i just bought my house less than a year ago and we are doin the best we can to get it fixed up. first things first, the pool was brought back to life, and then the backyard is now gettin our focus on top of other stuff. the problem i have going is the neighbor to my left has 2 (two) HUGE eucalyptus tree's that destroy our pool cleanliness on a daily basis (x4 when it's windy). the residents of the house have told me that the owner does not want to trim anything because he sees it as "natural beauty". i see it as a threat to my child if a 40' long eucalyptus branch overhanging my property comes down on us! i plan to contact the owner and ask nicely if he will have the trees cut back to eliminate the threat and reduce my yard litter from his property. with all truth, i believe the trees to be about 75' to 90'. i will take pics tomorrow to show you guys better my problem. anyways, if the owner does not comply what would you guys recommend? and the renters are nice people too so i dont want to bring them any grief. thanks in advance!
how to deal?
- Thread starter E-ROC
- Start date
pretty sure by law you can trim the trees back to the property line ... of course you should verify that.
Don't think you need the neighbors permission either. Although consider that the trees may not look very nice with a flat side ;
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
Don't think you need the neighbors permission either. Although consider that the trees may not look very nice with a flat side ;
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
all good on short post. neighbors are all for any tree trimming. i would trim to property line other than that would result in massive damage to my property. the branches are long as heck and the best i could safely crawl out to cut off would still result in a 25' branch coming down with me springing back from the tension release.
Wow! Do you live in a city where there is code enforcement or in a neighborhood with a homeowner's association? Those might be helpful resources.
i contacted code enforcment and they will only deal with front yard appearance or public sidewalk/street issues. and the city counsel is a joke and wont help (even though i drive a tow truck and help them all the time). sorry if i sound negative, ive had a couple rum/dr.p's and want to swim,but have a pool of leaves right now. blah blah, waa waa.
Well, I'm no lawyer, but I would say that the owners of the tree bear a fair amount of liability for the problems that the tree causes.
im figuring that if he blows me off on the phone call i'll have to go with small claims court. i hope it does'nt go there though. i prefer to do things nicely to keep life enjoyable.
The city building inspector, or maybe the city PA could at least tell you what your rights are in regards to trimming the tree back to the property line, if not go to city hall and ask the clerk who could explain your rights in this matter, someone there has to know.
Are there any power lines close by, if so the power company has the right to trim the tree back if it puts the power line in danger.
As stated above anything crossing the property line should be your right to trim it back, if you can't get a clear answer from city hall, perhaps consult an attorney, it shouldn't cost that much just to get a clear answer about your rights on this issue.
Oh another idea, perhaps check with the county, and state, at some level there has to be some kind of law covering this matter, basically his tree is encroaching on your property.
There could very well be a law that certain structures and things like trees must be X number of feet from the property line.
I know in our area, anything crossing a property line I have the right to take whatever action I deem proper to correct the problem, a property line is not something drawn on the ground only, it extends upward to include the airspace above the property.
If he is not willing to trim the tree then ask him if he would rather do it "Before" you take him to court and not only get a court order to either trim it or cut it down completely, (If I have to take this to court I will be pushing to have the tree completely removed or seriously cut back and topped so it no longer presents a danger to my property should it come down during a storm or something), plus damages resulting from the tree shedding leaves and debris in you pool and property that you have to constantly clean up, in civil court you are allowed to sue for damages + Labor, (at the going rate for landscapers) + court costs.
If you do have to take him to court, just explain the clear and present danger to "ALL" of your property and persons, plus the "LITTER" the tree is causing, and the time and effort required on your part to clean it up, plus the additional cost involved with cleaning and maintaining your pool.
One last idea would to perhaps contact your insurance agent and point out the issue to him and see if your insurance company might be willing to get involved to reduce their exposure should the tree fall or a big branch break off.
Well that is about all I can think of right now.
Hope something I have said will help, and if not I hope all the best for you getting the situation resolved to your satisfaction.
Are there any power lines close by, if so the power company has the right to trim the tree back if it puts the power line in danger.
As stated above anything crossing the property line should be your right to trim it back, if you can't get a clear answer from city hall, perhaps consult an attorney, it shouldn't cost that much just to get a clear answer about your rights on this issue.
