Alarmingly, 50% of the 1,000 adults questioned also had no idea that they may have to pay the first £1,000 of any insurance claim due to subsidence, even though 72% of those with a private garden had planted trees or shrubs in them at some time. Although 71% of those who had planted foliage claimed to have thought about the distance of the trees or plants from the house, many far under-estimated the safe distance for planting certain types of trees from their homes.
Four in ten of those questioned correctly thought that mortgage providers would lend them money on a property that had suffered from subsidence in the past, but only 15% said that they would consider buying a property that had previously suffered from subsidence.
According to advice from The Tree Council, it is very important to consider the proximity of trees to your home and other structures, especially species such as willow and poplar. These types of species have a larger requirement for water than other trees, and therefore are more likely to cause problems as a result of ground shrinkage due to the extraction of water.
Howard Posner, managing director of Halifax General Insurance, said: “While buildings insurance covers many eventualities, it is still important to remember that subsidence can prove very distressing and inconvenient to the homeowner. Gardening and home improvement programmes have encouraged many homeowners into DIY landscaping and planting, and while this is to be applauded we are simply issuing a word of caution about trees in particular.
“People looking to buy a home should give careful consideration to its garden, not to mention the neighbouring land. And homeowners looking to plant trees should remember the safe tree planting distances – a small sapling may not look like a potential hazard now, but once grown it can become a real problem. As the saying goes, ‘from small acorns do mighty oaks grow’.”
