In Pennsylvania, just closed on a home earlier this month. Not moved in yet, but there daily working on the place (4-5 hours after work, 5+ days a week).

A tree on the edge of the property line fell in the neighbor's yard last night/this morning due to a storm. It didn't hit anything but grass, there are no driveways or structures within 80 feet.

Before I got there after work today, they already had a company out removing the tree, and insinuated that they want me to make a homeowners claim to pay for them.

They claimed that they'd informed the previous owner that the tree would probably fall.

Looking to confirm few things.

I'm not responsible for removal, am I? Regardless of any conversation between them and the previous owner, I was unaware of any condition (or that I owned the tree). The tree was alive, and I didn't get a chance to see it before it was removed.

If I was responsible, I'd have more than 12 hours from it falling into someone's yard to figure out how to remove it myself, and not having to pay for removal, correct?

The removal company took the tree. Shouldn't I have been offered the wood?

This was my first interaction with those neighbors, but I'm at the house daily for hours. As far as I know they made no attempt to contact me prior to hiring a removal service. Even if I lived there, I may not have noticed it fell in the night until after work anyway.

They provided the picture, as the tree was loaded when I arrived. The stump is my own photo.

NYC. Brooklyn, There is a london plane tree on the sidewalk that grows over my buildings roof. I had a leak on my roof near the gutter side and went up to inspect and saw that the roof had been accumulating the seed balls and bark of the london plane tree. If you've ever been around a london plane tree it's notorious for it shedding massive amount of bark during periods and also it's spiky seed balls. They seed balls are the size of a golf ball and almost as heavy with huge spikes on them. So if they are hanging 20 feet above my roof and they fall violently and then scrape the crap out of my roof when they roll down it's gonna damage my roof. Can I sue the city for roof replacement? Can i tell them to trim the tree branches over my roof?

FRAUD. ILLEGAL. They will hit your vehicle in a 6 ton UNREGISTERED truck and flee the scene, untraceable. They do not have registered tags or vehicles, and do not have liability insurance. Apparently based on Woodstock and Greenville. They operate ghost store fronts in multiple states and cities. They have been banned in multiple locations. They operate by scamming, stealing, and hiring crews under the table. They ARE A SHELL COMPANY. A predatory, illegitimate operation. You won’t be able to trace them. Do not hire this company. Do not contact this company. Report them if you see them, to the local authorities or state troopers.

Hi Treelaw,

To keep it short and sweet, a silver maple on public property is dying. It leans over my property and the city says they need 6 months to clear a backlog before they can even come look at it.

The poor tree does not have six months. It's dropping branches daily and has black fungus.

What can I do to essentially prepare for a tree falling onto my property? For clarity, I live in Michigan and under state and city law, I can't actually do anything to the tree itself because it's on city property. So, I'm looking on advice for how I can prepare my property, my home, and perhaps my legal counsel if this tree falls on my property/home.

Thank you!

Just bought our first home last winter. This homeownership thing is all still pretty new to me so I was a bit taken aback yesterday when a guy knocked on my door saying he was with a tree trimming company and he wanted to look at a tree in our yard. Said he was hired by the owner of the house behind ours to trim some branches that were hanging over the fence and above the roof of the neighbors house. This is in Ohio so our neighbor has the right to do this. Some of the branches are pretty sizeable. I'd guess it's a 100+ year old silver maple.

We were given the contact information of the homeowner who apparently lives one state over and owns a few homes in the neighborhood. I feel like I should reach out to the guy but I don't really know what to ask or the right lingo.

Things I'm mainly wondering are: if the tree trimming company is legit..? What happens if our fence or anything else in our yard if something is damaged during the trimming. What happens if the tree dies a few years later? And Is there anything else I need to know or ask?

For a minute my partner and I were entertaining the idea of having the whole tree removed if all they are going to leave is half a tree, but I think we have given up on that idea. Half a tree is better than nothing at all and the privacy, and habitat it will continue to provide makes it seem like keeping the tree is the best idea.

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!

