Help with legal problems with neighbors

Questioner

Dear legal aid, in November we had a blockage in the sewer, a company came and they unblocked it, but saw that there were tree roots in the sewer and that a camera inspection was necessary. We decided to wait and see if it was resolved after the unblocking. unfortunately 6 weeks later it was blocked again, and we had another company come. They investigated it further and came to the conclusion that we are the last of 3 houses on the sewer, and that the blockage is indeed caused by the 2 large trees that are in the garden of the house 2 doors down. These people rent the house and do not live in the Netherlands themselves. We called them and asked them to cut down the trees and to contribute to the costs of unblocking the drain twice, a camera inspection and possibly replacing the sewer because it was damaged to such an extent that we can probably expect more problems. They do not consider it their problem and do not intend to take any action and want to reimburse us for the costs we have incurred so far due to their tree. We wonder to what extent we are within our rights, it cannot be that we have to incur costs every 6 weeks while the problem is caused by their trees? We have asked the neighbours next to us if they have any problems, but apart from the occasional sewer smell in the house they have not noticed anything so far. My question: what can we do to get this problem solved? Thank you in advance for your response, kind regards

Lawyer

If it has been established that the blockage was caused by the trees, you can hold the owner of the trees liable for the damage caused. You can submit the conclusion of the research agency as evidence and summon them to solve the problem within a reasonable period of time. A letter from a lawyer often produces better and faster results to get the case moving.

Lawyer

In addition: have you checked whether your building insurance covers the damage? That is sometimes the case.

Lawyer

By law, you are allowed to cut the roots of trees that are on someone else's land. Incidentally, it is not automatically the case that you can hold your neighbours liable for the damage to your sewerage. It is not unlawful for roots to grow under the property line. Furthermore, the law grants you the right to remove the roots, which means that you can remove the cause of the damage yourself.