain that surely they cannot just come & do this but he explained that it was part of my contract when I bought the house (turns out, it actually was) but surely not after 7 years though?

I have rang & Emailed to complain & even tried to meet them half way saying I’m happy for it to be here but can I choose where it goes at least? Told nope & I have come back from work to find a tree in the middle of where my son & husband play football.

AIBU with this?

oh, I’m under no circumstances to chop said tree down & it’s completely upto me to maintain it too! I know it was in the contract but surely not after 7 years!?

@Dmanny30 what a shame that your husband and son repeatedly hit it while playing football (and many other sports) so the tree sadly didn’t survive.

(I’d also flog the tree on Gumtree. Depending on what it is you could probably get at least £50 for it)

Trees are good BUT it needs to be the right tree in the right place - what species is it, what's the sun like, what is your soil like? (acid or alkaline - e.g. clay, chalk, pine forest?)

Large trees are expensive, you could sell it to someone willing to dig it out. Do that before it becomes established and spreads its roots.

1. Check what it actually says about the tree in your contract.
2. Move it somewhere less annoying.

I'd keep schtum, move it to a corner and kill it off if it starts to become too big.

@Dmanny30 i would recommend checking your house insurance. I have a feeling you need to declare trees within 5 metres of the buildings.

This might be a justification for moving it elsewhere.

Poison it.

There has been a big estate built next to my in laws. it was a condition of planning that they had trees to screen- something really important for my in laws. People have been moved in for over a year and no sign of the trees, so they are still having to fight/chase. Just to give a possible alternative view.

Winner.

Copper nails must not be banned from your garden for fear of you falling and tripping near the tree and accidentally impaling them on your tree.

Deer also eat bark from trees which kills them. They need to eat a circle of bark all round the trunk. I hope you don't have any deer visit your garden.

Are you going to tell us what the wording in your contract is @Dmanny30 ?

How do you expect people to advise you if you don't tell us?

Sorry just saw they'd actually planted it! Crackers.

As others have said, check what the title deeds actually say / post on legal with the wording.

Oh god i couldn't kill it!

Move it (to the front?) or ask someone else on the estate to take it?

What sort of tree is it?

My guess is it will probably have been a stipulation of the planning permission, which can include landscaping requirements. Somebody (neighbour perhaps) has complained, and the planning team has sought to enforce the strict requirement for a tree; that, or someone has complained to your builder, who is doing it to avoid a complaint. It happened to us too - woke one morning to find a tree had been (badly) planted and not where we would have chosen it to be. This was about a year-18 months after we bought the house, though, not 7 years. I would have thought after 7 years that this is a stipulation that is unenforceable, but you need to check this with your council planning team.

oh God, is this going to be one of those threads that gets to 20 pages with no update from the OP.

She's probably out there digging it up with her bare hands 😂

I had one of those trees, awkwardly planted at the edge of our already narrow driveway. It was really sad, it ‘blew down in the wind’ (poor flimsy thing). Doubled our driveway after that.

There was a tree count the developer had to meet to get a green permit or something. The couldn’t have cared less once it was planted tbh.

You can probably cut it down / remove it after they put it in if you’re the freeholder and the tree doesn’t have a TPO. There was a tree that was supposed to be retained as part of the planning permission on my parents development but when the new owner moved in they just cut it down. It was an ancient oak tree so very sad. But just because it was a planning condition didn’t mean the tree had any protections.

Hmm. I'd be getting some more information, followed by legal advice.
If it's noted on your contract, what exactly does it say?
Will the tree be covered under a tree protection order? ...why are they planting it now?
This may be quite a fight.

Have they recently finished the development? It may be a condition of the landscaping plan, as part of pp.

Dig tree up. Remove most of rootball. Replant. Wait.

I would go on your local councils website and check the original plans for the development to A) see if it's been signed off and B) to check the original plans and any stipulation of placement.

There is a property development behind my house, and they promised to plant several trees and a pond, which never materialised. On the councils website, it says "site conditions fulfilled" but they clearly haven't been. I complained during COVID, and about 6 months later they came back to remedy it.

I'd be tempted to contact them to advise it is your property, and they forfeited all rights to access once you obtained keys and signed the deeds. You can tell them under so certain terms do youpermit them any access, nor do you agree to the tree being planted, and that you will ensure to pass this on to your local council so they can be made aware that conditions were not fulfilled at the time of build (I wonder if there may be consequences or fines to this).

Hope you get sorted OP!

I'm guessing there was a tree there previously and it was a planning condition to replace it.

Your solicitor should have picked this up, and it's bizarre that they have added the tree now. Also they should not have gone into your garden without warning.
Suspect that if you moved it to the edge then no one would care either way.

It isn't going to scream.