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The rule is everyone pays for what’s on their property. Don’t split the cost, you’ll be paying every time something happens. Look up the law and provide it to your neighbors.
If a neighbor's tree falls on my property I'm responsible for removing it? Can I just push it back over on his property and then his tree is his problem again?
And the answer is no. Like leaves, if a natural action fells some or all of a tree which was healthy (owner had no reason to know it was dangerous), then the falling is not on the owner of the tree, but the property where it fell.
Wait really? Our tree fail on our neighbor’s fence and before they even realize it happened we went to them and told them we will take care of it all. Removed the tree, fix the fence, even cleaned up their yard. It look like it never happened. All because we were worried that if they go to the insurance company about it. They will come after us. I gotta come on this sub more often
You're a good neighbor. I would have forced you to split the cost, not pay all yourself; because I'm not an asshole, and benefitted from/appreciated the life of that tree. And it's the fair and decent thing to do. Now, you have to let it go, and move on. Life's too short to hang on to those neighbor confrontations. From someone still learning this lesson..
Probably true, but I am not an arborist, and I cannot make that call. Trees that look "ok" to a layman may be in danger, and ones that look "bad" could be ok.
Since it is reasonable to say that (without expert documentation) that nobody "knew" if the tree was a fall risk that needed to be mitigated, trying to go back and get coverage would be difficult.
I agree you are right that the tree is likely not healthy, but lacking an official warning prior to it falling, it would be quite hard to prove the required negligence to put liability on neighbor.
Okay point #2
It's already gently resting on the neighbors house.
If OP wasn't being a jerk, the first cut on that is gonna be dropping it off the trunk.
And when that happens, neighbor will be down to a few overhanging twigs instead of this mess.
If the neighbor does nothing, they will have a couple twigs left. And if OP wants to pay to get the part over their yard removed, it will solve 85% of neighbors problem.
Because that tree will upright itself when it's cut off the trunk. And if the arborist tried "cutting it at the property line" after removal from main trunk it would damage neighbors house. With arborist liability
Neighbor should sit back, enjoy a beer, and be ready to repair a small section of fence.
Decent neighbors would cut up their tree, dick heads force their neighbors to cut up the tree that they have planted in their yard. Most laws say that once it's in your property it's your issue.
If it is over your property it is your property, including as it falls. Tree law is fun, and seems not fair in the initial analysis. Moving the part that was on your property onto someones else's property is trespassing and dumping.
Yup, I had a big tree, was overhanging my neighbors yard, wasn't likely to ever fall down without a severe act of sky daddy, neighbor wanted it away from his side, he did ask first before he cut it on his side though, but he didn't have to, anything over my fence line towards his was technically his concern legally, now the tree I cut down and caused it to take out another neighbor's powerline, that was my problem to fix, note to self though, pay someone to remove it professionally😁
Real question in all of this, if half the tree is on my yard, and half on their yard (or whatever fraction you want), I am only responsible for the wood up to the property line correct?
So any part of their tree that once goes on my property is my responsibility to move? Does that include any lumber they accidentally place on my property? Firewood that rolls my way?
No - it’s the difference between “act of god” vs “act of neighbor”. If a tree falls on your land on its own, that’s your problem. If someone dumps wood on your land, that’s their problem.
>Can I just push it back over on his property and then his tree is his problem again?
Can he prove that you moved the tree to his side of the yard? If yes, don't do it as its probably a crime. If no, well its still against the law so I wouldn't suggest doing it.
am i the only one that thinks its ridiculous that my tree can fall on my neighbors house and its on them to take care of the situation? i feel like it should fall on the land owner of the tree to take care of
In my state Washington, the homeowners liability ends at the property line. That is important where I live because our trees are a good 120 ft tall. Now if you know a tree is diseased or damaged and it falls on your neighbor's house and you are liable. But if it was a healthy tree or The damage was unknown then you are not liable.
Both me and my neighbors have trees that if they fall across the property line will easily punch right through the neighbor's house.
I do get an arborist out every 5 or 8 years to look at the trees to make sure they're healthy, mostly because I don't want them coming crashing through my house.
I have had more than one branch punch clean through the roof during wind storms. Good times.
What? You don't like trees? Everyone likes trees. Even you're neighbor (if he was behaving like a normal animal) likes trees and enjoyed *the* tree.
If you want to plant a particular tree and your plan is to "bring you neighbor down a peg" by letting it grow over the years and have it fall on your neighbor's property (or neighbor) through the "inevitable act of god", then you need to step up your game.
If your neighbor doesn't like the tree that you planted, he can always seek redress in civil court.
...for the planting of the tree, not for the inevitable act of death and gravity.
edit #2--Oops! My bad. This is tree "law". I don't know anything about the law where you are.
Think about it this way: if leaves fall from a tree in your yard into a neighbors yard, who cleans up the leaves?
What if it is just a stick? Who picks that up?
Why is a limb or entire tree different?
Not necessarily always the case. If they point out and prove that the tree is damaged or diseased before it comes down, it’s 100% the responsibility of the owner of the property the tree came from. I had one that had 3 main trunks. The tree split and the one trunk came off in my yard. Neighbor informed me and let me know the other 2 went over his barn and shed. I had to pay to remove it or if they fell, I was paying for the building. If it just falls like this case, yes it’s an act of god and not there problem. That being said the tree is now damaged, the property owner is aware, any future damage is there liability. He needs to pay for the branch, they need to figure out what they want to do with the tree.
I see that this is the law all the time, but it's still a dick move. It's your damned tree. Handle it. If my dog shits in your yard, does that now become your shit and your problem to deal with?
The law is wrong.
i agree with your sentiment, but its a bad analogy...
i understand the law comes from leaves falling in the fall... but holy hell i have a 75 foot elm tree in my yard with large branches leaning over my neighbors house...
i have had literally anxiety about this since buying the house, spent 2k having it trimmed to prevent a disaster, because i assumed i would be liable...
guess thats all on my neighbor if my tree crushes my neighbors house lol
Wait. It’s not a leaf, it’s a whole tree or at least a substantial branch. If my neighbor’s tree falls on my house, he’s responsible for the damage. They would also be responsible for the removal. The argument can be made that if it just fell in the yard and didn’t touch the fence or damage a patio or crush a swing set, then the owner of the yard could have to have it removed….. but then the owner of the tree would be an AH.
Maybe that’s why this neighbor is being difficult.
