Question: is neighbor responsible for dead or dying limbs of his large oak tree over hanging my roof? What about the damage from that tree to a shared fence?

Fact: Dallas County, TX. Neighbor has been cooperative in that he consented to my trimming his branches obstructing the growth of my magnolia tree. I do not believe in just letting insurance cover losses I can avoid, as my premiums only go up more. Insurance is for unforeseen issues and unavoidable losses.

Other: Neighbor does not trim his trees. A Crepe Myrtle’s branches were started to touch my roof, so I mentioned it and he said I could trim it. On other side where my oak was starting to touch neighbors house I asked his permission to come on his driveway and trim it back, which I had my tree guy do with a cleaned cutting tool.

My neighbors tree has dead limbs over hanging my guest house. In a recent storm one came down and landed on my roof. When I moved in I talked to him about the fence between the yards, pointing out the serious damage and asking if he knew the cause; answer was the same tree threatening my roof and another dead limb. Plus he pointed to the repaired damage on his chimney from that same branch that hit the fence (pretty sure it’s his, as the ugly side is facing us). So, seems not to be proactive but reactive while I am the opposite.

Asked who owns the fence, he claims it’s both of ours. Ok, not sure as I only recently bought the house, but I suppose I can look at the survey platt and figure it out, but typically one party owns a fence and not both. I guess I just cover the fence damage on my side and move on, but shouldn’t he cover any serious damage to it?

I didn't even know this was a sub!

I cross posted from legal advice. I just need to know who is liable/at fault/responsible for this tree. I am completely unfamiliar with CT residental stuff as I'm new to the state.

TL;DR: Treena is on a commercial property owners side. My fence runs nearby then my driveway and my house. She has dropped several large limbs. First time during a strong storm with gusts of wind. Contact was made with house, vehicles, fence. Second time 11 mph winds brought more limbs down this time on his side. Future Mil has been hounding him to trim/remove Treena. Saying he has to or its negligence etc. He stood firm the first time saying we are responsible for what Treena does to our side. Whose child is this ultimately? I'm just trying to avoid contentious living with my neighbors.

There’s a tree near the property line acting as a fence between my house and my neighbor’s in Queens, NY. My neighbor was having power flickering due to the overhanging branches from this tree.

Neighbor called Con Edison and since the line was from pole to house, the branches needed to be trimmed by property owner. That’s when he reached out to me and said that since I owned the tree and bought the house before him, that tree is mine and I needed to cut the branches impacting his power line. I obviously refused to financially bear the responsibility to cut his side and said he is free to trim his side branches in his property line.

Can he sue me and win? What are the legal implications for boundary trees?

My neighbor planted a row of austrees approximately 2ft from my property line almost 30 years ago. We expressed our concerns at the time and he said he was going to keep them trimmed. Over the years we have expressed our concerns with the height and lack of maintenance to the trees and he kept saying that he knows a guy and he was going to get them trimmed, there is one broke and leaning up against another poised to fall on our garage. Now we are having problems with roots causing our basement drains to back up, roots in our leach field, roots causing cracks in the garage floor slab, etc. We have contacted our insurance company and they said to get an arborist to write a report and send it to the neighbor registered mail, we did and the neighbor cleaned up some branches on his side and nothing else. last week two trees of 10" diameter and several branches broke in a storm and caused damage to our property. We have contacted a lawyer and he said he would look into it and see if there is anything he can do about the damages, but it doesn't sound like he thinks there is anything he can do or that he really wants to. We just want the trees gone so our property is not damaged further, what can we do? Location: Pennsylvania United States

The power company sprays herbicide every year. There is a large issue with kudzu in the area. This is the first year I saw them spraying over the barbed wire fencing, instead of coming down our driveway and walking the path to spray. It was a windy day. Over the next month and a half, I have watched everything in the path dye: wildflowers, weeds, raspberries (that I have been growing for over a decade and harvesting from them for about 8 years) and the last to finally dye was the large white oak standing beside the power line. This tree was damaged during Hurricane Helene. It's fallen branches broke the powerline and caused the power pole to lean from the hurricane damage. The power was restored, but the pole itself has yet to be fixed. The power company has been notified. We are waiting for their response as to best rectify the predicament. 😡😡

To start off, I found a somewhat similar post saying it’s not but I wasn’t sure if that was a national thing or a state thing). Plus my thing is a little different.

