{"id":613787867964,"date":"2026-11-10T12:05:33","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T12:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/blogs\/?p=613787867964"},"modified":"2026-11-10T12:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T12:44:23","slug":"how-far-tree-from-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/blogs\/trees\/how-far-tree-from-house\/","title":{"rendered":"How far should a tree be from a house?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The short answer depends on your soil. On shrinkable clay, the cautious rule used for new houses is to keep a tree at least three-quarters of its mature height away from the house, and further for thirsty species such as oaks, willows and poplars. On sand, gravel or chalk, the risk to foundations is small, and distance is more about light, gutters, drains and falling branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A house in a ring of conifers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Frankie, who works with us at Ashridge, recently bought a house that came surrounded by huge conifers. They were tall enough, and close enough, that one coming down in a storm could have landed on the roof, so getting them down was the first job on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other worry was insurance. Insurers ask about big trees close to the house, and a wrong answer can put a future claim at risk. Taking the trees down settled both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conifers had been home to plenty of birds, and Frankie<\/a> didn’t want to lose them, so she has planted new trees in their place: further from the house this time, and of kinds that stay much smaller. One is Amanogawa<\/a>, the Flagpole cherry, which grows 6 to 8m tall but only about 1.5m wide, with pale pink blossom for the bees in late spring. The other is Royalty<\/a>, a crab apple of about 7m with dark purple leaves, pink-red flowers, and dark red fruit that hangs on for weeks after the leaves fall, which the birds will be glad of in winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Frankie would want every reader to make one check before anyone starts a chainsaw: whether the tree is protected, by a Tree Preservation Order or because it stands in a conservation area. Felling a protected tree without permission is a criminal offence, however good your reasons. More on that below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why a tree can move a house<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tree roots rarely push foundations over. The damage comes from water. Clay soil shrinks as it dries and swells as it wets, and a big tree drinks a great deal of water from the ground around it in summer. If that drying reaches under a house, the clay shrinks, the foundations drop, and walls crack. That is subsidence, and according to the Association of British Insurers, the average subsidence claim reached a record \u00a320,000 in 2026. That’s the average; the worst cases, which need underpinning, cost far more, and a subsidence claim stays on your record when you insure or sell the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risk is greatest in the south-east of England, where the summers are driest, and falls away to the north and west.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you on clay?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you are not sure, assume you are until you know otherwise. The free Soilscapes map<\/a> from Cranfield University shows the soil type across England and Wales, and a house survey will often mention it. Heavy, sticky soil that cracks in a dry summer is a good clue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distance rule<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The National House Building Council (NHBC), which sets the standards for most new homes in the UK, groups trees by how much water they take, and sets out how far each group’s influence reaches on clay:<\/p>\n\n\n\n