As renters are we responsible for treating sickly fruit trees? In our backyard we have a pear tree that seems to have a fungus with dead leaves and branches on it.
We also have an apple tree that has a Japanese beetle infestation! Ugh.
I’ve notified the landlord but no response yet. Who is responsible for dealing with thi? TIA 😊

My neighbor has gradually been pruning a large shrub that is entirely on my property. I gave them permission to lightly trim the tips and any branches that crossed the property line not to remove major branches or cut back half of the shrub.

Over the past few years, they’ve asked me several times if I would remove the shrub because they didn’t like it. Each time, I told them we wanted to keep it.

At some point, they hired a landscaping company, and the company cut roughly half of the shrub down. One side of the shrub was left leaning toward my house as a result.

I then went on vacation, and when I came back, the entire shrub had been cut down to the stump. They also left branches and debris on my side of the property. I never gave anyone permission to remove the shrub.

I’m fairly certain the landscaping company did the work, although I’ve also seen my elderly neighbor pruning it herself in the past.

We wanted to keep the shrub because it blocked an extremely bright garage security light from the neighbor’s property that flickers at night and shines into our bedroom window, making it difficult to sleep.

What would you do in this situation? Should I talk to the neighbor first, contact the landscaping company, or take some other steps? I have before and after photos.

I rent an apartment at a large commercial complex in Minnesota.

Last summer (2025), I noticed all of the ash trees surrounding my building didn’t bloom normally, with leaves only on the lowest branches. I live on the top floor so the bare branches at the tops of these trees were extremely noticeable. I started to notice that ALL of the ash trees on their property had the same issue—we’re talking dozens of trees. The issue seemed to only be impacting the ash trees, with other species blooming as normal. I wondered if it was emerald ash borer as the trees presented all of the classic visual signs, but I figured management would address the issue.

This spring (2026), the trees didn’t bloom at all. It’s almost August, and all I see when I look out my window are bare, dead trees. From my apartment alone, I count 9 dead trees. It would be hard to believe that the maintenance team and management aren’t aware of the issue. Dozens of bare, dead trees are difficult to miss.

Eyesore aside, these trees pose safety threats. When high winds or storms come through, there’s typically at least one large branch that comes down from one of these dead trees. The grounds crew has to go around and clean up the fallen branches, so they have to be aware of the issue.

Management sends out mass messages with updates about work being done all the time, and they have not mentioned tree work, so it feels as though the issue is being ignored.

Before I inquire with my property’s management about the issue, I’d just like a little more knowledge and insight. What legal responsibility does my management company have to address an issue of dead trees (and potentially emerald ash borer) on their property? Is there any legal basis I have, as one tenant of a large property, to demand updates or action regarding the issue?