Neighbour’s tree falling on our garden

[TheOtherBear]

Hi, can anyone help with how this should work?

Next door neighbours have an enormous pine tree and a big branch from it fell over the boundary into our garden. There was a very loud crack last week and then it came down.

Luckily it only fell onto a shed and gate (both now damaged) and through a hedge on our side (now ruined), and missed more important things like animal houses and bigger structures.

They sent a tree guy round (who is also our own tree guy), and he’s been clearing bits up. He’s said the tree was in poor condition and surprised it didn’t happen earlier; plus that more branches could come down.

Neighbour (doesn’t live in the house, fyi, it’s an AirBnB) has said he can’t claim on his insurance as it was an act of God. And therefore we have to claim on our own insurance.

is this right? Is there no way that he should pay for this? And is it an act of god is the tree guy says the tree was in poor condition?

(To confirm, neighbour is paying for the tree guy’s work)

you need actual legal advice.
My instinct says that he pays for the damage because the tree was not maintained. But you would need to prove that.
If his insurance won't pay, I doubt yours will for same reason, but his tree has damaged your stuff so he should pay.

But as I said, I am not a lawyer and you need actual legal advice

From my understanding (had an experience of neighbour's part of reder from chimney landing on the roof of my brand new car) - the first "accident" is treated as an act of god, if something happens again with that tree and your property - they should cover it. But, talk to that tree surgeon and request his written expertise about the health of that tree, send a copy to the neighbour by special delivery. In this instance, he would be aware the tree is in bad state and would not be able to claim it's an act of god, but a poor maintenance from his side.

Neighbour (doesn’t live in the house, fyi, it’s an AirBnB) has said he can’t claim on his insurance as it was an act of God. And therefore we have to claim on our own insurance.
It's his tree so it's his problem. Usually people offload the risk by getting insurance - if he hasn't got cover then the problem goes back to being his, not yours!
Even if you did claim off your policy, there's every chance that your insurers first course of action would be to try to recover costs from him.

It might be an idea to remind him, as an absentee, that he (and his AirBnB income) needs to have a friendly relationship with neighbours and that he shouldn't jeopardise any goodwill.

Thanks all, this is super helpful. Sounds like morally he should pay, but actually getting him to will be another matter entirely.....

I wonder if I should speak to my insurance company, just for a chat, to get their view.

"It might be an idea to remind him, as an absentee, that he (and his AirBnB income) needs to have a friendly relationship with neighbours and that he shouldn't jeopardise any goodwill"

And yes, @senua, totally agree with this! Unfortunately I ultimately think he doesn't really care. It's gotten better and is no longer a party house (they changed the advert to say this, after a few neighbour complaints), but it's a massive house (sleeps ~20) and does attract big and loud groups.

Again from my experience, your insurance will cover it, but would not be able to recover anything from his insurance as there is no evidence he was aware that the tree was dangerous (that's why they call it a will of god/act of god), as I was said by my insurance it's practically impossible to prove. That's why get an evidence from the tree surgeon that the tree is dangerous and make your neighbour aware and keep a trace of correspondence - that's the only way to protect yourself and your property. That's from legal point of view, unfortunately legal and moral points are not usually the same

Some house insurances have a legal add-on, if you took one out maybe ask for their advice?

You need to send him a letter or email advising him that the tree is in bad condition and that it could damage your property. Once you have served him this, he then is legally aware there is a potential issue and if anything happens in future he will be liable for damage.

Unless your neighbour has suffered some damage, his insurance company won’t pay unless you make a claim against him. He would be liable if he failed to regularly inspect the tree / maintained it (and had he, the branch wouldn’t have fallen).

It isn’t an act of god if the damage could’ve been avoided by maintaining the tree.