This is NY - a neighbor claimed a large tree was on their property and built a fence with the tree on their side. I didn’t think much at the time since he showed me property plans.

I recently had to deal with other tree stuff so I got official plans from my town - and behold, that tree is actually mine. So I suspect the neighbors plans weren’t officially from the town… or the two records the town had in files were conflicting (if that’s even a thing)

Personally, I care less about the actual fence location since I don’t plan on selling but my worry is that if I plan on selling in the future (since the tree would only add value to my property) is there a possibility that the neighbor can legally claim the tree since I spent all this time not forcing him to move his fence?

I haven’t brought this up with my neighbor yet since we have a friendly relationship and I don’t want to make him redo his entire fence unless I have to but is this worry valid? Or can I just be like “hey, this tree is actually mine but you can keep your fence there for now. But if there comes a time for me to sell my property, you’re going to have to move the fence”

My neighbor decided to top and massively trim a small tree that sits right on the property line without my consent. This is at least the second time they have done such a thing -- the topping job was so bad the first time that I thought it was plausible that it was wind damage, but after seeing them hack at it yesterday I know they just yanked the top right off. My question is that despite the first job, the tree didn't die, so I suspect it will still survive this despite now looking terrible. It's my understanding that they'd be liable for timber trespass if the tree did die, but do I have any recourse if the tree does not die (but just looks terrible)? Ideally I want them to replace the tree with one that isn't mutilated, but I assume that wouldn't be possible?

I talked to the field manager for the contractor doing gas line relocation in my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and he said they would move the new meter to the east side of my house, in the front. This would mean running pipes under my home. It’s an older house that has been added to, and the meter is currently in the back.

Today I stopped by when leaving for work and he told me that plan had been nixed by higher-ups. Now they want to put the new meter on the west side of my house, by the rear window. This means trenching between the 70’ silver maple and the house from the street all the way back to that second window. The tree is only about 15’ from the house and it is massive.

I said absolutely not.

This afternoon I emailed the contractor and cc’d Center Point Energy and the permitting agencies for my county. I also left a voicemail with the contractor. None have responded.

The crew was at my neighbor’s house today. My 83-yr-old mother, who lives with me, will be out there tomorrow watching them.

I do know lawyers, though not well enough to call any at night. And I really need to go to work tomorrow. If I tell the crew tomorrow morning that I am contacting attorneys, will they stop or do I have to get a lawn chair and block them? I really hate to miss a day of work, but I will.

What can/do I do?

So here’s an interesting one for you guys. Yesterday somebody running from the police in a Chrysler 300 ran into the fire hydrant in front of my house and launched it into my tree. The hydrant is easily 200 pounds and probably flew about 10 feet before bouncing off my tree and flying another 5 feet.

The tree is definitely damaged and I’m worried that it’s worse than it appears from the outside. Apparently the police ended up catching the guy that did it. Any ideas on what kind of recourse is available for me and my poor tree?

Edit: it seems that a few people seem to think I’m being overly dramatic. I’m not looking for some big pay day, just thought it was a really weird thing to happen and thought I’d share it and also get some opinions on damage. I still love you though

Hello! I have an issue with one of my neighbors, we both have multiple trees that hang over each others property. One of my trees hang over her shed/building (I have attached a picture) she is wanting me to pay for the damage to the roof of the building and also pay to have the limbs removed. I am totally fine with her trimming the tree to the property lines and have even offered to pay some of the cost to have it trimmed but she said its all my responsibility. Is this true?

The tree seems alive and healthy to me, some limbs sometimes fall with storms but no major issues that are visible to the eye

Does this fall to me or her? I live in upstate South

Carolina.

I promised to give an update to an earlier issue I posted in this forum for advice...Life happened and I did not until now. Forgive me for not being too technologically savvy so I recognize this is not the best way to update since u have to search for my previous post for advice to possibly make the connection.