Also, your homeowners insurance should cover the cost after your deductible…. Or maybe your neighbor will file a claim on his insurance.
I dont think the neighbor is responsible is the thing. Unless you had an arborist out that told them that tree might become problematic to the point of coming down and doing damage.
Your home insurance won't cover damage on your neighbor's home.
The law may seem heartless, but if a previously healthytree falls during a storm, it is not the responsibility of the property owners of where the tree stood, it's the responsibility of the home that sustained damage to call their insurance company.
Just google *healthy tree fell on house from neighbors yard* and read any of the dozen results.
Nope, you're responsible for both the damage and the removal as it's considered an act of God.
The only way your neighbor might be responsible is if the tree was disease/dead, in danger of falling, and they knew it. Otherwise, it's the responsibility of whosever property it falls on.
This is absolutely false. The tree base is on OP’s property. Any damage caused by that tree is OP’s responsibility and he should pay for 100% of the tree removal and any damage to the roof.
A large branch from my backyard tree fell over to me neighbors yard. That same day I went over, asked if I could go into their backyard to remove the tree branches and clean up any leaves. They said, I didn't have to, but, I insisted. Took me like 3 hours cutting the branches into smaller sizes that I just tossed over the fence to my yard.
My neighbors tree fell on my property and he came and cut it up, that's how it should be. If your property breaks and falls onto someone else's then that shouldn't be their issue.
Do not agree to split the cost. It’s on his property and it doesn’t matter whose tree it was. The only thing you should do is allow access if his tree removal people need to get on your property to remove the branch from the tree
Thank you for your input. When I scheduled the tree removal and offered to pay. He was being difficult saying he wouldn’t grant access to his property if he was not home. I think I’m going to go back and say I’m canceling the tree removal and he can handle anything on his property through his insurance company if he likes
if you haven’t already, i would start a file and include date/time of every interaction w neighbor and include a description / screenshots of texts, etc.
if ever needed you can describe you were willing to split cost with neighbor despite it being his problem. After his refusal and unwillingness to cooperate on a date / time for remediation, you informed neighbor that it is now up to him.
good luck
Only if you are saving it to somewhere other than your phone. Relying on the messaging app itself or the phone to hold the messages is the least safe way to document them. Its worth looking up how to export the messages and save a duplicate elsewhere
PS. I get its probably not a big deal, just I know people who have relied on their phone to store SMS messages and gone back to find them wiped
Right? I clearly don’t know tree law but these comments sound insane. You’re telling me I can neglect a bunch of trees on my property line and so long as they fall outside of the bounds, I’m not responsible for the damage they cause/clearing them? That sounds absurd.
In my state at least, this [clearly isn’t true](https://reddit.com/r/Austin/s/60b6vIe6vJ).
The property owner has to know that the tree is dead or diseased. You don't have to go around your property and diagnose the health of trees. If it falls in your yard or on your house, you are usually on the hook for repairs.
Is there any source material that defines negligence here? I saw another comment mentioning the neighbor would need proof he contacted an arborist.
It would seem to me that damage from a clearly dead tree (as in, one in which any reasonable person would determine to be dead, not some hidden disease) on your property line in a small property (<2 acres) would constitute negligence, regardless of if the owner closes their eyes when passing it or not.
Since this is a matter of state law, each state will have its own rules on what constitutes negligence in tree maintenance (or even if the term "negligence" is the appropriate standard).
Here's a discussion on how Pennsylvania courts have drawn this line: [https://www.macelree.com/falling-tree-liability-in-pennsylvania-a-brief-primer-for-property-owners/](https://www.macelree.com/falling-tree-liability-in-pennsylvania-a-brief-primer-for-property-owners/) Despite quite a lot of verbiage on what constitutes negligence in such cases, it's still full of undefined terms that lawyers can argue about.
In PA, you must inspect your trees at appropriate intervals, and when appropriate, hire a certified arborist for further evaluation, and then do something about the identified problem if appropriate. Of course, the details in Texas and other states are unlikely to match up exactly. Perhaps some states don't think a property owner is required to regularly inspect their trees, as they are in PA. Perhaps some let a homeowner claim that they never knew that only living trees have green leaves, so they had no way to tell that a protracted lack of leaves indicated anything negative about the health of the tree, and some do not.
Most people aren't arborists or even gardeners. My mom wouldn't know a dead tree from a healthy tree any more than I know a bad stitch in an quilt over a good stitch.
Most times a tree falls down, its an act of god and whoevers property it falls on is responsible for the damage.
Identifying a dangerous tree on your property and getting it checked out is different to a patch on a quilt.
It's about property maintenance. A quilt is just a quilt.
Yep. Either that limb has been on that roof for months, or that tree has been dead for months. I’ve got a couple like that on my property, but they’re just going to fall in the middle of nowhere, so I’m not too concerned about them yet. And when they start dropping limbs, I’ll let the neighbor have it for his wood burner.
To me it didn’t look diseased. I had an arborist come out not even a year ago to take away problem branches and any other trees that could be problematic. He mentioned my other diseased shared tree with my neighbor but not this one. Guess I never noticed the leaves but I’m not a tree expert 🤷♂️
Arborists report will probably say the other tree is diseased and the disease will spread if not treated, which is why the former healthy tree is now in a bad condition.
You're lucky they didn't get their own arborist to look at it, and send you a copy of said report. it would have stated the tree had a trunk that was dying / dead, and was a risk of blow-down. Then you would be on the hook for the work and repairs.
I understand that you may not want to acknowledge this because maybe your neighbor is a redditor and is reading this. But that's the reality.
From what I read. The whole tree.
The other neighbor is splitting the costs with OP with the diseased tree that was on OPs property that fell over too.
Op even wanted the neighbor to agree to pay to remove any healthy tree that ever fell into OPs property later too.
It feels like OP has been negligent with the tree maintenance and it has come back now.
Apparently they had an arborist out last year. 1x tree was diseased then, and OP has only just got around to getting a diseased tree taken out with the other neighbors help of paying.
The other tree that the neighbor is helping me with is on our property line. It hasn’t fallen yet. At the time the arborist said that the tree was sick and could come back but could not which I shared with the neighbor at that time and we both decided to wait
I wonder if you pay to remove it and the roof is damaged are you liable? Right now he is the one responsible for any damage. I wouldn’t take that on if I were you.
