Subsidence, settlement and heave
A leylandii was felled and the seller thinks the new crack is heave. What soil test has not confirmed that?
No soil test has confirmed that the new crack is heave. A leylandii was felled, and the seller thinks the crack is heave. Felling a tree is a fact you can record, and a seller's theory is a theory. Heave would be ground swelling after the tree stopped drawing water, and confirming it needs a soil test this survey has not done. The crack is an observation. The mechanism is not. The soil under the wall has not been shown to be swelling, or even to be the sort of soil that heaves.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A large conifer can dry the ground while it is alive, and people often suggest heave after it is cut, especially on clay. Suggestion is not confirmation. The surveyor can see a stump or a gap where the leylandii stood, and can see a crack the seller calls new. They did not sample the soil, did not test moisture, and did not date the crack against the felling. The home survey must not promote the seller's thought into a proved cause. Until a soil test says otherwise, heave remains unconfirmed.
If the cause matters, instruct a soil test rather than adopt the seller's heave theory. Tell the solicitor a leylandii was felled, a crack is reported, and no soil test has confirmed heave. Do not agree a price change that assumes swelling nobody has tested. Keep the seller's explanation labelled as theirs. The survey has not confirmed it. The soil test is still the missing confirmation.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What soil test would be needed to confirm heave?
- What has the seller claimed, as distinct from what was tested?
- Was the ground under the cracked wall sampled?
What are the typical next steps?
- If the cause matters, instruct a soil test rather than adopt the heave theory.
- Tell the solicitor no soil test has confirmed heave after the leylandii was felled.
- Do not agree a price change that assumes swelling nobody has tested.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the crack lines up with where the leylandii stood, has heave been confirmed?
No. A crack that lines up with where the tree stood is a position. It is not a soil test, and heave has not been confirmed. Alignment can support a question. It cannot replace sampling the ground. The survey did not confirm the mechanism by noticing where the leylandii was.
Was the soil under the wall tested on this visit?
No. No soil under that wall was tested on this visit. The survey recorded a felled leylandii and the seller's view that the crack is heave. It did not confirm shrinkable clay, swelling, or any other ground process. The soil test that would do that has not been carried out.