how close can neighbours tree be to my house

kala85

How close can a neighbours tree be to my property.

The tree is very tall and I am afraid that it will fall and damage my house. What would be the story about liability if my neighbours tree falls on my house and causes damage.

seamus

If your neighbour's tree falls onto your house, they may be liable if you can prove that they were negligent - tree was unhealthy/dying or already leaning after a storm, or otherwise likely to fall.

However, if the tree falls in an exceptional circumstance like a major storm and you can't prove that the tree was otherwise dangerous or unhealthy before that, then the landowner can contest his liability for the damage.

In the latter case, your own home insurance should cover the damage, but your premium will go up.

kala85

The tree was already looked at by a tree expert or tree consultant and he said that it was stable.

But how does he know. Has he any liability if it falls.

He seems to be able to call out and say it's stable but there is no come back if it does actually fall.

Is there any rule or law that says that the tree should be a certain distance away from my house.

seamus

kala85 wrote: »

But how does he know. Has he any liability if it falls.

There are plenty of ways for him to examine the tree and determine its condition. He would be liable if it fell and another tree surgeon agreed that it fell because it was in poor condition.

Like any other act of nature, if the tree falls in exceptional weather, it's nobody's fault and so nobody would be liable.

Is there any rule or law that says that the tree should be a certain distance away from my house.

Not that I'm aware of. In an engineering sense, you're better off with tall tree being closer to your house than further away. The further away tree will have more momentum when it hits the house and will cause more damage.

brian_t

Trees - Sensible Planting Distances

NUTLEY BOY

An additional consideration relates to what goes on beneath the surface.

Trees have roots. As trees grow roots spread. This has two consequences ;

1. Encroaching tree roots can actually undermine or penetrate the foundations of your house.

2. If the tree is one of those varieties that has a big thirst it can abstract considerable volumes of water from under your foundation producing subsidence with equally damaging results.

Tree roots that cross the boundary in to your property are a trespass to say the least. The trees may be A100 as far as tree surgeons are concerned but that is only the surface and that is not an adequate answer to your concerns.

I would be extremely unhappy with a large tree in close proximity to my building given the reasonably foreseeable potential. Firm but polite words required.

If the tree falls that imposes no automatic liability on your neighbour. There has to be negligence or something akin to it.

Corkblowin

Was the tree there first? ie did you build or buy a house with the tree in-situ and only now became worried?

bobbyss

seamus wrote: »

If your neighbour's tree falls onto your house, they may be liable if you can prove that they were negligent - tree was unhealthy/dying or already leaning after a storm, or otherwise likely to fall.

However, if the tree falls in an exceptional circumstance like a major storm and you can't prove that the tree was otherwise dangerous or unhealthy before that, then the landowner can contest his liability for the damage.

In the latter case, your own home insurance should cover the damage, but your premium will go up.

Interesting. What about if I a tree falls in a storm onto road and smashes a parked car on the street or injures a passerby?

seamus

Useful article here. It's UK law, but not dissimilar from our own afaik.

http://www.markthompsonlaw.com/pedestrians-at-risk-from-falling-trees/pedestrian-road-accident-causing-injury-loss-and-compensation/

bobbyss

seamus wrote: »

Useful article here. It's UK law, but not dissimilar from our own afaik.

http://www.markthompsonlaw.com/pedestrians-at-risk-from-falling-trees/pedestrian-road-accident-causing-injury-loss-and-compensation/

Thanks for that. A heavy branch of a big tree fell onto road from our garden-no one was injured. When I went to examine the tree carefully I noticed it was pretty rotten away so having got a warning I got my saw and pick and crowbar and shovel and trowel and out it came in one day. I was never so relieved afterwards.

nuac

I recall a tree surgeon advising the owner of a suspect tree that, if on a very windy day he stood under it in his bare feet, he would detect any movement of the roots thru the soil.

Not for the faint hearted

arthur daly

nuac wrote: »

I recall a tree surgeon advising the owner of a suspect tree that, if on a very windy day he stood under it in his bare feet, he would detect any movement of the roots thru the soil.

Not for the faint hearted

That's a bit of a old wives tale,can't see it working in to many case's there would be natural vibrations from the swaying tree and even if it did work the tree would be so close to falling I wouldn't be standing there or anywhere near it.
Usually the rule of thump is 2.5/3 x the hight of tree.
Species of tree can also be of concern,
Eucalyptus has a habit of braking off large branches or whole top sections, beech can also do this plus the fact they are shallow rooting not getting a good grip which can be difficult in loose soil

arthur daly

nuac wrote: »

I recall a tree surgeon advising the owner of a suspect tree that, if on a very windy day he stood under it in his bare feet, he would detect any movement of the roots thru the soil.