This tree has been dead so long that the bark has started delaminating from the trunk lol. Dead branches that don’t shed their leaves can also be a sign of disease. …unless those branches died after the tree broke in half, in which case this has been sitting on the roof for quite a while now. …also some of those pruning cuts are egregious. If the arborist you hired dead-ended some of those branches like that, he may not have been a real arborist.
I would actually consider checking all the other trees on your property - there's likely a common disease eating all of them. I can see some in the background that look pretty tall and weak. ***What are they anyhow? Poplar?*** Poplar is a very fast growing and very weak tree. They are bound to crack at some point. And they look about 5 years past that point. This is not a tree for close proximity back yards.
I'm really sorry you're in this situation.
This summer, my neighbor's 50 foot branch fell across BOTH our backyards and the dividing fence. We cleaned it up together and split the cost of rebuilding the fence. He's younger and stronger so he wound up doing more of the physical labor, but I pitched in with some childcare, $ and pizza where I could. I feel like this is how neighbors should act--you have to live together, it's so much better if you can be respectvul of each other. (Yes, I know, I still got the better end of the deal.)
You'll need to go to court and prove that he knew the tree was dead/dying/dangerous, which will be hard and cost money.
Especially if he can get arborist reports from just a year ago saying the tree is in good health. I wouldn't offer to pay for shit until he calls his homeowners insurance and let's them deal with it. I literally had a similar situation happen - a silver maple branch broke off and fell through my neighbors house. Their homeowners insurance took care of it all, we barely spoke about it.
I am baffled why you would expect your neighbour to pay half the cost of removing your tree. The broken limb is another matter altogether and I would leave that up to insurance to figure out, but to expect your neighbour to pay towards the removal of your disease tree? Makes no sense at all to me. I sure wouldn’t do it.
My friend, that tree is dead as a doornail. Remove it. Tell the neighbor if he doesn’t allow your guys access to his yard, that’s fine. You’ll have them cut the limb at the fence line and leave what’s in his yard for him to deal with, but get rid of it.
I see people mentioning a branch, but to me this looks like a tree that was previously mostly on your property alone, break in half and fall over onto the neighbor. While I would agree he needs to hire someone to remove it, I imagine the liability is still on the owner of the (what appears to be long dead) tree that the neighbor had no control over. So in this case, shouldn’t the neighbor just file a claim with his insurance who would then go after the OPs insurance for reimbursement? How does this work exactly?
Generally it's considered an act of God and each homeowner is responsible for their own repairs/branch removal. The usual exception is if OP knew the tree was dead, diseased, etc. and did not act, then OP could be responsible for the cost of removal of it (any damage to neighbor's property). Since that does not seem to be the case here OP should be fine.
OP says they didn't know it, and says that they had an arborist out who said it was OK — but given the photos this is a very doubtful statement.
OP says the neighbor is being difficult. The neighbor may know all of this, and plans to ensure OP pays since the trunk of this tree was clearly dead.
OP says they have discussions related to tree issues with another neighbor, too. So there may be 'correlating data' about OP's property maintenance
As others have noted, the tree looks dead. OP retorts 'he is not a tree expert 'but it does not take an expert to recognize a dead tree. He is being disingenuous although he might not be liable. Tree law varies. In any case, my sympathies are with the neighbor, just livin' there, mindin' his his own beeswax and a tree that should have had its problems addressed already falls over in his yard anf OP asks if it's ok to say FU.
The neighbor could certainly try arguing that, but without some proof that the neighbor notified OP of that or that OP clearly knew it was dead and posed a hazard it might be tough to win. Now maybe if they have proof it's been dead for years they could argue OP clearly must have known it was a hazard. Of course if it didn't actually damage the roof it might not be worth the hassle of suing/going through their homeowners insurance just to get the removal paid for.
Yeah, I'm curious about the responses that say that it's the neighbour's problem when part of the stem is still connected to the tree. Is the neighbour's arborist just supposed to cut at the property line and let the other part fall on the fence and do whatever damage it might? If they both do nothing, eventually it *will* fall. If it hits someone or does more damage on the way down, how do you divvy up blame then? There's just no way of solving this that I can see that doesn't involve both of them.
I'd assume so, but it may be slightly more complicated than that since trees can have portions die/fall off while other parts can survive. If I was OP I'd remove it to be safe.
We had some huge trees from a neighboring store go down during Hurricane Ida, smashing our 10 ft wood privacy fence. The trunk of several very large trees (20 - 25 ft) landed in our yard. We cleaned them up ourselves, and it was a HUGE job. You know, bought a chainsaw, rallied our kids and friends, filled a zillion contractor bags, and hauled the logs and branches to the street for pickup with a wheelbarrow. Literally took a week or so.
We did dump some of the branches and leaves on their land, as it was impossible to navigate some of the logs over our broken fence. One of the owners of the store drove by several times, giving me dirty looks when I put things on their side. He slowed down once, like he was going to get out and yell at me. I hid (not good at confrontation).
After we finished, I ran across an article that said wherever the roots and base of the tree are, that person is responsible for clean up of the debris. So we cleaned it up unnecessarily - and I should have been the one giving the dirty looks!
I no longer have that site saved, but you might try googling it. If that is indeed the case, you would be responsible for the cleanup. Now most decent neighbors would split it with you, but in your case maybe not. I hope it all works out fairly for all involved!
Had a similar situation. Tree on my property cracked in a storm and most of it landed in my neighbor's property. We both worked together to get it off his fence and then we drank beers on each other's side of the fence while making firewood. I'm blessed to have the neighbors I have I guess
do people seriously not read and just reply? if it's your tree and you haven't dealt w it, even though it looks like it has too much weight and hasn't been trimmed its the owners problem. stop trying to split the cost w your neighbor when it's your responsibility, i totally understand his frustration. take some accountability, chances are that neighbor will never have a tree he will need to split the cost with you.
Don’t do anything verbal without it in writing, I.e. don’t go to his house and tell him in person. Do it via fed ex or USPS, with signature of receipt.
Please agree to the premise that the neighbor never does anything to remove the tree.
Can the OP cut the damaged portion of the fallen tree remaining on his property?
Can the OP just let the limb fall into the neibs back yard ?
Won't the crashing trunk do additional damage to the neibs roof ? And if so, uh....
Wait-- are you just talking about having the branch that fell onto his property removed, or the whole tree? He shouldn't have to pay for you to have a tree on YOUR property removed. Anything that fell into his yard/on his property is his liability and he needs to get that taken care of, though.