There is an oak tree on my property line with my neighbor to the west. Neighbor and I are on great terms, but on occasion I do see limbs that fall down. He does have a car that he parks under it. So, if a limb falls, who is responsible? I always thought about that kind of liability I have with this. I had an arborist tell me the tree adds significant value to my property and not to take it down. It probably could use a bit of a trimming but again, who is responsible? Thanks!

I have a very similar situation to a lot of people here, and I don’t necessarily need guidance on this part, but here’s the story:

I have a big tree that fell during a wind/thunder storm. It fell into my neighbor’s yard and hit one of his trees, which caused that tree to lose some big branches. I know the debris on his side is his responsibility, but when he was told that by an arborist who came out to give me a quote he was not happy.

Here’s the part I don’t know how to address: he told the arborist that he will just cut up the lumber and instead of hauling it away will throw it over the fence onto my property since it’s “her tree to deal with.” I don’t know that he’ll actually do that but if he does who do I turn to? Is it something I take up with the county since he’s dumping stuff in my yard?

I added a picture of the tree. The fence it crushed is the line between my front property and the back parcel that I also own. To the left of the picture is my neighbor’s yard. The part of the tree shown in the picture is maybe a third of it. The other two thirds are in his yard.

I know when the property owner of a tree is liable for neighboring property damage when duly warned of a damaged tree, but does that translate when a branch is overhanging onto neighboring property?

These neighbors refused to share the cost to repair the fence between our yard (after they notified us it was falling down and that they didn't hit the fence with their car—strangely the fence post was broken right at bumper height). And they constantly complain about how the trees block their view, despite the fact they were planted decades before we moved in.

They continually complain about the branches growing onto their property, and now have elevated with the letter attached to this post. Do I have the liability of the branch? My understanding is branches overhanging your property are your responsibility. And I've always trimmed trees as such.

I have a very weird “hypothetical” situation that I need ideas for. If a very big power company paid off a circuit judge to allow them to run a huge project right through a 700 acre property, right through a family burial sight and 200k worth of recently planted pines. What could a land owner hypothetically do to disrupt the construction and make it hell for the company?

Just trying to gauge - this is something to be concerned about, right? The landlord is trying to convince me that an aborist said its fine.

ETA: The landlord only own the property, not the home. The "space" is rented.

A recent storm knocked over a tree from my yard, and it damaged my neighbors property. Now they are basically saying they want all my trees cut down.

There is a small forest of tall pines and other trees. They are not dead or dying. They do sway with bad wind, but the view of the woods was one of the reason I bought my house.

From what I google, I’m not responsible for damage that an act of god causes to occur.

Is this correct?

Can I be made to cut down trees just because?

Can I be made to “clean up” the downed tree on my property?

I don’t want any drama with my neighbor, I just moved here, but I can’t afford to cut down a forest just bc they want me to.

Thanks in advance!

My neighbor's tree is encroaching onto my property. The tree has already pushed the fence over so much that the skrews attaching the fence to the post have been ripped out.

I have already trimmed the tree to the property line. The neighbor allowed me to do this.

My concern is that the tree will fall during a storm, destroying my shed, fence with another shared neighbor.

I do not want to insure my neighbor's tree in the event falls.

I do not consider this to be an act of god because the neighbor is not maintaining this tree. They are leaving the responsibility to the neighbors to handle.

How do I mitigate my risk ?

I am left with 7 large trees that are suffocating because the builder paid no attention to preserving them. I was unaware of root flare until a year ago and now am left with finding a good path to having it taken care of.

Think I have good ground to stand on with holding them liable?

I am in the process of getting an inspection by a mater arborist.

I have 2 scenarios I need some advice on, trying to figure out some responsibility for a couple trees, and or maybe a lawyer recommendation.

