Can My Neighbor Force Me To Remove My Tree? According to the law, your tree can constitute a nuisance if it interferes with your neighbor’s property and their right to enjoy it. If this is the case, your neighbor can make you cut your tree in the following ways: Talk to you—Your neighbor can ask you politely to trim or remove the tree
An experienced real estate lawyer will be able to advise you on your legal rights and protections when it comes to disputes over property lines and shared trees. Your lawyer can also assist you with taking the proper legal steps to prevent your neighbor from chopping down your shared tree and can make sure that the law is on your side before ...
If your neighbor or someone else cuts down, removes, or hurts a tree on your property without your permission, that person is required to compensate you (the tree owner) for your loss. If necessary, you can sue to enforce your rights.
Dec 06, 2016 · Litigation Lawyer in Beverly Hills, CA (Licensed in NY) Posted on Dec 6, 2016. Selected as best answer. You could sue the neighbor for damages, which would include the cost of replanting new trees, or you could sell the neighbor a view easement. Look for a local attorney who is experienced in land use issues.
To run afoul of the law, your neighbor doesn't have to chop down your tree. Its enough to just damage the health of your tree. For example, your ne...
In general, you must meet two requirements in order to have a legal right to compensation for a damaged tree. 1. Your own property must be damaged....
Yes. If someone damages or destroys your tree, you can recover for the amount of your actual loss due to the injury or destruction of the tree. Thi...
Some states have specific statutes that provide for additional damages if someone intentionally damages your tree. For example, in Mississippi, if...
If your tree was damaged or destroyed and an insurance company compensated you for part of the loss, you must subtract this amount from any other d...
In most states, deliberately injuring a tree is not a crime. A minority of states do have statutes that make intentional tree damage a crime result...
To learn more about laws governing trees on your property, and what to do if your tree is damaged, get Neighbor Law: Fences, Trees, Boundaries & No...
Generally, if your neighbor is found to have cut down or destroyed a tree you shared, your damages are measured by subtracting the market value of your land after the tree was destroyed from the market value of the land immediately before the tree was destroyed.
If your neighbor cuts or removes branches or roots of a tree bordering both properties, your neighbor will not be responsible for any damage that may result to the tree.
Is There any Liability for Cutting Down a Shared Tree? Under most circumstances, if your neighbor destroys a tree located on a common boundary, they will be responsible for any damages you suffer.
If your neighbor is unwilling to remove a dangerous tree, you may have to go to court. A real estate lawyer can help you take the proper steps to remove the dangerous tree. If you chose to sue for damages, a real estate attorney can file the necessary paperwork and represent you in court.
If your neighbor is complaining about your tree being too tall or hanging over there backyard, talk to your neighbors and determine how much trimming would help resolve the dispute. If the trimming does not affect the tree’s health or design, consider trimming the tree to a smaller size.
What Can I Do If a Neighbor's Tree Hangs over My Yard? If your neighbor’s tree branches hang over your yard, you have the right to trim them up to the property line. However, you may not trespass onto your neighbor’s property or destroy the tree. If you deliberately harm your neighbor’s tree, you may be liable to your neighbor for two ...
The tree encroaches the neighbor’s property. The tree’s roots or branches have caused property damage to neighbor’s property. The tree’s roots have clogged, crushed, or cracked a neighboring property’s pipes. The tree is poisonous and is threatening the neighbor’s health and safety. The tree seriously interferes with neighbor’s ability to use ...
You may be violating a local law if the tree size is a hazard or violating a local ordinance height or size limit. If the tree encroaches onto your neighbor’s property, the neighbor may sue you to have the tree branches cut even if there is no actual damage to their property.
However, if the tree’s trunk stands partially on both properties, then it belongs to all the property owners. In that case, all owners are responsible for the care of the tree and the tree cannot be removed without the other owner’s permission. ...
Also, a utility company may trim a tree that threatens its equipment. Finally, if your neighbor refuses to do anything, you can sue him. You can claim that the dangerous tree is a nuisance, that it is unreasonable for your neighbor to keep the tree and that it interferes with the use and enjoyment of your own property.
If your neighbor or someone else cuts down, removes, or hurts a tree on your property without your permission, that person is required to compensate you (the tree owner) for your loss. If necessary, you can sue to enforce your rights. Here's the lowdown on what you must prove to recover for a damaged or destroyed tree, ...
Yes. If someone damages or destroys your tree, you can recover for the amount of your actual loss due to the injury or destruction of the tree. This recovery is available even if the damage was caused by an honest mistake. A final dollar figure for actual loss might include: 1 The cost of replacing the tree. This would also include the cost of removing debris and cleanup. 2 Diminished property value. If replacing the tree is impossible, then you can recover for the decrease in your property value due to the lost tree. 3 Out-of-pocket expenses. In most states, you can recover for money reasonably spent trying to save an injured tree, or to remove a dead one. Such expenses might include appraisal costs, cleaning up debris, repairing the yard, or missed work time to deal with the tree damage. 4 Aesthetic loss and mental anguish. A few courts have awarded damages to tree owners for aesthetic loss and mental anguish in tree damage cases.