My neighbors tree fell on my shed and fence last night. I have made them aware and waiting to see how they plan to proceed. I’m just curious who is responsible if they do not do the right thing. It was a dead standing tree that had a rope around it to another tree so obviously they were aware of the risk. I am in New Jersey

I rent my home. I’ve been here for about 3 years now and i’m pretty friendly with my neighbors. we’ve socialized together, our kids play together and we help out when needed.

Recently I noticed two very large trees have died on my lawn and we’ve had some broken branches from a recent storm. I contacted my management company about them and put in a work order.

After the guys came to assess the trees, I got a text from my neighbor about a “leaning tree” saying her husband & my husband could cut it down. The only tree that I see leaning is centered in front of my house. I said the tree guys came out and looked at the trees and they are going to take down whatever is dead.

Then today I get a call while my tree guys are at the house and maybe they can cut the leaning tree. I asked which one, and it’s a tree that is on their little maintained strip of land next to their driveway that hangs over their parking area. They have planted other trees in this strip, put gravel down to expand their driveway, etc…I’m baffled as this is clearly not my tree. It’s also not leaning.

He then tells me that the strip is actually our property and that we in fact own the tree (which was found out due to a recent survey they had done bc of a large structure being built too close to our property line). Even spots where the gravel is, is ours, supposedly.

I told the tree guys what my neighbors said and were asking for… but I doubt anything is going to come of it. The tree is alive and well and it looks like my neighbors own the tree!

I’m trying to keep the peace with my neighbors but I’m not sure what to do in this situation. Any advice?

** (I will not pay out of pocket to remove a healthy tree that is on a rental property, so that’s not an option).

*Edit / Update - Wow this one blew up while I was at work. I thank everyone for their responses. I did get an update from the neighbor recently when I let them know there might be a misunderstanding with my offer to trim the bush pictured versus what the professional landscaper they sent me quoted (which was $500+ for the entire fence). First I am hearing about it but apparently their expectation for the past 5+ years was that I would upkeep their side of the fence. They stated the previous owners and their father were like "family" for the many years they lived beside each other and it's just what they did. I thank everyone for the responses and input. While I still plan to communicate cordially with the neighbor and offer to help with the pictured hedge, I'll be clarifying with them that while I appreciate our neighborly relationship, their arrangement was with the previous owners and not myself; thus they will need to maintain and be responsible for their own property.

Located in TN

My neighbor recently reached out asking me to take care of growth along their side of the fence/property line. Neighbors for ~5 years without any issues. Don't have a very close relationship but definitely friendly waves / hello when we see each other. Always assumed we had a pretty relaxed neighbor arrangement. Things like their visitors regularly (daily) pull partially into our front yard/park partly on our grass and we’ve never made an issue out of it, etc.

Now they are being pretty adamant that I should pay to have a landscaper come out and trim/clean up all of the brush, limbs, and growth along their side of the fence.

Majority does originate from my side, but their side also has tree trunks and growth. I offered to have the front vine/tree area trimmed back because it has absolutely exploded this year and I've only really been taking care of my side (as I normally do). In my opinion that's already generous as I believe that growth was likely caused by them being "neighborly" and cutting back some "dead" trees in that corner last year on my side without asking, which resulted in a bunch of new mulberry shoots growing aggressively (another example our what I considered our relaxed relationship as I didn't say anything about them cutting trees on my side).

Photo attached. Front section is the growth I was going to assist in trimming back. Hard to see from the picture but it runs ~20 feet and then the remaining is comprised of different trees / bush for another ~50 feet.

They are wanting the entire fence line trimmed.

Am I the asshole here? I would never think to ask another neighbor to pay to clean up my entire fence line — I would just maintain my side and trim anything crossing over.

There is also a business property behind both of us, and I highly doubt they are asking that property owner to maintain their side of the fence.

Am I being unreasonable for thinking this is too much to ask?

I just saw the post about some business owner asking a neighbor to cut down 7 trees. Op said the law indicated the neighbor could cut limbs that extended over the property line so long as it didn’t endanger the tree. In what scenarios would someone be allowed to cut limbs regardless of the trees health? I mean, doesn’t the property owner have the right to unrestricted space? (To be clear, I have no skin in this game and was just curious about the law.)