Tree number 1:
On the front corner of my house on the State Right of Way is a large fir tree that has a split trunk at the bottom. It has quite a few dead limbs down low, and during storms drops these limbs in the yard and or roof of my house. We engaged some vendors in the fall to trim it up and cable it but haven’t moved on it yet. We reached out to ODOT in the fall as well and they said given it’s not within so many feet of the center of the highway (We live along a highway) it’s our responsibility. Last night it was a rather calm night no wind and a large branch, approximately 4” in diameter fell along and brought some others down. It appeared to be a healthy and alive branch. We are at the point during storms or not that limbs are falling and would likely kill somebody. Most of the limbs are 4” in diameter and it’s getting rather scary. Given it’s on state property is this their issue or is it mine?

Tree number 2:
Our driveway is technically a county road. Across the road is a fir tree that has died and has a slight lean to the house. When we engaged the county they said their responsibility is 15 feet either way from the center of the road. With that the tree then would be on the neighboring property right of way. Does this tree technically fall on the county, or the neighbor, or is it a gray area that falls on us?

Any insight would be appreciated, Thank you!

The tree is mostly on my property but straddles the property line. I know he has the right to cut branches that hang over the property line, but did he have the right to top the whole thing down to the part that is on my property? He didn’t notify me or consult me at all, the company he used also entered my backyard without notice or permission from me. Do I have any recourse here or am I just SOL? Is this worth consulting an attorney over? I’ve paid to have it trimmed from off his property the last two years so I am also annoyed I was paying for maintenance on his behalf just for him to top the whole thing.

Hi,
Neighbor had a tree that was rotted and fell. It then fell on 4-5 of my trees and the corner of the fence basically having all the wood land on my property.

Act of god, fine, no big deal, we’ll get it cleaned up. However the tree that started this was rotted and I believe may fall under negligence by my neighbor. I have had a couple limbs trimmed previously off this tree as it overhung above my roof. They were aware it had a hole in it but I don’t have formal documentation stating such.

Live in VA, and looking to confirm what recourse if any I have.

Neighbors suck and have declined to do anything

Edit: Thanks for the input and despite my hopes, you’ve all confirmed my suspicion. It’s mine to deal with.

Hi Everyone.

I need some assistance with defining a boundary tree.

https://boundarytrees.com/gallery/

Here are the examples I am looking at. (above)

I am in Ontario, Canada. My city allows for trees to be cut without permits.

Question:

1. If the root collar of the tree is 100% on my side, but between the root collar and the first branch, there is a point where the trunk leans into my neighbors property, is this a boundary tree? (picture attached) https://imgur.com/a/6BCxApw

Please assume fence line is the boundary line. (I am aware this is not always the case, but for the sake of this argument, assume it is)

I apologize for the repost.

I’m in California in unincorporated Ventura County. My neighbor has an oak tree planted on the property line and is growing at a slant with roots growing under our fence and driveway. It’s a beautiful tree. However, the roots are lifting and cracking the driveway. Right now, it’s not too bad but will get worse. The neighbor gave me her permission to cut the roots. We have a good relationship. However, two arborists told me cutting the roots would most likely kill the tree. I am not too worried about the financial burden. I even offered to remove the tree at our expense. I’m concerned about the tree dying if we cut the roots. Any ideas? Not interested in a legal solution. Looking for a solution that will keep me out of legal issues but solve the driveway problem. Thanks

Hello! I have two mature willow oak trees in my backyard. Right where my backyard ends the city has an easement. The city did work about a month ago on their easement property right near our backyard that included excavating, earth moving etc.

I noticed this week that there were leaves falling in our backyard and my two trees are starting to have yellowing leaves. I just put together in my head that the city potentially damaged the tree root system of the trees on our property with their recent work on their easement property. Does this sound plausible?

We just purchased the home a few months ago and one of the reasons we did was the trees in our yard…If theoretically the city did cause damage to my trees do I have any potential recourse if they only worked on their easement?

My partner and I bought our property just over two years ago. The property had over 20 very mature evergreen trees on a quarter-acre lot. Before we had even moved in (we were literally just there getting the keys), our neighbor introduced himself and asked if we’d consider removing two trees along our shared property line because they were concerned about their proximity to their house.

Wanting to be good neighbors and also reduce risk for both of us, we agreed to remove those two trees and split the cost 50/50.

