Next door has a mahoosive fir tree which is making my garage move and has now developed a split in the brick work from top to bottom. Who is liable for this? i.e. something on their land damaging my property

Thanks

Yes, you can indeed sue your neighbour for any damages caused to your property by your neighbour's trees and the costs of removing the roots on your side of the property. You can also apply for an injunction to get them to remove the roots themselves.

Yes, you can recover all additional costs incurred by you whilst pursuing the matter. I would advise you to write a final letter(send by recorded delivery and keep a copy) to them before taking legal action and demand that they take corrective action within a reasonable time otherwise you would start legal proceedings against them and they would then be responsible for all additional costs incurred by you).

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. I'll have a chat with them first and take it from there

For what its worth - if it were me, I would work with your neighbour to try and get them to remove the tree and make good your garage , without having to resort to surveyors and legal stuff. Once its in the hands of insurers -- even though its only a tree and its removal will hopefully sort the problem , you may well find your property is blighted by being labelled as having had subsidence or similar,or it will be monitored, and you will find you are stuck with your present insurer as no-one else will touch you, and as for when you come to sell, you may find the questionaire by the buyers solicitor will make it necessary for you to declare the work done.Hard to ignore when you have had a professional diagnosis which will be lodged with your insurer andmay state 'subsidence' whether you like it or not. That can be a real turn off for potential purchasers.

I'd rather not go down the angry route if it can be helped, I'll even muck in to help remove it. On a plus side though, the garage is away from the house

Good idea. It helps that the garage is separate from a practical point of view of further problems , but I know from experience it will still be a pain trying to convince an insurer that your garage shouldnt be counted as an integral part of your property for insurance purposes , once you have involved surveyors/legals.Yep, definitely work with your neighbour for a solution. Hope it is amicably resolved.

Depends on what kind of human being your neighbour is. I know of a similar where the neighbour is a total shoit and the ructions up to now are about 2 years plus and still counting. Good luck on that one matey.