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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Surely this cannot be right - housing developers!

154 replies

Dmanny30 · 18/12/2023 13:52

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!?

OP posts:
HalliwellManor · 18/12/2023 17:21

LyingLikeACheapCarpet · 18/12/2023 16:48

@HalliwellManor get photos andpost then on here because otherwise your landlord will think you have planted it

It's not just mine,they've done the whole street lol 🌳.

SphincterSaysWhat · 18/12/2023 17:22

After 7 years they are definitely out of time (legally - by limitation) via contract. It's their problem, not yours. And then there's the trespass (which is a civil matter).

Woofappreciationday · 18/12/2023 17:37

My dog is a excellent digger. Digs mostly anything i plant out by himself.

He charges one vegetable bone for a 20 minute tree removal but you must act surprised and tell him off when he has removed said tree as thats how he knows its/ he is appreciated and he should just keep digging up anything else he comes across.

Id just move the tree.

IncompleteSenten · 18/12/2023 17:38

Well, if the agreement says they have to plant it then they have to plant it.

Does the contract say you have to keep it? Or take care of it? Are they to come back and do annual tree welfare checks?

If it was me that tree wouldn't make it through the winter. Oh dear. Tree was planted but didn't survive the weather. 🤷

Cherrysoup · 18/12/2023 18:00

Re-read the contract; surely they can’t do this after 7 years, ruining an established lawn? And how close is it to the house because root growth could well destroy foundations/patio etc you have. Plus they surely can’t have right of access 7 years post build? That’s madness.

Goodlard · 18/12/2023 18:03

RatatouillePie · 18/12/2023 13:55

Trees are good, trees are good yeaaaaahhh (or so the song goes).

Why do you not want a tree?

Because it's in the middle of her garden, she has to maintain it ruins her DH and son's enjoyment of their garden?

Did you not read the posts?

viques · 18/12/2023 18:04

Autumn1990 · 18/12/2023 16:20

Get a goat then it will eat the tree and the bark and die.

Seems a big sacrifice for the goat to make.

Crumpleton · 18/12/2023 18:22

Haven't read all.the replies so sorry if repeating.

Do you know what type of tree?
I'd be more concerned how close to the house, how quickly/tall it will grow and how far its roots will spread.

Anisette · 18/12/2023 18:23

OP, can you post what exactly the contract says about this?

Lovemycat2023 · 18/12/2023 18:25

For everyone referring to contracts whilst there will have been one, the key document is the transfer of the property (the deed - TP1) . As someone who used to draft these I can tell you it will be long and will have a considerable list of covenants you need to comply with.

It should however be in plain English (that was a requirement housebuilders had a while ago) so read that schedule of the transfer, or the part of the legal report that summarises it, or ask the developer to confirm under which clause they are carrying out this action.

Bunchymcbunchface · 18/12/2023 18:28

Imagine if you hadn’t been home the first time….

this would’ve been one of those wtf threads.
I just came home from work and there’s a tree planted in the middle of my garden….

katepilar · 18/12/2023 18:53

What does your contract actually say?
Does it have any timescale at all? If not, not sure why do you think after 7 years it wont be valid?

mjf981 · 18/12/2023 19:19

I’d just sell it in marketplace.

the80sweregreat · 18/12/2023 19:26

Has the op been back ?

Cerealkiller4U · 18/12/2023 19:36

Hereward1332 · 18/12/2023 13:56

They may have a contractual right to plant a tree but do they have a contractual right of access? If not, send them a registered letter denying them access to your property and saying that any damage resulting from the trespass (e.g to the lawn) will result in legal action.

Trespass is civil though.

Hereward1332 · 18/12/2023 19:47

Cerealkiller4U · 18/12/2023 19:36

Trespass is civil though.

Show quote history

Damage resulting from trespass may be criminal. Notification of refusal of entry may make the damage intentional.

thelonemommabear · 18/12/2023 20:10

HalliwellManor · 18/12/2023 16:33

That's wierd because I have randomly had a tree planted in my front garden today by my Housing developer too.Ours is rented but we moved in,in July and I've come home from taking the dog to the vet to find a tree planted in my front garden.🤣.It doesn't bother me but they've left a right ruddy mess on my garden path.
Maybe it's 'National Housing Developer Plant A Tree day '🤷‍♀️
Joking aside though OP I can see why you're so upset and pissed off,I would be too if they just came in my back garden without permission.

It's because it's the planting season a you can only plant trees between November and March (root ball) otherwise it's mega expensive for container grown and most nurseries just don't have stock until November

FreshWinterMorning · 18/12/2023 20:22

Anisette · 18/12/2023 18:23

OP, can you post what exactly the contract says about this?

This. ^ @Dmanny30 Are you still there???

HarrietSchulenberg · 18/12/2023 20:38

This happened when my parents bought a new build 40-odd years ago. Bungalow with a small, 20ft back garden. Builders rocked up one day and stuck a sapling in the middle of the lawn. It was an oak, likely to grow big enough to dwarf the house and fill the garden, with a root system to undermine half the road.
Dad quietly dug it up a few days later and donated it to a friend with land shortly after. It's still at the friend's house now, although he's long since died. I can see it from the main road when I drive past and its definitely estsblished.
Dad popped in a much more manageable rowan tree and planned to tell the builders that it was the same tree but he'd moved it, if they returned. They didn't and the rowan lasted 40 years - it only died off a couple of years ago. Dad replaced it with another rowan shortly before he died.

FreshWinterMorning · 18/12/2023 20:42

But why @HarrietSchulenberg Why did the builders just turn up and plant a tree in someone's garden? I have never heard this happen. Why do they do this? Was it in his 'deeds?'

CheshireDing · 18/12/2023 20:44

Viques your comment made me snort out loud 🤣

Come back with more info and photos OP

HarrietSchulenberg · 18/12/2023 20:46

No idea if it was in the deeds, I was 9 at the time and only remember the hoo-haa when Dad got home and found a baby oak tree in his lawn. Our house was built in what was once an orchard so it could have been some sort of mitigation for loss of trees but not sure if that was a thing back then.
My Dad was very happy with his outcome, though.

zigzag716746zigzag · 18/12/2023 20:46

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Ladybirder · 18/12/2023 20:54

Yep you need to water in the summer until established. So if there is another hot summer and a hose pipe ban…..😆pretty rubbish the developers didn’t let you choose the species or location. Or let you plant your own tree if all else failed. It will likely be because they chopped down trees as part of the development and there would have been a planning condition to replace trees at 5:1 ratio of 5 trees planted for each one felled (you can check on your councils website on the original planning application decision notice for the development).