Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Neighbours cut down trees before completion

314 replies

Annemum6 · 22/06/2021 11:27

I've just had an ail from our solicitor saying the neighbour has cut down some trees on the property we are buying. It will be in a small 'wooded' area of the garden which we loved. We've exchanged and were due to complete next week.

I can only assume that they haven't been removed by a proper tree surgeon and that stumps are left. What would you do? Any idea on our options?

OP posts:
VeniVidiWeeWee · 22/06/2021 20:47

@tatinabis

Yes, possibly, but the op would have to go to Court to ask this.

From the article I quoted:

"This could be costly and is best avoided, so you should ensure the contract is clear before exchange."

snowspider · 22/06/2021 20:47

Planting forms part of the property.

This entirely turns on the facts.

If I was the buyer I would seek to determine asap.

TatianaBis · 22/06/2021 20:52

The seller won’t want to go to court either, so the solicitors should be able to sort something out between them.

SeaShoreGalore · 22/06/2021 20:52

My worry here would be less about the loss of the trees, and more about the potential of living next door to a mentalist.

3isthemagicnumber3 · 22/06/2021 20:53

All things aside, what kind of person is your future neighbour if this is the way he behaves? I would be seriously considering backing out of the purchase and considering what a lucky escape that was.

princessandthedragon · 22/06/2021 20:54

I would insist on visiting the property or having them contact via video call / send photos so I could see the damage. Either the neighbours are an absolute nightmare or there is something else going on and the vendor isn’t being honest with you. Either way they are in breach of contract and I honestly think I’d pull out unless the house was absolutely standout amazing. I would worry about what type of neighbours I was moving next door. What other liberties will they be taking? Will they be trying to chop down anymore trees? It sounds like you’d be better off out of it heartbreaking as it is.

princessandthedragon · 22/06/2021 20:55

Makes you wonder if the neighbours are the reason the vendor is selling up...

VeniVidiWeeWee · 22/06/2021 21:01

@3isthemagicnumber3

All things aside, what kind of person is your future neighbour if this is the way he behaves? I would be seriously considering backing out of the purchase and considering what a lucky escape that was.
OP has exchanged. Things would, l think, get very legal very quickly if they backed out now.
LolaSmiles · 22/06/2021 21:19

Makes you wonder if the neighbours are the reason the vendor is selling up...
I wondered this too.
The seller seems to have either not disclosed a dispute, or out of nowhere the neighbour has decided to cut down trees. Either way the property as is is not the same property the OP exchanged on

saleorbouy · 22/06/2021 21:21

If they were felled without permission that is criminal. I suggest you make a visit and get clarification of the circumstances.

  1. If you were buying because mature trees in the garden were an asset then they have been destroyed.
  2. Do you want to move somewhere with neighbours such as these who seem to have a beef with the current owners?
spongedog · 22/06/2021 21:27

When I read your post I wondered if you were my neighbour from a few years ago because this happened to them. The vendors and the cf were very friendly, but the vendors decided to move. After exchange the cf went onto the vendors land (furthest corner from their house, close to cf) (actually through a gate that the vendor had put on the boundary line so they and cf could more easily get to each others houses) and had cut down several trees. Purchaser (local) saw what had happened and demanded that replacement trees be bought and planted. Vendors and cf fell out big time - gate boarded up. I believe it cost cf £50k. Cf moved out fairly soon after and has just sold. It is still discussed in the village in hushed tones of shock!!

Cf works in property so if it was easy to do this and get away with it I dont think they would have paid up. It is clearly not allowed and the threat of court action was enough.

CaraherEIL · 22/06/2021 21:43

The neighbours have done it now because I bet they knew damn well they wouldn’t be able to do it if someone was in residence.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 22/06/2021 21:45

There was a case near me where a couple were selling their house and had found a buyer. They went away and the new-ish next door neighbour took out a load of trees near the boundary. The cf ended up having to pay damages.

here

CaraherEIL · 22/06/2021 21:47

i would reconsider the purchase you are either walking into an ongoing dispute or becoming part of a new one. Either way you are not going to feel at all positive about the people you are moving next door to.

