Can I cut my neighbor's tree branches that hang over my property?

[3jakes]

Every time one of my 3 bordering neighbors & myself has had a tree issue, it was about where it fell & who wants it.
We all have enough wood, so who ever has the time cleans it up.
I'm glad there are a few of out here who are not lawyers at heart.
Life is too short to make such a big deal out of this little stuff.

 

[IslandTractor]

Also ... Don't know if this is true, & it's obviously different, but someone told me once that if your neighbor's tree falls on your property, you're each just responsible for your side. But then I had a realtor neighbor tell me that if he notifies me in writing beforehand of a tree on my side that looks like it might fall on his property, & it does, then I'm responsible for damage on both sides. How about that?

I've had that happen twice. Large oak limbs fell in separate storms from two neighbors. The first clobbered my car and the garage roof. The second just scraped the garage but left the equivalent of a couple of cords of wood in our back yard.

Law is pretty clear. It is an act of God (Deity if the word police have xxx'd it out). Therefore you are responsible and your insurance is involved. The only exception I know about is if the neighbor knew the tree was diseased or rotted in which case it is his liability. In both our cases the trees were rotted but neither I nor the neighbors knew it beforehand. If you have concerns about a diseased or dying tree it might be a good idea to formally notify the neighbor so it becomes his duty to deal with it before Mother Nature and the Law of Gravity have a chance to increase entropy.

I could not dump the tree debris from either incident over the fence and had to pay to have it carted off in the first instance and I sawed it up myself the second time.

Insurance minus deductibles covered the first but as I vaguely recall I had to eat both the homeowners and auto insurance deductibles.

 

[LD1]

Law is pretty clear. It is an act of God (Deity if the word police have xxx'd it out). Therefore you are responsible and your insurance is involved. The only exception I know about is if the neighbor knew the tree was diseased or rotted in which case it is his liability.

That is exactally how I have always understood it.

Act of God. Not the neighbors fault. Unless you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the tree was dead, diseased, rotted...AND....your neighbor showed negligance by not having it removed. In which case is tought to prove unless before hand YOU or he hired a professional arborist to evaluate the tree. Because regardless of what YOU think, unless you are a professional, in the eyes of the court....all your neighbor has to say is "I didnt think there was anything wrong".

Beppington: Sounds like you got the right idea. Talk with the neighbor. And be sure to research the laws in your area as already mentioned. It seems FLorida is funny about that. But I think you are well within your rights to trim back to the line.

PS: is this the neighbor you are wanting a barrier between??????

 

[beppington]

That is exactally how I have always understood it.

Act of God. Not the neighbors fault. Unless you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the tree was dead, diseased, rotted...AND....your neighbor showed negligance by not having it removed. In which case is tought to prove unless before hand YOU or he hired a professional arborist to evaluate the tree. Because regardless of what YOU think, unless you are a professional, in the eyes of the court....all your neighbor has to say is "I didnt think there was anything wrong".

Beppington: Sounds like you got the right idea. Talk with the neighbor. And be sure to research the laws in your area as already mentioned. It seems FLorida is funny about that. But I think you are well within your rights to trim back to the line.

PS: is this the neighbor you are wanting a barrier between??????

It is, but the overhanging branches are along one shared line, & the barrier I want is along another, much closer to the house.

 

[IslandTractor]

It is, but the overhanging branches are along one shared line, & the barrier I want is along another, much closer to the house.

Not clear what you mean. Anything overhanging your property is fair game for pruning. Are you talking about limbs or trees on the neighbor's property? You have only his good will to lean on if that is the case.

 

[beppington]

Not clear what you mean. Anything overhanging your property is fair game for pruning. Are you talking about limbs or trees on the neighbor's property? You have only his good will to lean on if that is the case.

See if this 'splains it:

 

[Raider43]

Here in Conn. what ever is on your side of the property line, is yours. If you cut the branch (which you can) and the tree suffers no ill effects, than great. If you cause your neighbors tree harm (it dies), then you have potential claims against you. I have been land surveying for over 30 years and this does come up on a regular basis. Best way to go is call your local land surveyor and find out the common law in your state. Also, it is good policy to talk to your neighbor first, they may have no objection.

Paul

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Well from my own view on it and since your on good terms with him go talk to him and see if he would mind if you cut the limbs back to the tree properly. Just trimming the limbs out in the middle where they overhand the boundry usually ends up looking stupid so if you can trim the entire tree up properly it won't look bad and he may appreciate it.

I can't confirm it but from what I have been told is you can cut anything that crosses your property line so if the limbs are hanging over the line you can cut directly above the line but nothing more. I've never had to contend with that issue though as it seems all the trees in question are on my property already. Check that, there is one tree on my neighbors that is a big willow that overhangs our driveway. I am very good friends with that neighbor and if he hasn't already trimmed the limbs for me then I bring my equipment over and do it myself. He is the only neighbor who is allowed to use my equipment any time he wants and always brings things back better then he found them. Of course its the only time my tractors get washed as well is when he uses them :laughing:

 

[IslandTractor]

See if this 'splains it:

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=265358"/>

Your diagram confuses me. The large oak that overlaps your property seems to be quite a distance from your potential house site. Why would you want to trim the oak at all? Big trees are not usually treated as hedges that neatly define a boundary line. Our suburban neighborhoods would look pretty weird if all the overlapping trees were close cropped on one side.

 

[StanR]

Any update. sound like a talk with the neighbor was in order.

Glad we do not have those permit requirements here.