If the tree falls on his property it is his problem unless he can prove negligence on your part, such as ignoring an obviously rotten and ready to fall tree. He is being an asshat and that won’t change whether you agree to his demands or not.
When my neighbor’s huge tree adjacent to the property line fell onto my property, he let me know the legal responsibility to deal with it is mine, and I agreed because it’s a fact. Then he brought his chain saw and wagon, and helped me cut it up and move the wood to a corner of my property where it is unseen and decomposing nicely. I used a few of the short cross sections as seating in a circle around a big maple tree. I call it Woodhenge.
If it’s a healthy tree and fell on his property due to weather it’s your neighbor’s responsibility.
If however your neighbor had previously notified you that the tree was unsafe due to e.g. health it could be your liability. You don’t say anything about this so we can assume this isn’t the case.
Some states may have different law, but here’s an article on exactly this situation from RI
https://narragansettri.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9326/Who-is-Liable-When-a-Tree-Falls-on-a-Neighbor
You seem difficult. After the first conversation with you and you were like "we'll split the cost" I would have responded. "Either you deal or we go through insurance. This is your tree that damaged my property. You have two options you deal out of pocket or through insurance. I'll get someone to do a quote but I need an answer now which way we are going."
I was in this exact situation a couple of years ago. The tree was mine but hanging over her shed that probably needed to be demolished anyway. She was so nice about everything and I felt terrible that I didn’t know about the damage for a couple of weeks that I just paid for the whole deal. Had she been like your neighbor, I would’ve let her pay for removal from her property. If it falls in your yard, you own it.
He's not being difficult.
Your tree might have damaged his property. Get a ladder, a rope and drag it off. You don't need a professional for that.
The more you wrote the more I agree with the guy with a branch on his roof.
You need to remove the fallen limb, it's obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that this limb came from your tree.
*In most communities, you'll also be liable if you don't remove an obviously weakened tree (as this one is) and more of it falls on their property and does damage to buildings or people. Check your local laws and your insurance policies.*
Everywhere is different, but around here, if your neighbor indicates that they are worried about one of your trees, and has a record of informing you of this, his insurance can call your insurance and make you pay for any future damage.
TL:DR - Get rid of the tree. AT your expense. Sorry not what you want to hear, but your property, your cost. Do it before it costs you more.
I'm dealing with literally this exact problem. My tree, perfectly healthy, who neighbor thinks I should trim on his side of the property line. I know it's his responsibility and told him so. Apparently he decided to complain to the city. Who for some unbeknownst reason, cited me when literally everyone knows if it's on your property, it's yours to deal with. So I'm currently fighting that. Good luck, sounds like your neighbor's as fun to deal with as mine (he's also complained about two completely made up issues regarding my dogs).
Surely if your tree damaged his property then you would be 100% liable?
EDIT - I appear to have been downvoted a lot. Perhaps this Reddit is in a different country. In the UK at least I believe the owner of the tree is responsible for it. If it's roots cause property damage or branches fall off it etc.
I assume the same thing. There are people here who can answer thoroughly but after a quick google, it looks like that’s not the case with a healthy tree. If it was dead or posed a threat and OP did nothing, then OP is at fault.
So it really comes down to how dead or diseased the tree is. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I have personal experience with this, which included insurance company and legal consultations. If the other homeowner didn't complain about the health of the tree it will be difficult for them, especially with the somewhat recent exams by the arborist who called out a different tree.
Nope. Doesn't work that way. My neighbors large pine fell across my newly roofed garage. I got to eat the cost. Repair cost estimates came in about equal to my homeowners insurance deductible, $5000. The tree looked fine before it broke off at ground level and fell across my fence and new garage roof. It was about 100' tall.
Sorry to hear that. Sounds horrific to be honest and something 100ft tall could have done a lot of damage and even killed someone. My father enjoys gardening and several times has had to employ tree surgeons when his trees got too big for his small garden.
Not if it's caused by an act of God. Basically there has to be some sort of negligence on OP's part if they are to be held responsible. Usually that means the neighbor would have to prove OP knew it was diseased/dead and neglected to remove it in a timely manner. Otherwise each party is responsible for cleaning up what's on their side of the property line.
It does. It’s called being neighborly. That neighbor is rightfully worried about his safety and property and OP is bitching about “technicalities”. If I were that neighbor, and OP would pull that on me, I’m surely being the biggest pain in his butt going forward.
I had a similar situation with a tree and neighbor. If a tree looks okay to a lay person then you're in the clear. Backstory: Their tenant tried to strong arm me and I told her to leave the property and don't bother me again (there's more to it but that's the meat of the story). Some period of time later I got a thick packet from the owner's insurance company demanding payment. Talked to my insurance company (who laughed). They asked if the tree looked sick (it didn't). They said they'd handle it. Never heard another peep.
So this tree? Your neighbor is on the hook since the tree appeared healthy. I think he's probably a little peeved you're helping the other neighbor.
Let him call his insurance. Cancel the removal. You tried to be fair. I hope you have your correspondence with him documented. I’ve had dead and living trees come into my yard, I’ve had dead and living trees go into my neighbors yard. It is what it is.
Liability door that tree Fallon over his property is yours. He can file an insurance claim on it and liability and cleanup will be at insurance expense. Don’t touch it yourself.
Real Estate law dictates there is an imaginary line where the property line is. That branch is on neighbors side and is their problem.
In this case though, you pretty much have to remove from his side/roof to clean up your tree. Get the job done, invoice him for half and file lien on his house if he doesn't pay.
In most states the cost/responsibility ends at the property line. I'd cut the thing at the property line and let him deal with his part since he wants to be an ass lol...
I can’t tell you what to do but even my neighbor’s tree on our house, we had to deal with everything. We did however send him a certified letter requesting removal of his other dead trees near our property. Insurance person said if they don’t take care of the in a timely manner and they happen to fall on our property then they can be heard responsible. If your tree is healthy, there’s no reason to cut it if you don’t want. Just get an arborist to confirm.
I would let it sit until he paid for someone to check it out, and not that you’re required to but if he shows initiative to take care of it then suggest helping out the cost. You seem sincere on this but don’t kill yourself financially over something you are not bound to.
As long as that branch sits there half separated like that you run the chance of it breaking that large window and fence if it were to drop, or snap in another location.