Not for the faint hearted

That's a bit of a old wives tale,can't see it working in to many case's there would be natural vibrations from the swaying tree and even if it did work the tree would be so close to falling I wouldn't be standing there or anywhere near it.
Usually the rule of thump is 2.5/3 x the hight of tree.
Species of tree can also be of concern,
Eucalyptus has a habit of braking off large branches or whole top sections, beech can also do this plus the fact they are shallow rooting not getting a good grip which can be difficult in loose soil

pedroeibar1

arthur daly wrote: »

That's a bit of a old wives tale,can't see it working in to many case's there would be natural vibrations from the swaying tree and even if it did work the tree would be so close to falling I wouldn't be standing there or anywhere near it.
Usually the rule of thump is 2.5/3 x the hight of tree.
Species of tree can also be of concern,
Eucalyptus has a habit of braking off large branches or whole top sections, beech can also do this plus the fact they are shallow rooting not getting a good grip which can be difficult in loose soil

I agree with you on eucalyptus and add that they have no business being near a house, as they are very fast-growing, (grown commercially for that reason for the paper industry/ cellulose). They also suck up huge amounts of water and cause damage to foundations.
However, you are wrong on root movement - it is a valid tell-tale. It usually means that the roots are not sufficiently 'bedded' due to insufficient soil or too much water in the root area . Those are the ones that will come down.

Some trees are 'protected' but there is a clause in the Forestry Act that allows felling a tree if it is within x yards of a dwelling.

If I were very concerned about a tree on a neighbour's property I would politely advise them of it and if they shrugged it off I would CMA and put it in writing.

Obelisk29

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

I agree with you on eucalyptus and add that they have no business being near a house, as they are very fast-growing, (grown commercially for that reason for the paper industry/ cellulose). They also suck up huge amounts of water and cause damage to foundations.

Sorry to jump in on somebody elses thread but I have a question about my next door but one neighbours eucalyptus tree.

It's about 3m from their house and about 9m high, some of the branches hang over and possibly obstruct common guttering, however the main issue for me is that it blocks out huge amount of light to my immediate neighbour and my own garden - particularly annoying as our garden is SW facing and from April onwards our back garden in in shade from mid-afternoon.

My immediate neighbour did broach the subject with them a couple of years ago and got short shift.

Is there anything, other than lobbing over a tin of paraquat (only joking) that we can do - can we complain to council?

Thanks.

JimsAlterEgo

no right to light, however I believe you can cut down any branches over hanging your property

pedroeibar1

Obelisk29 wrote: »

Sorry to jump in on somebody elses thread but I have a question about my next door but one neighbours eucalyptus tree.

It's about 3m from their house and about 9m high, some of the branches hang over and possibly obstruct common guttering, however the main issue for me is that it blocks out huge amount of light to my immediate neighbour and my own garden - particularly annoying as our garden is SW facing and from April onwards our back garden in in shade from mid-afternoon.

My immediate neighbour did broach the subject with them a couple of years ago and got short shift.

Is there anything, other than lobbing over a tin of paraquat (only joking) that we can do - can we complain to council?

Thanks.

If it is only 3 m from his house surely the branches are hitting his house? What you are looking at today will be considerably worse in the future, so it would be best to tackle the problem now rather than later. You have to live there, so try to keep “Law” out of it. Neither should you do anything to the tree yourself at this stage, it will annoy the owner and prevent 'amicable' action. If you cut any overhanging branches and did damage you would be liable. (Legally you can cut overhanging branches or trim roots but if it destabilizes/kills the tree you’re in trouble.) You have no “right to light” in a garden AFAIK, only on windows. If the tree is dangerous the Local Authority could get involved but usually they run a mile from problems like this. There are no laws on tree height restriction in Ireland.

Firstly talk to your other neighbours and discuss and list with them what you all agree upon. Write it down. Would, for e.g. all of you be prepared to share the cost with tree owner to have it professionally removed? Then a couple of you go see neighbour in a non-confrontational way and make that suggestion. If you get told to ‘go away’ I would then get a solicitor to write to the treeowner putting him on notice that as a result of his refusal to act on a tree that is unsuitable to a small suburban garden, a nuisance and a potential danger, he is being put on notice that he will be held liable for any damage caused.

FWIW, as a rule of thumb a eucalypt will be less than half its future height at 10 years old. It depends on the exact species, - ‘globulus’ is the most common variety in Ireland, some of which reach more than a couple of hundred feet. They grow a metre a year, have no dormant period, so in addition to the damage caused by the roots, its leaves, bark and seedpods continuously shed, are poisonous to animals, do not support any native wildlife and are slow to rot so they block gutters all year round. The branches are brittle and will break off quite easily. . (BTW Paraquat is banned in the EU, rightly, as it is lethal to humans, it’s a neurotoxicant, and impacts on brain functions. Exposure, even in relatively low doses may adversely affect the development of brain functions. Anyway, it won’t work very well on mature eucalyptus. )

myshirt

Op, have you tried to extend the olive branch?

Edit: Wait, bad idea, scratch that.