Hi

The Tree in my road is causing structural damage to both my house and my neighbours house. The roots are so large that there is no pavement anymore, and the council have just tarmaced over the roots because they are so large they cant have a pavement.

I have reported the matter to Lewisham council, but they dont seem to care that the tree is causing structural damage to the properties, and just keep tarmacing the public pathway to cover up the problem.

What are my other options apart from referring this matter to a solicitor?

This post was last modified: 17-01-2014 03:27 PM by nigelmorley24.

Have you contacted your buildings' insurer? If there is damage to your property, they will want to know and will also do things like appoint a surveyor and liaise with the council, if the tree is the council's responsibility.

My advice would be: Write to the council, recorded delivery, making it quite clear that, having notified them of the damage being caused by the tree, you will now hold the council responsible for any structural damage to your house.
Moreover, if they do not take appropriate action within 30 days you will also hold them responsible for
(a) the cost of any experts* you deem necessary to evaluate the situation or recommend options; and
(b) the cost of any legal action necessary to compel the council to act.

* ie a tree surgeon to say definitely that the damage is being caused by a tree and that it needs to be cut down or have its roots cut back or whatever


However - rshdunlop makes a very good point: discuss this with your insurers now. They may say they'll sort it out with the council (in which case you can ignore my advice above) or they may shrug their shoulders until you actually need to make a claim (in which case go to Plan B above and write to the council).

I agree.
I bought a house that was cracking and I insisted that the vendor initiated a subsidence claim on his policy prior to them moving out. The first thing the insurers did was to appoint their loss adjusters who immediately carried out soil tests, which identified roots of nearby trees belonging to the council. They then wrote to them pretty much as Mr_Numbers has put it here and I guess their professional weight, as opposed to little ol' me, did the trick with the council's tree officer taking rapid action against the offending trees.