how to report dangerous or diseased trees

At believe housing, keeping our neighbourhoods safe, attractive, and environmentally healthy is a key part of what we do.

Trees play an important role in our communities, offering shade, improving air quality, supporting wildlife, and making our estates pleasant places to live.

To ensure we continue to enjoy these benefits safely, we carefully manage all trees located on land we’re responsible for. This includes responding to concerns raised by customers about dangerous, unstable, or potentially diseased trees.

The following is a simple guide to help you understand how to report a tree concern and what you can expect from us once you do.

When should you report a tree to us?

Please get in touch if you see a tree that you believe is:

A safety risk• A tree or branch that looks unstable or at risk of falling.
• A tree that has already partially failed.
• A tree obstructing a road, footpath, or access route.
• A tree blocking streetlighting and creating dark or unsafe areas.
Potentially causing damage• Roots impacting walls, paths, driveways, or drainage.
• Branches touching buildings or other structures.
Showing signs of disease or poor health• Fungal growths.
• Significant dieback of leaves or branches.
• Unusual leaning, cracking, or decay.

How to report a tree concern

You can report issues to us:

Please provide:

  • the exact location of the tree
  • a brief description of the issue
  • photos, if possible, to help us assess it quickly.

What happens when you make a report? 

  1. Assessment of the report

Your concern is logged and passed to our Horticultural and Estates Team.
They will assess the issue using one of two approaches:

  • Passive assessment – an initial check, often carried out by our trained colleagues as part of their daily work.
  • Active assessment – a detailed and systematic inspection carried out by trained professionals, often in partnership with Durham County Council (DCC).
  1. Prioritising the work

We prioritise tree work based on urgency and risk.

High-priority issues include:

  • dangerous or unstable trees
  • trees obstructing highways or footpaths
  • trees causing or likely to cause significant property damage
  • trees blocking streetlighting.

Lower-priority issues include:

  • non-essential pruning
  • thinning or aesthetic improvements.

These will only be carried out when resources and funding allow, and only if they align with good arboricultural practice.

  1. Communication back to you

We believe in keeping you informed.
Once the assessment is complete, we will let you know:

  • what we found
  • what action, if any, will be taken
  • expected timescales for work.

Trees on customer-owned land

If a tree sits within the boundary of your home, known as the curtilage, you are responsible for its maintenance. However, if you report a serious safety concern, we’ll work collaboratively with you to help resolve risks in line with legislation and best practice.

Our commitment to safe, health tree management

  • We regularly review tree safety across our estates.
  • High‑use areas are inspected on a structured five‑year cycle using electronic mapping system (GIS).
  • We work closely with Durham County Council to ensure that specialist or complex tree work is carried out safely and to a high standard.
  • Our teams are trained to recognise tree risk and respond promptly.

We take tree safety seriously and aim to balance environmental benefits with the wellbeing of our customers, employees, contractors, and communities.

If you’re not happy with our service

If you feel we haven’t handled your tree concern properly, you can submit a complaint through our Complaints, Compliments and Compensation Policy. Support is also available from the Housing Ombudsman.

Tree Policy

For more information about our approach to managing trees, you can download our Tree Policy from our policies page.