Last year, we started a major landscaping project, completely remodeling our front, side, and backyard. As part of that project, we spent several thousands of dollars on professional tree work and removed trees that made sense to remove as part of the redesign (with the necessary approval and permits where needed).

During that project, our neighbor asked about one of the remaining Douglas firs in our front yard. We specifically asked the arborist about it, and they told us the tree was healthy and that it was too large to remove under our city’s tree protection regulations without a qualifying reason. They also told us it did not need additional pruning because it had already been professionally pruned by them about two years earlier (just before we purchased the property). We had designed our new yard around keeping that tree based on the arborist’s recommendation.

*For additional context, since we’ve lived here, our neighbor has also removed nearly all of the mature trees from their own property. Based on our interactions over the past two years, they seem to strongly prefer having as few large trees near their property as possible.

Fast forward to this week:

We reached out to our neighbor because their ivy and black locust trees have become a real problem for us. The black locusts are sending suckers under our new deck, ivy is growing aggressively against our new fence that we just built (which is actually starting to bow inward), and we’ve been constantly cutting back branches and ivy on our side. During our landscaping project, we even installed a 60-foot root barrier along the shared property line to try to minimize the locust spread, but it hasn’t completely solved the problem.

Part of the challenge is that the neighbor’s area along our fence hasn’t been maintained for quite some time. There are roughly 20 black locust trees and the ivy has become extremely overgrown, so it’s difficult to keep it from encroaching onto our property. We’re probably more sensitive to it than we otherwise would be because we’ve invested a significant amount of time and money into redesigning our yard, and we’d like to protect that investment.

Our neighbor was receptive, admitted to their lack of attention and said they’d work on cleaning up the ivy and managing the locusts. However, they also brought up the Douglas fir again.Their concerns were:

-Large branches have fallen in past storms.
-They believe the tree leans toward their property.
-They’re worried it could eventually fall toward their house.

We completely understood their concerns and agreed to have an arborist come out again. We even invited them to be present during the inspection so they could ask questions directly.

The arborist (the same company that handled all of our previous tree work) inspected the tree while all of us stood there. I obtained a written report for my records, and their conclusions were:

-The tree is healthy.
-It does not need to be removed.
-It does not need additional pruning because it had already been professionally pruned about two years ago.
-Healthy trees can still occasionally lose branches during storms, and that alone does not indicate the tree is unsafe.

The pro answered all of our neighbor’s questions directly, including their concerns about previously fallen branches. I honestly thought that would settle things, especially since we basically just stepped back and let them do the talking.

*One other point of context: this isn’t a tree that heavily overhangs their house. The trunk is well within our property, and only a relatively small portion of the canopy extends toward their driveway. Based on the way they describe it, you’d think the tree was directly over their roof, but that really isn’t the case.

Later that evening, they came back over and asked whether the tree belonged to us or the city. We told them it’s clearly on our property. He then said something to the effect of: “I can go complain to the city for removal. I can do that part.”

This surprised us because that conversation happened after they had finished explaining that the tree was healthy and did not warrant removal. At that point, we told him we were going to follow the arborist’s recommendation and keep the tree because it’s healthy.

This also isn’t a case of us refusing to maintain our trees. Over the past two years we’ve worked extensively with arborists, removed trees when it made sense to do so, maintained the ones that should stay, and specifically asked professionals about this Douglas Fir multiple times. Both evaluations reached the same conclusion: it’s healthy and should remain.

At this point, it feels like we’ve done everything a reasonable homeowner could do. We listened to our neighbor’s concerns, hired an arborist, invited them to participate in the inspection, and followed the professional recommendation.

I’m curious as to what others think:

-Are we being unreasonable for simply following the arborist’s recommendation?
-Would you consider this matter settled at this point?
-Has anyone dealt with a neighbor who continued pushing for removal after a professional evaluation concluded a tree was healthy?

I genuinely understand why someone would be nervous about a large tree near their house, and we wanted to take those concerns seriously. But after multiple professional evaluations reached the same conclusion, I’m not sure what else we’re expected to do besides follow the advice of the experts.

TIA!