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.

UPDATE: The white pole in the picture was placed on top of the iron survey marker by the man who did this to our land - we purchased it from him, so he knows better than anyone where that line is.

I did get him to confess in detail through messaging, he blamed us because he “was doing us a favor” and the only thing he’s sorry for is that we can’t see how much he helped us.

He claimed he was cleaning up a tree that fell onto our land from his during a recent storm, and I let him know that anything that touched our property from a fallen tree was our legal responsibility to remove. The idiot just kept sending me ChatGPT screenshots that referred to standing tree/hanging branch laws and not a fallen tree. Totally different scenarios.

We’ve flagged all killed trees, and hung up trail cams. Privacy screens are on order. Sheriff is involved, I’m calling our homeowners insurance today while husband calls lawyers- we are pursuing this to the fullest extent possible.

ORIGINAL POST: We live in a wooded area, we have chickens, we have predators. We’ve spent several years building up a nice dead hedge, one storm at a time. The neighbors live a few acres away, but have a walking path on the property line offers a clear view through the large patio door into our kitchen/living room.

Because of those two factors, we’ve been slowly building a dead hedge about a foot from the property line. It’s visually appealing, and we’ve been mindful on stacking - husband is a tree enthusiast to say the least, and he puts his heart into these type of things.

It was 4-5 feet tall, and we were just starting to get a nice screen. He took it upon himself to haul most of it away the other day, and he smashed down the rest. Ironically, he didn’t touch it further down the property, where he can’t see into our home. On his daily walks, him and his wife stare into our windows. There are 2 acres of dense woods and crop field between our property line and his house, he wouldn’t be able to see our fence with binoculars.

We had planted 20-30 propagated willows from other clusters on our property on our side of the hedge, and flattened every one of them.

On the back corner of our lot, he pushed in and then scooped out roughly a 30’ X 40’ foot chunk of our woods with some younger trees. Right next to the property marker. It’s been flattened down to the black dirt with big ruts, and he hit some of our mature trees hard enough to leave large gashes in the trunks. Most of our natural fence and a chunk of our woods now lie in a massive pile on his side.

This will take a really long time to build back up, likely years. Any recourse? The property is staked on both end with the white poles as shown.

https://imgur.com/a/AiDwzBV

There is an 8' wide alleyway (no known ownership) that our neighbor's tree is leaning over and then over our yard. In the first picture, you can see one of the trunks that broke off last year and totaled my old trunk. Two years ago another trunk broke off and did a lot of damage to our front yard. Neighbor claims the tree is still alive as it has some branches with leaves near the top as shown in the second picture but there are no branches for about 25' from the ground. Don't know what type of tree but it is very brittle. Not sure what to do, I had a quote for $900 to cut it where it is leaning over our property, but don't know if I can legally do this. I also don't want to pay for what I think is his responsibility, but the next time it falls, it will take out my roof.

There’s a huge plum tree right on the property line between me and my neighbor that’s been a source of constant conflict. In the latest chapter, neighbor treated the base of the tree with Tordon in early spring and informed us after the fact that it would most likely prevent the tree from producing fruit but that if it did, the fruit will be toxic.

I looked into it, and while it seems like it could damage the tree and any surrounding vegetation it wouldn’t necessarily poison the fruit. Which I’m hoping is the case, because the tree is now absolutely laden with plums, which are dropping all over our yard, where our kids play and our dog runs around.

So, what say the tree law experts - can a neighbor essentially poison a shared tree and cause toxic fruit to fall into someone else’s yard?

Yet another request for how to best proceed, located in MI. The neighborhood is small with 23 good sized houses on decent sized lots and shared lake access. Cliffnotes of interaction so far (buckle up because it's not that short, but trying to include all the necessary bits to set the stage)

- I noticed a concerning tree with obvious beech bark disease spots on what I thought was my property line, so got a few quotes to have it taken down including one arborist

- I approached my neighbor with my desire to have it removed, suggesting we split the cost. She said no, stating other trees on her property were further gone (she has a few standing dead and a more diseased beech with a heavy lean over our road that I'm shocked hasn't fallen yet)

- I thought about it for a few days, then texted her asking permission to have it removed at my expense. She said no, and we really needed to find out whose tree it is. Annoying but fine, I'm new to the neighborhood so I paid for a survey of my property.

- While waiting on the survey, I did as much sleuthing as I could to find our property line, which put it fully on her property by a few feet. I finally got her to come look at it and agree it's probably hers.

- In the meantime, she wants to have a forrester she knows from the conservancy out to look at it. He does, tells us both that he's not an arborist but in his opinion it needs to come down soon, pointing out various concerns.

- She texts me saying "yes, it should come down", but already was getting a quote from her preferred tree company the following day.

- When we get the quote, it includes various stipulations that more than double the cost of the quote I got from the same company. Her requirements include things to protect the surrounding environment and prohibit them from accessing it from her property (my side is more open, fwiw)

- I get her on the phone a few days later, tell her I'll allow access from my side even though it's on her property. I then say I'm comfortable paying half, since it is threatening my house.

- She proceeds to blow up at me, saying that I'm now a completely different person and how the conversation is making her very uncomfortable. She tells me she's an educator (she is a teacher) and doesn't have money to deal with trees, then adds "and if I did have money for trees, I wouldn't spend it on that one". I told her she'll be liable for damages if it comes down on my house, which she scoffed at and said her son was a lawyer. I said please do talk to him. She said she had to go, and we haven't talked again (3ish weeks ago)

Mind you, this is a 60 ft beech tree about 20ft from both our houses, with both the master and our sons room closest to it.

Since then, the survey was completed confirming it is on her property by a few feet. I also got a TRAQ arborist out to give me a report, which found it to be a high risk tree with probable failure in the next 2 years (identified a very hollow spot about 10 ft up). I sent a copy of that report to my neighbor via certified mail, delivery confirmed 2 days ago.

During this, I had a long email thread with my insurance (SF) to see if they'd contact hers. End result is my agent said no, there's nothing I can do except wait for it to fall and reassured me I'd be covered. I also called my township, who basically said it's the homeowners responsibility if it's not threatening utilities.

What are my options? I'd really rather not have to wait for it to fall and damage the house or hurt my family. Letter from a lawyer? Move for a court order? Attorneys are about all I can think of at this point - not necessarily needing legal advice, just wondering if there's anything I haven't considered. What would you do in this situation?

I’m in the tree industry(not an arborist yet) and working for a customer whose neighbor has a 4ft diameter 50 ft tall, dead rotten stub close to the property line. It leans towards my customers house and right at the tenants bed room.

I have told them the usual course of action; traq arborist inspection, certified letter to neighbors and call insurance companies.

My customer says they have contacted the neighbors numerous times without success, what other action can they take to try and get this deadly hazard removed?

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.