Dear All,

I signed a contract to build a new house and the house is going to be closed in two months. However I noticed a safety issue a couple weeks ago and requested the builder to solve the issue. However the builder refused my request. Here is a brief description of the situation:

There is a very tall dead tree (over 30 feet), less than 10 feet away from the new house, which is inclined about 60 degree and rests on another tree on its branches. The dead tree may fall and hit the house or people nearby any time, i.e. in strong wind weather or when the supporting branches become weak enough and unable to support the trees due to decay.

I raised this issue to the realtor agent and ask him to pass my request to the builder to get the tree down before the closing. The builder replied recently with an excuse that the tree is located in a protected area and the builder can't touch anything in that area. I then contacted the forest department of the city and the city said that the land belongs to the builder and the builder is responsible to eliminate the safety issue. I asked the agent to pass the city's reply to the builder and the builder simply ignore the city's reply and still insisted his excuse.

I would appreciate very much for any suggestion/advice on whether the builder has legal responsibility to fix the issue before the closing and how to solve this issue.

Huge thanks.

He is pulling your leg. County or city will grant an exclusion to allow harvesting a tree in a greenspace. Tell him you won't close until the tree comes down. In addition, your insurance company may have an issue and since he is on notice about the tree, his insurance company would certainly be on the line for a liability exposure.

Dear ma0641,

Thank you so much for your prompt and clear answer to my question, which also gives me further direction. I will contact the city for help.

Many thanks and best regards.

If you don't get any satisfaction going this route, then possibly talk with a lawyer. In any event, I would NOT sign any closings until the tree is removed. Good luck.

Dear ma0641,

Thank you so much for your prompt and clear answer to my question, which also gives me further direction. I will contact the city for help.

Many thanks and best regards.

Glad to help. Click the green helpful button if my answer was helpful to you, thanks.

Glad to help. Click the green helpful button if my answer was helpful to you, thanks.

In some areas the builder is correct. We live at the beach near jacksonville and any tree removal is like, well hitting the powerball. If it not in your contract with the builder, you are probably out of luck. I am curious why the tree was not addressed prior to signing the contract. Homeowners love to "add" items to new homes at the builders expense and unless you have it in writing, I think you may get stuck pulling permits(if required in your area) to remove the tree. I know here, if you get lucky enough to get a permit, it is $5,000 per tree over 6" radius at the base. Good luck to you