Can my neighbor cut our tree's branches off?

[mjkacmom]

Yes, I'm almost positive that he has the right to trim the branches over his property. I've had oak trees trimmed because they were a danger to my neighbors' properties, to prevent property damage in case of a storm.

 

[C.Ann]

Yes - your neighbor is perfectly within his rights.. Wish my neighbor had done the same - before a very large branch came crashing down on my roof over my bedroom a week ago Sunday and scared me half to death!

When my Dson-in-law has the time, there will be quite a bit of tree trimming done up here by him.. If anything is hanging over my place - or next to it where I park my car (my property) - it will be trimmed back or cut down..

 

[mjkacmom]

I do like the tree, but I cannot afford to hire someone to trim the tree and do not have the equipment necessary to cut tree branches that high up. This tree is really tall. At least the stupid looking half of the tree will be on his side! I'm kind of hoping when he finds out how much it costs to get it done, he won't do it.

We lost 1/2 of the top to one of our oak trees in a storm, and had to pay 1500 to take the whole thing down, because once it is uneven, it is a hazard. Your neighbor might have the stupid side, but you will have the dangerous side.

 

[shortbun]

I don't know about your area but here we can cut back anything that hangs over our property line. My neighbors big full round maple tree looks like half a flat tree since we had it cut straight up the property line. The town tells me I can take them to small claims court and they would have to pay the tree trimming bill but I like my neighbors so no way would I take them to court!
I had all the trees on my property cut down so I certainly did not want someone elses hanging over my yard dropping leaves all over the place!

This seems weird, extreme and bizarre. In our area, you can trim a tree branch but you can not harm the trunk of the tree as it could cause disease and kill the tree. You 'like' your neighbors? I hope none of my neighbors 'like' me like that!!

 

[shortbun]

What do you plan on doing with the pictures? As many people have stated, he is within his rights to trim the tree to the property line. There is no law (that I could find) that says that if he kills the tree in doing this, that he is held responsible (sad though that fact is). Or do you just mean to have evidence if he cuts further than the property line? Just confused by the "in case the tree dies" part.

Around here there is a law that you cannot damage a tree and cause it's demise. My friends checked about it when their neighbor's cottonwood clogged their a/c and pool filter costing them a great deal. The law said they could trim whatever part of the tree was on their property line as long as it did not cause disease or death to the tree. I told her to put a find screen around her a/c and shut down her pool for a week. That's what she did. The tree lives as it was.

 

[castleview]

Sounds like my nutty neighbor. Technically, yes, it's on his property, but acorns waking him... really??? Sounds kinda squirrely to me...

Ever hear them come down? It's like hail sometimes. Not to mention, if they get in the ground and sprout, the weeds are a PITA.

Wanted to add to the OP, just make sure the company is insured if you're worried about liability. We took down 30 tres in our yard a few years - and you would never know it given how woodsy it still is here. It's actually a lot of fun watching tree professionally come down.

 

[bgirldeb]

I googled and found this:

http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/neighbor-relations

Sometimes disputes arise between neighbors when trees belonging to one property owner fall on and damage or destroy adjacent property. In such cases, the tree owner is only responsible for damage if some failure to maintain the tree contributed to the damage. If the damage was solely the result of a thunderstorm or act of God, the tree owner will not be responsible, as the damage could not have been foreseen. If a tree limb appeared precarious and the owner failed to maintain the tree after warnings, the owner may well be responsible for resulting damage when a storm causes the limb to fall. If, however, the tree was well maintained and a storm causes a tree limb to crash into a neighbor's roof, the tree owner is not responsible. If, however, the tree owner allows the tree to grow so that it uproots the fence, it would be considered an ENCROACHMENT onto the adjacent property. In that instance, the tree owner would be required to remove the offending tree. A boundary tree is one planted on the boundary line itself and should not be removed without mutual agreement. Leaves, bean pods, or acorns which fall off and end up on adjacent property are considered a natural occurrence and are the responsibility of the landowner on whose property they ultimately come to rest.

Property owners in every state have the right to cut off branches and roots that stray into their property, in most cases this is the only help that is provided by the law, even when damage from a tree is substantial. A property owner who finds a neighbor's tree encroaching must first warn or give notice to the tree owner prior to commencing work and give the tree owner the chance to correct the problem. If the tree owner does nothing, the tree can still be trimmed. As a general rule a property owner who trims an encroaching tree belonging to a neighbor can trim only up to the boundary line and must obtain permission to enter the tree owner's property, unless the limbs threaten to cause imminent and grave harm. Additionally, the property owner cannot cut the entire tree down and cannot destroy the structural integrity or the cosmetic symmetry and appeal of a tree by improper trimming.