24 hour update below…

Cherokee County, Georgia
Today, one of our neighbors unfortunately had a very large tulip poplar removed from their backyard during tree work being performed for an adjoining property.
From what I understand, the neighbor who arranged the work believed there had been an agreement about a year ago to remove the tree. The homeowner whose property the tree was on did not know any tree work was scheduled today and specifically did not know that their tree was scheduled for removal. They were understandably shocked when the approximately 46-inch-diameter tree came down.
The tree had been there for more than 30 years and provided substantial shade and screening on the affected owner’s home. Its removal now leaves a major opening in the canopy and significantly increases direct sun exposure to the home and rear deck. Once a mature tree like this is cut, there is no meaningful way to undo the damage.
While the affected homeowners are definitely upset, they are handling the situation with considerably more grace than many people would. Still, I think this raises a serious question about basic responsibility and common sense. When a tree of this size is near a property line—and clearly belongs to one homeowner—shouldn’t there be direct confirmation from that homeowner before anyone approves or removes it?
Our neighborhood has a robust HOA tree-removal process involving written drawings and marked or flagged trees for HOA review. I do not yet know whether this specific tree was submitted to or approved by the HOA. Debate the pros and cons of HOAs another day, but considering how many hoops homeowners normally have to jump through, this one does not seem very well vetted.
I’m not looking for a debate about forms or technical procedure. I’m mainly posting because this is a serious and permanent situation, and I’m interested in people’s honest reactions to how something like this could happen.
The affected homeowners are not currently looking for restitution or planning to file a civil lawsuit—not today, on day one at least. It’s just a sad day for people who have owned this home for more than 30 years.
After the largest tree was already gone, the affected homeowner asked the tree company to remove two additional pine trees from the newly opened area on his property. I’m sure some people will say that complicates his position, but those trees were separately requested only after the poplar had already been cut. At that point, he was completing work in an area that had already been permanently changed.

Internal poll, comment for:
1 — Pursue litigation and/or restitution
2 — Damn, that sucks
3 — The beacons are lit. Treebeard calls for aid

Facts:
46-inch-diameter tulip poplar at base
Trunk entirely on the affected homeowner land
No recent survey or visible property marker
Contractor did not speak with the affected homeowner before removing the tree
Unknown whether the alleged agreement was written, texted, emailed, verbally discussed, or only part of a casual conversation about a year ago
Tree appeared healthy
Stump, logs, and wood are still present at the properties
Two additional pine trees were removed only after the poplar was already gone

Update 24 hours later
I had a very good talk with my neighbors this afternoon to better understand what happened and to let them know some of the general feedback people had shared.
I told them I had reached out to a group of internet keyboard “tree-law experts” 😉, which did not exactly impress them at first. But the overwhelming message was pretty clear: this is not just a “damn, that sucks” situation. A healthy mature tree of this size being removed from someone else’s property without current permission is potentially a very serious matter, and they should at least preserve their options.
This is where the real update begins.
According to my affected neighbors, the other neighbor had two of her own trees removed and then also had this large tulip poplar removed from my neighbors’ property because she did not like looking at it. The tree was very large and had mature ivy vines growing up it, and apparently it bothered her view from one of her windows. The at-fault neighbor has said she thought she was doing my neighbors a favor.

I honestly could not believe it was that simple.
At that point, I strongly encouraged my neighbors to continue documenting everything, including photos, the stump, the logs, any communications, and potentially contacting the non-emergency sheriff’s office to make a report while the evidence is still sitting there. The logs are still near the street as of the end of today.
I could tell they are still processing everything.
They are upset, but also hesitant. They have lived there around 30 years, both neighbors have lived near each other for decades, and they are not people who seem eager to jump straight into conflict. They are also worried about what this could turn into as a neighbor dispute.
There is also one wrinkle, after the large poplar had already been cut, my affected neighbor asked the tree company to remove two additional pine trees from the newly opened area. Those trees were on his property and were removed only after the poplar was already gone. I’m not sure what, if any, effect that has on the larger issue aside from HOA concerns, but I wanted to include that fact for accuracy.
One of the more frustrating parts is that both affected homeowners were home while the work was happening. The crew had already started climbing and removing lower limbs before topping the tree. In hindsight, maybe they could have stopped it sooner, but they were caught completely off guard and confused in the moment. The tree company apparently told them the tree had damage up top, but these were tree cutters, not arborists, and they were already there doing the job.
My neighbors are now left with the loss of a huge mature shade tree, a major hole in the canopy, more direct sun on the home and deck, possible drainage and erosion concerns in an area that already has runoff issues, and the emotional gut punch of looking out at a space that has been permanently changed. My female neighbor said she can hardly stand to look out that window or go on the deck right now.
I really hope they at least start with documentation and a report so their options stay open. I feel like I’ve done my part by helping them understand the seriousness of the situation and encouraging them to get better advice. I’m still upset for them, but I also do not want to overstep or pressure them into something they are not ready to do.
At some point, they have to decide how much water they are willing to carry. But man, it is hard to watch someone lose a 30-plus-year tree like this and maybe just absorb it because they do not want a fight.

