Caution
In England and Wales the owner of a tree is liable for damage it causes only if they were negligent. A healthy tree blown over in a storm is normally no one's fault, but a tree the owner knew was dying or diseased can be.
Low risk
Roots expand with age and can lift paving and tarmac. Repairs can mean relaying paving higher or root pruning that leaves large anchor roots alone. Cutting roots can destabilise a tree and make you liable if it falls.
There is no inherent right to light from a tree, and councils have no power over shading from a single tree. If the problem is an evergreen hedge over 2 metres, the high hedge law may help instead.
Brown leaves by August are usually leaf miner, which the tree tolerates. Dark fluid oozing from lesions on the trunk is bleeding canker, which has no approved cure in the UK and can kill the tree.
Do not touch or get close to oak processionary moth caterpillars or nests: their hairs cause itchy rashes and irritation. Report a sighting through TreeAlert and use a professional for removal.
Describe the job and get a fixed price from a local tree surgeon.