Such expenses might include appraisal costs, cleaning up debris, repairing the yard, or missed work time to deal with the tree damage. Aesthetic loss and mental anguish.
In general, you must meet two requirements in order to have a legal right to compensation for a damaged tree. Your own property must be damaged. For instance, if a neighbor trims the part of your tree that hangs over the property line, making that part of the tree look terrible but not harming it in any way, you have no right to recovery. ...
But if the trimming seriously injures your tree, your neighbor will be liable to you for the damage done. Similarly, if your neighbor uses a chemical in his or her yard to destroy unwanted roots, and the chemical seeps onto your property and kills one of your trees, your neighbor can be liable.
To run afoul of the law, your neighbor doesn't have to chop down your tree. Its enough to just damage the health of your tree. For example, your neighbor has the legal right to trim branches of your tree if they hang over the property line. But if the trimming seriously injures your tree, your neighbor will be liable to you for the damage done.
Can a tree owner recover for actual losses caused by tree damage? Yes. If someone damages or destroys your tree, you can recover for the amount of your actual loss due to the injury or destruction of the tree. This recovery is available even if the damage was caused by an honest mistake.
The Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law provides a statutory right to receive monetary damages for the cutting, removal, injury or destruction of trees on your property without your consent. The statute permits a court to award three times the stumpage value of the tree or two hundred fifty dollars per tree and "for any permanent and substantial damage...
You could sue the neighbor for damages, which would include the cost of replanting new trees, or you could sell the neighbor a view easement. Look for a local attorney who is experienced in land use issues. The police will unlikely get involved unless you have a video of the neighbor on the property.
Before you start trimming, notify your neighbor to give him or her an opportunity to address the problem. If the neighbor fails to take action, you may trim the branches yourself, as long as you don’t cut any branches beyond the property line or trim the tree so much that its structural integrity or cosmetic appearance is affected.
Damage to Your Property Caused by Your Neighbor’s Tree. A neighbor’s tree branch that hangs over your property may fall in a storm, resulting in damage to your home, car or other possessions.
A neighbor’s tree can grow so that branches or roots encroach on your yard, causing actual or potential damage. If you’re facing such a situation, understand your rights so you can decide how to address it. If the trunk of a tree is located in your neighbor’s yard, but branches extend onto your property, the neighbor is the legal owner of the tree. ...
Fruit that’s still on your neighbor’s tree belongs to your neighbor, even if the branch it’s attached to is hanging over your property. State and local laws vary when it comes to ownership of fruit that has fallen from a tree. Damage to Your Property Caused by Your Neighbor’s Tree.
If the trunk of a tree is located in your neighbor’s yard, but branches extend onto your property, the neighbor is the legal owner of the tree. That means you can’t cut it down, but you do have the right to trim any branches that hang over your yard to avoid damage to your property. Before you start trimming, notify your neighbor to give him ...
If that has happened, your neighbor could be required to remove the tree. Your options may be limited if the tree is situated on the property line and the roots extend into your yard and damage a fence located entirely on your ...
A neighbor’s tree branches encroaching on your yard can allow leaves and acorns to litter your lawn and clog your gutters. The neighbor isn’ t responsible for fallen leaves or acorns, since those are natural occurrences, but you can trim branches that extend onto your property.
In most locations (and we stress that the laws may vary in your area), property owners are responsible for boundary tree damages on their own property, if the damage from the fallen tree occurs from an act of God, or during a hurricane or other extreme weather conditions. So it depends entirely on whose side of the property line the damage occurs.
If the tree is on the property line, both property owners share the value of the tree and are responsible for upkeep on their side of the boundary line. There are some things to consider if you have a problem with a tree on a shared property line:
A decrease in value if the property itself if the tree is removed or damaged. Expenses to treat a damaged tree, or to remove a dangerous or dead tree. Replacement cost. This could include labor and cleanup costs.
If you cut back a limb and disease attacks the limb, it may no longer be a healthy tree. And according to NOLO, some case law exists that awarded damages to property owners if their neighbors have trimmed a tree to the point where the tree is no longer visually pleasing.
According to the legal advice website NOLO, the tree doesn’t have to be chopped down to cause a legal battle. If you or your neighbor decide to trim branches, cut tree roots, ...
Trimming is only legal to the property line and is the responsibility of the party doing the trimming, says Clinton. “Absent clear danger, neither party can trespass on the other’s property to trim a tree. If a tree is damaged or destroyed by a neighbor, it is the responsibility of the person causing the damage — conceivably in dollar damages.”.
If it’s a dangerous tree, you have the right to trim branches and cut and remove tree roots that are intruding into pipes or foundations within your real estate. This includes trees whose trunks are entirely on a neighboring property and not on the property line. But you are also responsible for any costs incurred to do so.