Oh another idea, perhaps check with the county, and state, at some level there has to be some kind of law covering this matter, basically his tree is encroaching on your property.
There could very well be a law that certain structures and things like trees must be X number of feet from the property line.
I know in our area, anything crossing a property line I have the right to take whatever action I deem proper to correct the problem, a property line is not something drawn on the ground only, it extends upward to include the airspace above the property.
If he is not willing to trim the tree then ask him if he would rather do it "Before" you take him to court and not only get a court order to either trim it or cut it down completely, (If I have to take this to court I will be pushing to have the tree completely removed or seriously cut back and topped so it no longer presents a danger to my property should it come down during a storm or something), plus damages resulting from the tree shedding leaves and debris in you pool and property that you have to constantly clean up, in civil court you are allowed to sue for damages + Labor, (at the going rate for landscapers) + court costs.
If you do have to take him to court, just explain the clear and present danger to "ALL" of your property and persons, plus the "LITTER" the tree is causing, and the time and effort required on your part to clean it up, plus the additional cost involved with cleaning and maintaining your pool.
One last idea would to perhaps contact your insurance agent and point out the issue to him and see if your insurance company might be willing to get involved to reduce their exposure should the tree fall or a big branch break off.
Well that is about all I can think of right now.
Hope something I have said will help, and if not I hope all the best for you getting the situation resolved to your satisfaction.
IANAL, but, based on my experience, Jason's comments also apply in Virginia. I expect you'll find the same situation in your state. In VA, you'd be within your rights to trim the part of the offending tree that is encroaching onto your property without notice to the tree owner.jblizzle said:
Good luck!
i have no problem cutting the tree back on my own since that is allowed in california if it is over the fence line. problem is that its a monster of a tree and im not climbing out on the branches and risking my life or the chance of property damage. here's a few pics to show you what i have going.
this one is looking straight up from my fence line.
this one is looking straight up from my fence line.
It's tough to tell from the photo but how large are the branches at the trunk? If I were trimming it, I would start at the furthest point from the truck and work towards the truck taking short pieces. They would be short enough so when they came down, I would not be at risk of injury. I would use a pole saw tp do the trimming. I would continue like this until I got closer to the trunk/fence line.
Good luck and be safe.
Good luck and be safe.
ok. in the first pic, the queen palm frawns on the bottom are ~8'-9'. call me chicken, but im not climbing out on those branches with a chainsaw! and a saw on a pole is not much help. all in all, cutting the branches back isnt going to solve my issue of the danger and the mess. that would only fix 1/8 of this beast.
I would have a professional tree service do the trimming. No point in getting your neck broken! The neighbor probably will not agree to go halfsies on the cost, but you could have any other trees that need pruning taken care of in one shot.
I would suggest trying to keep things civil, if possible if there have not been any large limbs from the tree fall get a written opinion from a tree expert about the danger, otherwise you may be seen as over reacting. I can understand having issues regarding trees with neighbors, I had one regarding a large oak tree near/on the property line and my neighbor wanted me to split the cost of removal with him because he was worried the tree would fall and hurt his concrete parking area. I had no problem with the tree, so told him if he wanted to remove it that he could pay for it, well this escalated and I ended up having a surveyor come over to mark the exact property line, and it turns out the tree was fully on the neighbors lot by a couple of inches. After that I told him it was his tree and he could do what ever he wanted to, that was nearly 15 years ago, and the oak tree is still there.
i appreciate all your help and will be contacting the owner soon (work has been chaotic).
well it happened as i figured it would.
at least it got the next door owner to take down the two problem trees. nobody got hurt and now i have some roof and fence work to do. lol.
at least it got the next door owner to take down the two problem trees. nobody got hurt and now i have some roof and fence work to do. lol.
Can you file a claim against the neighbor's home owner's insurance? If you had that talk with them about your concerns of property damage and they did nothing you may have some grounds for their insurance to pay for the removal and repairs.
this happened about 2 months ago and has been cleaned up. im waiting on the check from them to buy material so i can fix the fence and my roof.