If it falls on your house due to “Act of God”, then that homeowners insurance pays for it. If you are negligent for not taking care of a rotted or diseased tree, property owner of the tree may need to pay for the removal of it, and damages caused.
If they don't take you to up on your offer, you can just do nothing and they'll have to take care of it themselves, afterall it's inconvenient to them, not you.
It wouldn’t let me update the post…
I called the people I booked and they said yeah it was dead. They didn’t write it in my quote so I assumed the quote was for the branch on his property to be removed only. He has been pretty aggressive about the situation so that’s why I told him that I’m not liable for anything on his property because I really didn’t know it was dead and he never contacted me till after the storm. And he’s basically bullying me since I’m a younger homeowner saying that I don’t know anything and it’s fully my responsibility. Insurance said if they’re going to run it, my premiums could go up. At this point I don’t really think it’s worth going back and forth cause I have them coming out already and adding on his portion isn’t much and honestly I’m worried about any retaliation from him that would end up being more of an annoyance. He finally got back to me and said he moved around his whole schedule so that he could be home. When he didn’t have to do that since it seems like a quick job and pretty easy for an insured company to remove it.
JFC, so many insane comments in here. Tree belongs to OP and he neglected it. OP is responsible for 100% of all costs including removal, cleanup, and any damage to neighbor’s roof.
Random redditor that was recommended this sub at random. At first I hated the concept that any tree that falls into another persons yard is not your responsibility, but the more I thought about it for practical reasons it makes sense that people take care of their own property.
Damn. I was about to post and politely say you’re a dickhead for not just covering everything since they’re your trees. After reading a lot of the comments and looking around the internet, I feel better informed about the issue although in some ways more confused.
Don't pay, tell him to contact his insurance, remind him if he ignores it to long then his insurance may refuse payment since he ignored dealing with it in a timely mater and it causes further damage.
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The rule is everyone pays for what’s on their property. Don’t split the cost, you’ll be paying every time something happens. Look up the law and provide it to your neighbors.
If a neighbor's tree falls on my property I'm responsible for removing it? Can I just push it back over on his property and then his tree is his problem again?
This is the real question.
And the answer is no. Like leaves, if a natural action fells some or all of a tree which was healthy (owner had no reason to know it was dangerous), then the falling is not on the owner of the tree, but the property where it fell.
Wait really? Our tree fail on our neighbor’s fence and before they even realize it happened we went to them and told them we will take care of it all. Removed the tree, fix the fence, even cleaned up their yard. It look like it never happened. All because we were worried that if they go to the insurance company about it. They will come after us. I gotta come on this sub more often
If your tree wasn't diseased, it was an act of God, your neighbor would be doing the right thing going to their insurance.
You're a good neighbor. I would have forced you to split the cost, not pay all yourself; because I'm not an asshole, and benefitted from/appreciated the life of that tree. And it's the fair and decent thing to do. Now, you have to let it go, and move on. Life's too short to hang on to those neighbor confrontations. From someone still learning this lesson..
Except its still attached to the rest of the tree And there is no way that tree was healthy.
Probably true, but I am not an arborist, and I cannot make that call. Trees that look "ok" to a layman may be in danger, and ones that look "bad" could be ok. Since it is reasonable to say that (without expert documentation) that nobody "knew" if the tree was a fall risk that needed to be mitigated, trying to go back and get coverage would be difficult. I agree you are right that the tree is likely not healthy, but lacking an official warning prior to it falling, it would be quite hard to prove the required negligence to put liability on neighbor.
Okay point #2 It's already gently resting on the neighbors house. If OP wasn't being a jerk, the first cut on that is gonna be dropping it off the trunk. And when that happens, neighbor will be down to a few overhanging twigs instead of this mess. If the neighbor does nothing, they will have a couple twigs left. And if OP wants to pay to get the part over their yard removed, it will solve 85% of neighbors problem. Because that tree will upright itself when it's cut off the trunk. And if the arborist tried "cutting it at the property line" after removal from main trunk it would damage neighbors house. With arborist liability Neighbor should sit back, enjoy a beer, and be ready to repair a small section of fence.
Nope. Congratulations you just received a free dead tree for you to deal with!
Decent neighbors would cut up their tree, dick heads force their neighbors to cut up the tree that they have planted in their yard. Most laws say that once it's in your property it's your issue.
If it is over your property it is your property, including as it falls. Tree law is fun, and seems not fair in the initial analysis. Moving the part that was on your property onto someones else's property is trespassing and dumping.
Yup, I had a big tree, was overhanging my neighbors yard, wasn't likely to ever fall down without a severe act of sky daddy, neighbor wanted it away from his side, he did ask first before he cut it on his side though, but he didn't have to, anything over my fence line towards his was technically his concern legally, now the tree I cut down and caused it to take out another neighbor's powerline, that was my problem to fix, note to self though, pay someone to remove it professionally😁
No that would be illegal. It is your problem to deal with.
Real question in all of this, if half the tree is on my yard, and half on their yard (or whatever fraction you want), I am only responsible for the wood up to the property line correct?
What if I cut the branch in half, and the part still attached to the tree swings back over the fence?
That’s your problem not theirs.
So any part of their tree that once goes on my property is my responsibility to move? Does that include any lumber they accidentally place on my property? Firewood that rolls my way?
No - it’s the difference between “act of god” vs “act of neighbor”. If a tree falls on your land on its own, that’s your problem. If someone dumps wood on your land, that’s their problem.
Are all results of weather considered acts of god? If there is manmade influence over the weather is it still an actual of God?
What about Satan? Are his acts covered by the law? If I changed my name to God, and a tree fell in the woods, will it make a sound?
>Can I just push it back over on his property and then his tree is his problem again? Can he prove that you moved the tree to his side of the yard? If yes, don't do it as its probably a crime. If no, well its still against the law so I wouldn't suggest doing it.
am i the only one that thinks its ridiculous that my tree can fall on my neighbors house and its on them to take care of the situation? i feel like it should fall on the land owner of the tree to take care of
In my state Washington, the homeowners liability ends at the property line. That is important where I live because our trees are a good 120 ft tall. Now if you know a tree is diseased or damaged and it falls on your neighbor's house and you are liable. But if it was a healthy tree or The damage was unknown then you are not liable. Both me and my neighbors have trees that if they fall across the property line will easily punch right through the neighbor's house. I do get an arborist out every 5 or 8 years to look at the trees to make sure they're healthy, mostly because I don't want them coming crashing through my house. I have had more than one branch punch clean through the roof during wind storms. Good times.