 

[EllenFrasier]

I agree. It's not fair to your neighbor that the your tree is hanging over into their yard and they get stuck cleaning up the leaves. I would get someone to trim it to your satisfaction. I don't see why your neighbor should get stuck paying to trim your tree that is over your property line.

My tree is not a danger to anyone. It is between houses so sort of gets sheltered from the storms. As far as leaves go - well whatever is remaining of the tree will still have leaves on it, and there are trees all over the neighborhood. When I rake leaves, I have some that I know are not from my trees because we don't have that type of tree - what should I do, go door to door until I find who owns the leaves and "leave" them for them?

 

[EllenFrasier]

The tree is hanging over his roof? I would say cutting it is long overdue.
OP, you should have been more proactive with keeping your tree in check.

My parents have a house in the woods and we do have to have someone come out and cut on the trees to ensure safety of house and people. And believe me it is an imperative. We have had limbs crash onto cars in the driveway a couple of times. You need a professional arborist.

My suggestion to you is to pay someone to take care of it since it is your tree you want to save. If you don't want to do that it is going to end up looking awful.

If you only allow someone to cut it in a bucket that is going to harm the tree & make it look ugly. It needs to be cut properly not only for looks but for disease and growth issues. It will become lopsided with weight and that will cause weight stress on your side.

Great, now not only will I have weight stress, but my tree will too!!!

 

[EllenFrasier]

I googled and found this:

http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/neighbor-relations

Thank you for finding that information, it is very helpful. We have cut dead limbs off the tree over the years - my husband precariously perched in the tree and me holding my breath - so I think we have done what most people do with their trees. When I said that the branches hang over this guys house, I meant way up in the air - they are not near to touching his house. He had another tree next to his house, on his property that he had cut down and at that time I think he trimmed some branches off our tree, but he didn't ask that time. It wasn't enough to change the shape of the tree or kill it or anything like that. Why do so many people think nothing of cutting down a huge tree? It makes me sad when I see people cutting down big beautiful trees.

 

[aprilgail2]

Why do so many people think nothing of cutting down a huge tree? It makes me sad when I see people cutting down big beautiful trees.

Not everyone is a tree lover...I hated having to pick leaves and twigs etc out of my pool all the time and I hated having my pool in shade half the day from the tree! I hated the way it made a mess out of my shed, making the shingles black and stained and dirty. I like trees in the middle of a neighbors yard away from the fence line- in the woods etc. Just didn't care for it along the property line.
When the builder built this development way back in the 60's they put tree in this small piece of land between the sidewalk and the street- it is about 2 feet wide. They planted MAPLE trees there!!! Maple trees have surface roots and once they got bigger they lifted up all the sidewalks. We had one of ours removed many years ago when the roots grew into our sewer pipes causing it to back up in our basement- since the trees are technically on town property the town had to pay for that and pay to redo my finished basement. A few years ago the other tree we had out there grew into my sprinkler lines and was really messing up my sidewalks so the town came and took that down and paid to have my sprinklers fixed and redid my sidewalk. Since then they went crazy with all the trees in town in those 2 foot pieces of land LOL....big orange X's were put on every tree that was messing with a sidewalk, had the trees taken out and sidewalks fixed. I am so happyh that in the spring and fall my car no longer gets the sap dripped all over it anymore! My neighbors on both sides called the town and had them come and do the same for them!

 

[mjkacmom]

Thank you for finding that information, it is very helpful. We have cut dead limbs off the tree over the years - my husband precariously perched in the tree and me holding my breath - so I think we have done what most people do with their trees. When I said that the branches hang over this guys house, I meant way up in the air - they are not near to touching his house. He had another tree next to his house, on his property that he had cut down and at that time I think he trimmed some branches off our tree, but he didn't ask that time. It wasn't enough to change the shape of the tree or kill it or anything like that. Why do so many people think nothing of cutting down a huge tree? It makes me sad when I see people cutting down big beautiful trees.

As much as I love trees, they can be a hazard. We only get rid of ours when an arborist tells us they are sick, but it seems like every storm we have, we get damage, plus loss of power, cable, etc. Our town is hundreds of years old, so lots of mature trees. My dd14's bedroom is in the attic, and I worry about our neighbor's oak tree, with limbs over dd's bedroom.