ShirleyDab · 22/06/2021 21:56

Apologies if this has already been mentioned but cutting large trees down near a property can have an effect on the property foundations.
They would become apparent over time.

TatianaBis · 22/06/2021 21:59

It’s not clear whether the neighbours did it with seller’s permission.

If not it’s a criminal offence. If they did have permission then the issue is between buyer and seller destroying a fixture.

FixTheBone · 22/06/2021 22:11

@Annemum6

It sounds like they did it without asking, but in all honesty the timing seems suspicious to me.

Unfortunately I've only been given the vaguest of information which makes me think the seller is trying to cover herself for how bad it is.

They were mature trees so I'm not sure how you replace them like for like?

Depends on what the trees are.

A fully grown oak could cost £4000 to replace like for like, if they've cut down several, get on a resellers website for a quote.

Work out whether this was with or without the sellers permission.

If the seller gave permission, tell them how much you're dropping the offer by. If the seller didn't give permission, tell them how much you're dropping the price by, and that it's up to them to recoup the loss from the neighbour.

Or, just pull out, I couldn't face handing over hundreds of thousands to a twat who gave permission for something like that, or, spending the rest of my life living next door to someone who'd do that without permission.

Doodlebug71 · 22/06/2021 22:23

@stampo

My neighbours did this with a hedge that was dividing our properties. It was there the day before we got the keys. Next day it was gone. I was absolutely livid. So so annoyed.

Decided not to start of on wrong foot and didn't say anything. It was the elephant in the room between us for a long time and i never did find out their motivations in removing it. But they're lovely people and our kids all get along great so I'm glad i didn't go storming over there. Still.... bizarre and annoying.

I'd say the trees were annoying the people next door and they took their chance to cut them down

I'd be concerned about neighbours, too. Normal neighbours don't just go around chopping other people's trees down. They just don't.

But they're lovely people and our kids all get along great so I'm glad i didn't go storming over there. Still.... bizarre and annoying.
Was it their hedge, or yours?

TatianaBis · 22/06/2021 22:23

Presumably the seller will say it was without permission. If so it’s a offence to trespass on someone’s land and cut their trees down so it must be reported to police.

If seller won’t report, one would assume consent, and the beef is with the seller not the neighbour.

Alcemeg · 22/06/2021 22:31

Rotten news OP, sorry to hear it. I hope it's not as bad as it sounds. Good luck making sense of the situation.

MilduraS · 22/06/2021 22:31

I've seen this play out from the other side. My DH's grandmother who is in her 90s lived in a house with a huge garden (think 300m to the far end) and some huge trees. Her neighbours kept asking to cut a couple of dodgy ones down and heavily prune the others to let in light to their much smaller plot behind the trees. She refused for years but after deciding to downsize and more importantly, exchanging contracts, she told the neighbours they could do what they liked 🤦🏻‍♀️ The buyers were furious but couldn't afford to lose their deposit. My FIL had an awful time trying to placate everybody. There was definitely no neighbour dispute, just a stubborn old lady who didn't think about her buyers. The poor neighbours wouldn't have done it if they'd known she'd already sold the house.

EastWestWhosBest · 22/06/2021 22:38

Oh you poor thing, OP.
I don't really have any helpful advice.
It does sound like the neighbour is taking advantage of the situation to get rid of some tree that he doesn't like.

CrabAppleJelly · 22/06/2021 22:45

That’s an awful situation.
In the long run they’ve done you a favour, speaking as someone surrounded by trees, the light, the cost of maintaining the blighters, the leaves, more leaves, leaves, large noisy birds like dinosaurs with wings, living in said trees. And more leaves, leaves everywhere.
Be ( slightly) pleased they’ve gone

Opalfeet · 22/06/2021 22:54

Hmmmm I don't think your problem is the trees!

Hawkins001 · 22/06/2021 23:10

Omg