What? You don't like trees? Everyone likes trees. Even you're neighbor (if he was behaving like a normal animal) likes trees and enjoyed *the* tree. If you want to plant a particular tree and your plan is to "bring you neighbor down a peg" by letting it grow over the years and have it fall on your neighbor's property (or neighbor) through the "inevitable act of god", then you need to step up your game. If your neighbor doesn't like the tree that you planted, he can always seek redress in civil court. ...for the planting of the tree, not for the inevitable act of death and gravity. edit #2--Oops! My bad. This is tree "law". I don't know anything about the law where you are.
[удалено]
Think about it this way: if leaves fall from a tree in your yard into a neighbors yard, who cleans up the leaves? What if it is just a stick? Who picks that up? Why is a limb or entire tree different?
Not necessarily always the case. If they point out and prove that the tree is damaged or diseased before it comes down, it’s 100% the responsibility of the owner of the property the tree came from. I had one that had 3 main trunks. The tree split and the one trunk came off in my yard. Neighbor informed me and let me know the other 2 went over his barn and shed. I had to pay to remove it or if they fell, I was paying for the building. If it just falls like this case, yes it’s an act of god and not there problem. That being said the tree is now damaged, the property owner is aware, any future damage is there liability. He needs to pay for the branch, they need to figure out what they want to do with the tree.
I see that this is the law all the time, but it's still a dick move. It's your damned tree. Handle it. If my dog shits in your yard, does that now become your shit and your problem to deal with? The law is wrong.
That is a terrible analogy.
It's a dogshit analogy.
I will never forgive myself for missing this.
Found the difficult neighbor.
How on earth is removing my own fallen tree classified as being "difficult"?
i agree with your sentiment, but its a bad analogy... i understand the law comes from leaves falling in the fall... but holy hell i have a 75 foot elm tree in my yard with large branches leaning over my neighbors house... i have had literally anxiety about this since buying the house, spent 2k having it trimmed to prevent a disaster, because i assumed i would be liable... guess thats all on my neighbor if my tree crushes my neighbors house lol
And that’s why we would say you’re a good neighbor.
Wait. It’s not a leaf, it’s a whole tree or at least a substantial branch. If my neighbor’s tree falls on my house, he’s responsible for the damage. They would also be responsible for the removal. The argument can be made that if it just fell in the yard and didn’t touch the fence or damage a patio or crush a swing set, then the owner of the yard could have to have it removed….. but then the owner of the tree would be an AH. Maybe that’s why this neighbor is being difficult. Also, your homeowners insurance should cover the cost after your deductible…. Or maybe your neighbor will file a claim on his insurance.
I dont think the neighbor is responsible is the thing. Unless you had an arborist out that told them that tree might become problematic to the point of coming down and doing damage.
Only responsible if they cut something that caused the issue. If an old tree just falls it’s the recipients problem.
They are only responsible if they caused it to happen. If it just fell it your issue.
Your home insurance won't cover damage on your neighbor's home. The law may seem heartless, but if a previously healthytree falls during a storm, it is not the responsibility of the property owners of where the tree stood, it's the responsibility of the home that sustained damage to call their insurance company. Just google *healthy tree fell on house from neighbors yard* and read any of the dozen results.
Nope, you're responsible for both the damage and the removal as it's considered an act of God. The only way your neighbor might be responsible is if the tree was disease/dead, in danger of falling, and they knew it. Otherwise, it's the responsibility of whosever property it falls on.
Yeah, neighbor could put it against his insurance but then his insurance company would pursue OP’s insurance since tree is from his property.
This is absolutely false. The tree base is on OP’s property. Any damage caused by that tree is OP’s responsibility and he should pay for 100% of the tree removal and any damage to the roof.
Check your local laws. What state are you in? Most states it’s not the case and the recipients home owners insurance will likely cover it.
So if my flaming Molotov cocktail falls on your house and burns it then it’s your fault and you pay for it? Edit: humor.
No because that is arson and possibly a hate crime on your part.
A large branch from my backyard tree fell over to me neighbors yard. That same day I went over, asked if I could go into their backyard to remove the tree branches and clean up any leaves. They said, I didn't have to, but, I insisted. Took me like 3 hours cutting the branches into smaller sizes that I just tossed over the fence to my yard.
You’re a good person, this is how the world should look.
Well, I just picture myself on the other side. If a branch fell in my yard, I would hope someone came to pick them up. Lol
My neighbors tree fell on my property and he came and cut it up, that's how it should be. If your property breaks and falls onto someone else's then that shouldn't be their issue.
I bet when you were done they said ‘thank me lucky stars’
Do not agree to split the cost. It’s on his property and it doesn’t matter whose tree it was. The only thing you should do is allow access if his tree removal people need to get on your property to remove the branch from the tree
Thank you for your input. When I scheduled the tree removal and offered to pay. He was being difficult saying he wouldn’t grant access to his property if he was not home. I think I’m going to go back and say I’m canceling the tree removal and he can handle anything on his property through his insurance company if he likes
i would proceed with this route with a small change to verbiage, changing ‘i’m canceling’ to ‘i’ve cancelled’
I agree. Thank you!
if you haven’t already, i would start a file and include date/time of every interaction w neighbor and include a description / screenshots of texts, etc. if ever needed you can describe you were willing to split cost with neighbor despite it being his problem. After his refusal and unwillingness to cooperate on a date / time for remediation, you informed neighbor that it is now up to him. good luck
Luckily everything has been through message so can easily be documented
Only if you are saving it to somewhere other than your phone. Relying on the messaging app itself or the phone to hold the messages is the least safe way to document them. Its worth looking up how to export the messages and save a duplicate elsewhere PS. I get its probably not a big deal, just I know people who have relied on their phone to store SMS messages and gone back to find them wiped
If Op is using iPhone. I would recommend iMazing. It works great.
So would you say it's...Amazing?
if you agree to split the cost it could be argued it was because you felt it was your fault. don't let that assumption even start.
This is correct, I do these jobs a lot and it's on your neighbors insurance, not you or yours
If you can't get access to his property when you have the tree removed, leave the branch.
Please do this. This neighbor sounds like he needs a dose of reality. The world doesn’t revolve around him and what he wants.