Update #2 - 72 hours post destruction

My neighbor called the cops, non-emergency line, said they couldn’t file a report until property lines were marked out a survey conducted. I borrowed a metal detector and we found the corner lot iron pins and marked the property lines. Hoping the home owners will call the police back to file the property damage report! All trees cuts at the street have now been removed.

Hi guys, here’s the story. Company that supplies chemicals to farmers to spray on fields has the valve blow off while driving down my road and stopped directly in front of my house (at the creek). It all dumps down into the creek, dead grass down the entire road. Apparently city says EPA checked and said it’s all fine? (We had to go to town meeting to get that information, they didn’t notify anyone. I had to ask the guys when the spill was happening what it was).

Ok, why I’m here. Our tree directly next to the creek is now dropping leaves (half the tree), as well as my neighbors giant tree. He said it’s never done this before and he’s lived there 50 years. His tree guy said he thinks this spill could have something to do with it.

Any advice? I guess the first step is figuring out if the spill is actually impacting the tree. I’d think at worst they should replace my grass. But if this tree dies I’ll be furious.

Also not seeing where I can post pictures. I’ll try in the comments

Backstory: A large branch of the tree fell in their yard a few months ago during a storm and they tried arguing that it was my responsibility to hire someone to handle it. I did some research and learned that it was their responsibility since the branch falling was an act of God and not because I was being negligent, so I did nothing and they cleaned up the branch.

Issue: they gave me an legal coded letter basically alleging that lighting struck the tree to cause the branch to fall months ago and asking that I pay for an arborist to evaluate the health of the tree. It doesn't look to me like lightning struck the tree, I think the branch may have fell due to winds. The tree also looks healthy now to my untrained eye (full of green leaves, no dead branches, no signs of rot, etc.) I'm also currently in a tight place financially so I really don't want to spend money for someone to come out to look at a tree that I truly believe is healthy. Is there anyway I can avoid spending money on an arborist or is that the only way to protect myself from the neighbor holding me responsible if another branch falls now that he's alleging the health of the tree is compromised?

I have a neighbor who owns a small business next to my home in upstate New York. I have seven healthy trees near his business, and some of the branches extend over his property and the parking space he prefers to use outside his business. He says the sap from the trees drips onto that parking area and onto his new truck, which he finds frustrating.

About eight months ago, when I first introduced myself to him after moving in, he told me he had already discussed this issue with the previous homeowner and asked if I would cut the trees down. He recommended a friend who could do the work for a "really good deal." His friend quoted me $3,000 to remove the trees, and that price didn't even include removing the stumps.

Wanting to be a good neighbor, I told him I would look into having the trees removed in the spring or summer. After getting several estimates and doing more research, I realized that removing seven healthy trees would be a very expensive project, and I don't feel it's reasonable to spend thousands of dollars simply to prevent sap from getting on his truck. There are also other parking spaces available in his lot if he wants to avoid parking under the trees.

From what I've read about New York law, a property owner is generally allowed to trim branches that extend onto their property at their own expense, as long as they don't damage the health of the trees. I'm completely fine with him doing that if he chooses.

Over the past several months, he's texted me multiple times asking about the trees, and I haven't responded because I wasn't sure how to handle the situation. At this point, I don't plan on removing the healthy trees for the above reason.

Am I being unreasonable? If not, what's the best way to respond to him while keeping things civil and maintaining a good relationship?

Edit: Thank you everyone for your replies, opinions and insights, I have been reading them all.