Your mortgage lender wants a tree report because the valuer who inspected the property noted trees close enough to matter, and the lender wants a professional opinion on their condition and influence before releasing funds. It is a routine request, not a sign the purchase is in trouble. A short report from qualified arboricultural surveyors usually answers the question, and locally a survey visit can be arranged within days, not weeks.
Why valuers flag trees at all
A mortgage valuation is a quick inspection carried out for the lender, not for you. The valuer is not a tree specialist, so when they see a mature tree near the house, a large hedge over a drain run, or branches touching the roof, the safe course for them is to flag it and recommend a specialist report. The lender then makes the report a condition of the mortgage offer.
Two concerns sit behind most referrals:
- Condition. Is the tree healthy and stable, or is there dead wood, decay or structural weakness that could put the building or people at risk?
- Influence. Could the tree be affecting the building indirectly, most often through the ground it stands in? Trees on shrinkable clay soils can be implicated in subsidence, so a tree near a house on clay will draw attention even when it looks perfectly healthy.
The valuer cannot answer either question from a brief visit, so the lender asks for someone who can. That is all the condition on your offer means.
What the report actually covers
A mortgage tree report is a focused document written to answer the lender’s question. Ours typically covers:
- Identification of the trees near the property, their species, size and rough age class.
- An assessment of condition, noting defects, decay or dieback where present.
- The relationship between the trees and the building, including proximity and the potential for indirect influence on foundations, particularly where the soil is a shrinkable clay.
- Whether any work is recommended, and if so what, with a sensible timescale.
- Anything the new owner should know about ongoing management, since landowners owe a duty of care for their trees once the purchase completes.
The report is written so a lender’s underwriter can read it without a glossary. If no work is needed, it says so plainly. If work is needed, it describes what and why, so you can price it and, if you wish, reflect it in your negotiations.
Protected trees change the picture
Before anyone recommends work, the report should establish whether the trees are protected. A tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order needs council consent before work, and works to trees in a conservation area need six weeks written notice to the council. Penalties for unauthorised works on protected trees can include unlimited fines, so this is not a detail to skip. Even the familiar rule that overhanging branches may usually be cut back to the boundary does not apply when the tree is protected, so check first.
You can get an indicative answer quickly with our free protected tree checker at /is-my-tree-protected/, which reads the national planning dataset. It is indicative only. Councils hold the definitive protected-tree registers, so for anything that matters, check with your council. This is general information, not legal advice.
One more point worth knowing before completion: a tree belongs to the land its trunk stands on. If the flagged tree is actually your neighbour’s, that affects who is responsible for it, and the report should make ownership clear.
How quickly can it be done?
Speed matters when a mortgage offer is waiting. We quote within one working day and carry out survey visits within days, not weeks, across Preston, Lancashire and the North West. The price we quote is the price you pay. Our surveyors carry £1m professional indemnity insurance behind every report.
One thing we are careful about: the survey is priced and delivered on its own, and the findings are what the trees need, nothing more. You are free to take the report to any contractor. If work is recommended and you would rather keep it simple, we can also carry it out ourselves as an ARB Approved Contractor, but the report never depends on that.
If your lender has asked for a report
Send us the valuer’s wording, or just tell us what the lender has asked for, using the free scope check form at /tree-surveys/#survey-enquiry and we will confirm what you need and quote within one working day. You can read more about our survey work on the tree surveys page, or call our qualified team on 07884 274693 and we will talk it through.