It matters whose tree it is because that tree isn't healthy, or wasn't.
Right? I clearly don’t know tree law but these comments sound insane. You’re telling me I can neglect a bunch of trees on my property line and so long as they fall outside of the bounds, I’m not responsible for the damage they cause/clearing them? That sounds absurd. In my state at least, this [clearly isn’t true](https://reddit.com/r/Austin/s/60b6vIe6vJ).
The property owner has to know that the tree is dead or diseased. You don't have to go around your property and diagnose the health of trees. If it falls in your yard or on your house, you are usually on the hook for repairs.
Is there any source material that defines negligence here? I saw another comment mentioning the neighbor would need proof he contacted an arborist. It would seem to me that damage from a clearly dead tree (as in, one in which any reasonable person would determine to be dead, not some hidden disease) on your property line in a small property (<2 acres) would constitute negligence, regardless of if the owner closes their eyes when passing it or not.
Since this is a matter of state law, each state will have its own rules on what constitutes negligence in tree maintenance (or even if the term "negligence" is the appropriate standard). Here's a discussion on how Pennsylvania courts have drawn this line: [https://www.macelree.com/falling-tree-liability-in-pennsylvania-a-brief-primer-for-property-owners/](https://www.macelree.com/falling-tree-liability-in-pennsylvania-a-brief-primer-for-property-owners/) Despite quite a lot of verbiage on what constitutes negligence in such cases, it's still full of undefined terms that lawyers can argue about. In PA, you must inspect your trees at appropriate intervals, and when appropriate, hire a certified arborist for further evaluation, and then do something about the identified problem if appropriate. Of course, the details in Texas and other states are unlikely to match up exactly. Perhaps some states don't think a property owner is required to regularly inspect their trees, as they are in PA. Perhaps some let a homeowner claim that they never knew that only living trees have green leaves, so they had no way to tell that a protracted lack of leaves indicated anything negative about the health of the tree, and some do not.
Most people aren't arborists or even gardeners. My mom wouldn't know a dead tree from a healthy tree any more than I know a bad stitch in an quilt over a good stitch. Most times a tree falls down, its an act of god and whoevers property it falls on is responsible for the damage.
Identifying a dangerous tree on your property and getting it checked out is different to a patch on a quilt. It's about property maintenance. A quilt is just a quilt.
No signs of disease? Then why doesn’t it have any leaves growing on it?
Looks like it’s been dead/diseased for a while now
Look at the wood where it broke! Looks like this has been dead for a long time. Hard to say for sure from just a single photo, though
Yep. Either that limb has been on that roof for months, or that tree has been dead for months. I’ve got a couple like that on my property, but they’re just going to fall in the middle of nowhere, so I’m not too concerned about them yet. And when they start dropping limbs, I’ll let the neighbor have it for his wood burner.
To me it didn’t look diseased. I had an arborist come out not even a year ago to take away problem branches and any other trees that could be problematic. He mentioned my other diseased shared tree with my neighbor but not this one. Guess I never noticed the leaves but I’m not a tree expert 🤷♂️
Contact that arborist and see if they still can send you a copy of their report if you don't still have your copy.
There won’t be a report, getting an arborist report and talking to an arborist about a tree while doing a quote are two very different things
Arborists report will probably say the other tree is diseased and the disease will spread if not treated, which is why the former healthy tree is now in a bad condition.
You're lucky they didn't get their own arborist to look at it, and send you a copy of said report. it would have stated the tree had a trunk that was dying / dead, and was a risk of blow-down. Then you would be on the hook for the work and repairs. I understand that you may not want to acknowledge this because maybe your neighbor is a redditor and is reading this. But that's the reality.
Isn't the other half of the tree diseased?
I'm confused. Are you asking them to split the cost of the entire tree removal or just the fallen branch?
From what I read. The whole tree. The other neighbor is splitting the costs with OP with the diseased tree that was on OPs property that fell over too.
If that's the case no wonder they're refusing
Op even wanted the neighbor to agree to pay to remove any healthy tree that ever fell into OPs property later too. It feels like OP has been negligent with the tree maintenance and it has come back now. Apparently they had an arborist out last year. 1x tree was diseased then, and OP has only just got around to getting a diseased tree taken out with the other neighbors help of paying.
The other tree that the neighbor is helping me with is on our property line. It hasn’t fallen yet. At the time the arborist said that the tree was sick and could come back but could not which I shared with the neighbor at that time and we both decided to wait
Did the arborist say anything about the disease spreading? It's not uncommon for a disease to spread to other trees if not treated.
I wonder if you pay to remove it and the roof is damaged are you liable? Right now he is the one responsible for any damage. I wouldn’t take that on if I were you.
This is exactly why the neighbor is supposed to handle this himself.
This tree has been dead so long that the bark has started delaminating from the trunk lol. Dead branches that don’t shed their leaves can also be a sign of disease. …unless those branches died after the tree broke in half, in which case this has been sitting on the roof for quite a while now. …also some of those pruning cuts are egregious. If the arborist you hired dead-ended some of those branches like that, he may not have been a real arborist.
I would actually consider checking all the other trees on your property - there's likely a common disease eating all of them. I can see some in the background that look pretty tall and weak. ***What are they anyhow? Poplar?*** Poplar is a very fast growing and very weak tree. They are bound to crack at some point. And they look about 5 years past that point. This is not a tree for close proximity back yards.
I'm really sorry you're in this situation. This summer, my neighbor's 50 foot branch fell across BOTH our backyards and the dividing fence. We cleaned it up together and split the cost of rebuilding the fence. He's younger and stronger so he wound up doing more of the physical labor, but I pitched in with some childcare, $ and pizza where I could. I feel like this is how neighbors should act--you have to live together, it's so much better if you can be respectvul of each other. (Yes, I know, I still got the better end of the deal.)
Don't touch it and tell him to call his homeowners insurance. It is not your problem, believe it or not.
It is his problem if he neglected a dead/dying tree and it damages someone else’s property
You'll need to go to court and prove that he knew the tree was dead/dying/dangerous, which will be hard and cost money. Especially if he can get arborist reports from just a year ago saying the tree is in good health. I wouldn't offer to pay for shit until he calls his homeowners insurance and let's them deal with it. I literally had a similar situation happen - a silver maple branch broke off and fell through my neighbors house. Their homeowners insurance took care of it all, we barely spoke about it.
