For most homes and small sites, the survey visit itself takes an hour or two. Larger or more complicated sites, such as development plots with many trees, can take half a day or more. The written report then follows within days of the visit, not weeks. Validity is the less tidy part of the answer: there is no fixed legal expiry date on a tree survey, but councils and lenders want the information to be recent. In practice many will accept a survey up to around two years old, though some expect less, and it always depends on the site, the season and what the report is being used for.
What decides how long the visit takes
Three things set the length of the visit: how many trees there are, what the survey is for, and how easy the site is to move around.
A report on one or two garden trees, perhaps for a lender or a council application, is normally a short visit. Our surveyors inspect the trees, take the measurements the report needs and note anything relevant nearby, such as buildings, drains and boundaries.
A BS5837 tree survey for a planning application sits at the other end of the scale. Every tree on or near the site that could be affected by the design has to be identified, measured and categorised, and the findings plotted so an architect can work with them. On a small plot that can still be done in a morning; a large site with mature boundary trees can take a full day.
Access matters too. Locked compounds, shared gardens and occupied land all add time, so it helps to tell us about them when you enquire. Quotes go out within one working day.
How soon the report arrives
The visit is only half the job. The report is written up afterwards, and that is the document your council, lender or buyer actually reads. Ours follows days after the visit rather than weeks. Survey visits themselves are booked within days, and the price we quote is the price you pay, with nothing added later.
The report stands alone. We do carry out tree work as well, but the survey never depends on it: you are free to take the report to any contractor you choose, or to do nothing at all if that is what it recommends.
How long a tree survey stays valid
There is no fixed expiry date on a tree survey, so validity comes down to what the person relying on it will accept. Councils generally want the information to reflect the site as it stands now. Many treat a survey as current for up to around two years, but that is a working habit rather than a rule: some authorities ask for less, and a long planning process can outlast the survey that started it. If in doubt, check current guidance and ask the case officer handling your application, because their answer is the one that matters.
Two things tend to shorten a survey’s useful life:
- Change on the ground. Storm damage, disease, felling, new fencing or construction near roots can all make the original findings out of date.
- The season. Some defects show best in full leaf, others once the canopy is bare, and fungal fruiting bodies appear and vanish through the year. A council may ask for an inspection carried out at a time of year that suits the question being asked.
Lenders take their own view when they ask for a mortgage tree report, and it is their surveyor or underwriter who decides what age of report is acceptable, so it is worth asking them directly before you commission anything.
Can an older survey be updated?
Sometimes, yes. If the original survey was thorough and the site has changed little, our surveyors can revisit, check each tree against the earlier findings and issue an updated report. That is normally a shorter job than starting from scratch, because the baseline work has already been done.
If the site has changed significantly, or the original report is thin, a fresh survey is the safer route. Either way, the decision rests with whoever will rely on the document, so confirm with them before commissioning an update rather than after.
Great Oaks is an ARB Approved Contractor with an in-house survey team covering Preston, Lancashire and the wider North West, and our reports are backed by professional indemnity insurance.
If you are not sure what your council or lender needs, or whether an older survey will still do, use the free scope check form on our tree surveys page or call 01772 369694. We will tell you what you need, and just as readily what you do not.
