Neighbours tree roots damaging property

[Rootsmaneouvring]

Hi all - I have a bit of an issue with my neighbour’s conifer trees which I would like to resolve amicably but just trying to understand the legal position before I speak to them! The neighbour has 3 very large (as tall as my house) conifer trees just on our boundary and they are starting to push up the tarmac on my driveway. This isn’t a massive worry for me (I’m not looking for them to pay to fix the drive or anything) but the pushed up area is only about 1-2 metres from the external wall of my house and I’m quite concerned about the possibility of the roots causing subsidence. I would like to ask the neighbour to remove the trees - do I have any legal right to ask them to do this or would it be dependent on their agreement? Any advice would be welcome

You might want to speak to a tree surgeon first. Removing trees can be a cause of subsidence as well.

You can ask them but you cannot force them to comply.

If the roots cause any damage, they will be liable for it provided they know (or should have known) that their roots were encroaching on your property.

Provided there is no tree preservation order you can remove the roots up to the boundary line provided this does not harm the tree. You do not need your neighbour's permission for this, but you should either return the roots to them (not by just throwing them over the fence) or get their agreement to disposal.

Hi, thanks for the replies - I did do some reading around removal of large trees and the fact that this can cause heave - so the advice would be to cut them down in a phased approach over a year or so as I understand it? I will definitely speak to a tree surgeon - but am quite worried that something needs to be done to stop the roots reaching the house foundations ☹️. I think given how large the trees are just removing the roots on our side would be dangerous and could put the trees at risk of coming down.

Perhaps speak to your insurance company for advice?

@Rootsmaneouvring you can have the trees cut down and the stump left in place but treated with a poison to kill it and then there won't be the upheaval of removing the stump or risk of the roots growing further towards your house and it's cheaper than removing the stump. You would be left with your wonky drive and wouldn't be able to fix it for a few years though