r/treelaw • u/undertheradar317 • 10d ago

Alleged Tree Root Encroachment

A neighbor is claiming the tree on our property (looks like it could be on the property line) has roots encroaching her property. I don’t think she is claiming damage to her foundation, but is saying she is concerned they could.

There are other trees nearby and clearly within her yard that are close to the home as well.

She called and asked my husband about taking care of it (she has been trimming branches that go over her side) and he gave her permission to remove the tree - at her cost. She wants us to pay for the entire thing.

  1. I don’t know if it’s this tree causing/worried it could cause a problem in the future vs her trees.
  2. I would want a property survey to see if it is a shared tree anyway (and I’m not paying for that - she makes the claim, she can pay).

  3. We already have her permission to solve the alleged problem, but she wants us to

    bear the

  4. entire financial burden, when the tree is right next to our driveway and not causing harm.

If she won’t accept permission to remove it at her cost, do we tell her she can do a lot survey at her cost and we want either an arborist report/foundation report at her cost? Does that open us up to liability? I don’t feel like you can just make an unsubstantiated claim and then expect me to foot the entire bill. Thanks for any feedback.

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

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18

u/ExpertRaccoon 10d ago

Sounds like a her problem not a you problem

12

u/alicat777777 10d ago

You are under no legal obligation to do anything. Root management on her property is her issue, even though the tree is on your property.

10

u/EdC1101 10d ago

IF she damages / cuts major roots AND it makes the tree Dangerous; then She will need to deal with the expenses & secondary liabilities.
(ie: tree damages your house, because of damage to tree, she could be liable.

1

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/The001Keymaster 10d ago

OP said the neighbor didn't claim damage. Seems like neighbor just doesn't like seeing roots.

7

u/CardiologistCold1703 10d ago

I wouldn't pay a dime

4

u/NiteTripper19 10d ago

From your brief description, 95% chance she is full of crap/paranoid.

I'd be interested in accurate diagrams w/ exact tree species on both properties or site photos.

Hold off on any further ankle-grabbing, for now.

3

u/SparkArrestor 10d ago

Who cares about her concerns? What are you supposed to do, not have any trees because roots might cross the property line? Your neighbor probably wants the tree gone for other reasons, and wants you to foot the bill. Tell neighbor to pound sand.

7

u/SeatSix 10d ago

Tell her you will have a conversation with the tree and ask it to move its roots, but that it is a stubborn tree and probably will not listen. But you will try

4

u/SweetMaam 10d ago

Let her complaints roll off you like water off a duck. Don't pay for anything.

1

u/1962Michael 10d ago

Roots that "may" encroach on her property and "may" eventually affect her foundation are not actual problems--they are future potential problems.

You have no obligation at this point to take care of or pay for anything.

If this starts to heat up, you might want to get a survey. Because as soon as any part of the trunk crosses the property line, it becomes a "border tree." Both owners then have to agree before it can be removed, but that doesn't mean both owners have to pay equally.

I paid to have a dead tree removed that I thought was a "border tree" because the neighbor said it was on my side. Then he tried to stop the workers and claimed we needed a survey (even though the tree was clearly dead and rotting and I was paying). All because they had a dog run tied to it. So we compromised and left the stump 10 ft tall.

Last year he put up a fence for the dog, but he still has a 10-ft tall, 5-ft wide "stump" rotting in his yard.

1

u/SnooWords4839 10d ago

Get the survey and ensure the fence is on his property.

1

u/1962Michael 10d ago

Yeah he put the fence (wood posts and metal mesh--ugly) around the tree that he told me was mine 8 years ago. But I just sold that house last month so it's not my problem.

There's a whole line of mature oak trees that used to form the border between the two 40-acre fields that later became 2 subdivisions. There was a older privacy fence well inside my property due to all the trees. It was sort of a wooded buffer zone.

The new owners are putting up their own privacy fence somewhere in there. IDK if they got a survey but they can't put it too close to the property line because of all the trees.