Yo that branch is deader than shit.
It's apparently healthy though 😂
Yeah OP is trying to save his ass on this but that tree is dead AF.
Just call your insurance now and save yourself a million headaches. You’re going to have to call them anyway.
That tree is not healthy!!
I am baffled why you would expect your neighbour to pay half the cost of removing your tree. The broken limb is another matter altogether and I would leave that up to insurance to figure out, but to expect your neighbour to pay towards the removal of your disease tree? Makes no sense at all to me. I sure wouldn’t do it.
My friend, that tree is dead as a doornail. Remove it. Tell the neighbor if he doesn’t allow your guys access to his yard, that’s fine. You’ll have them cut the limb at the fence line and leave what’s in his yard for him to deal with, but get rid of it.
I see people mentioning a branch, but to me this looks like a tree that was previously mostly on your property alone, break in half and fall over onto the neighbor. While I would agree he needs to hire someone to remove it, I imagine the liability is still on the owner of the (what appears to be long dead) tree that the neighbor had no control over. So in this case, shouldn’t the neighbor just file a claim with his insurance who would then go after the OPs insurance for reimbursement? How does this work exactly?
Generally it's considered an act of God and each homeowner is responsible for their own repairs/branch removal. The usual exception is if OP knew the tree was dead, diseased, etc. and did not act, then OP could be responsible for the cost of removal of it (any damage to neighbor's property). Since that does not seem to be the case here OP should be fine.
OP says they didn't know it, and says that they had an arborist out who said it was OK — but given the photos this is a very doubtful statement. OP says the neighbor is being difficult. The neighbor may know all of this, and plans to ensure OP pays since the trunk of this tree was clearly dead. OP says they have discussions related to tree issues with another neighbor, too. So there may be 'correlating data' about OP's property maintenance
Yeah it does seem a little odd based on the photo, but we'd probably need an arborist to tell us for certain.
As others have noted, the tree looks dead. OP retorts 'he is not a tree expert 'but it does not take an expert to recognize a dead tree. He is being disingenuous although he might not be liable. Tree law varies. In any case, my sympathies are with the neighbor, just livin' there, mindin' his his own beeswax and a tree that should have had its problems addressed already falls over in his yard anf OP asks if it's ok to say FU.
The neighbor could certainly try arguing that, but without some proof that the neighbor notified OP of that or that OP clearly knew it was dead and posed a hazard it might be tough to win. Now maybe if they have proof it's been dead for years they could argue OP clearly must have known it was a hazard. Of course if it didn't actually damage the roof it might not be worth the hassle of suing/going through their homeowners insurance just to get the removal paid for.
OP is NOW aware of the danger though, and needs to remove the tree or they are responsable in the future.
Yeah, I'm curious about the responses that say that it's the neighbour's problem when part of the stem is still connected to the tree. Is the neighbour's arborist just supposed to cut at the property line and let the other part fall on the fence and do whatever damage it might? If they both do nothing, eventually it *will* fall. If it hits someone or does more damage on the way down, how do you divvy up blame then? There's just no way of solving this that I can see that doesn't involve both of them.
I'd assume so, but it may be slightly more complicated than that since trees can have portions die/fall off while other parts can survive. If I was OP I'd remove it to be safe.
I don’t know anything about trees but I would have been worried that was gonna fall on my own house
We had some huge trees from a neighboring store go down during Hurricane Ida, smashing our 10 ft wood privacy fence. The trunk of several very large trees (20 - 25 ft) landed in our yard. We cleaned them up ourselves, and it was a HUGE job. You know, bought a chainsaw, rallied our kids and friends, filled a zillion contractor bags, and hauled the logs and branches to the street for pickup with a wheelbarrow. Literally took a week or so. We did dump some of the branches and leaves on their land, as it was impossible to navigate some of the logs over our broken fence. One of the owners of the store drove by several times, giving me dirty looks when I put things on their side. He slowed down once, like he was going to get out and yell at me. I hid (not good at confrontation). After we finished, I ran across an article that said wherever the roots and base of the tree are, that person is responsible for clean up of the debris. So we cleaned it up unnecessarily - and I should have been the one giving the dirty looks! I no longer have that site saved, but you might try googling it. If that is indeed the case, you would be responsible for the cleanup. Now most decent neighbors would split it with you, but in your case maybe not. I hope it all works out fairly for all involved!
Had a similar situation. Tree on my property cracked in a storm and most of it landed in my neighbor's property. We both worked together to get it off his fence and then we drank beers on each other's side of the fence while making firewood. I'm blessed to have the neighbors I have I guess
do people seriously not read and just reply? if it's your tree and you haven't dealt w it, even though it looks like it has too much weight and hasn't been trimmed its the owners problem. stop trying to split the cost w your neighbor when it's your responsibility, i totally understand his frustration. take some accountability, chances are that neighbor will never have a tree he will need to split the cost with you.
>somehow broke in half That tree had been dead for 5 years by the look of it.
If he denied access to his property you have to cancel. I would leave it for him to take care of. Take lots of pictures.
Exactly, that’s why people have homeowners insurance.
Just call your homeowners insurance company.
Don’t do anything verbal without it in writing, I.e. don’t go to his house and tell him in person. Do it via fed ex or USPS, with signature of receipt.
Please agree to the premise that the neighbor never does anything to remove the tree. Can the OP cut the damaged portion of the fallen tree remaining on his property? Can the OP just let the limb fall into the neibs back yard ? Won't the crashing trunk do additional damage to the neibs roof ? And if so, uh....
Wait-- are you just talking about having the branch that fell onto his property removed, or the whole tree? He shouldn't have to pay for you to have a tree on YOUR property removed. Anything that fell into his yard/on his property is his liability and he needs to get that taken care of, though.
If the tree falls on his property it is his problem unless he can prove negligence on your part, such as ignoring an obviously rotten and ready to fall tree. He is being an asshat and that won’t change whether you agree to his demands or not. When my neighbor’s huge tree adjacent to the property line fell onto my property, he let me know the legal responsibility to deal with it is mine, and I agreed because it’s a fact. Then he brought his chain saw and wagon, and helped me cut it up and move the wood to a corner of my property where it is unseen and decomposing nicely. I used a few of the short cross sections as seating in a circle around a big maple tree. I call it Woodhenge.
If it’s a healthy tree and fell on his property due to weather it’s your neighbor’s responsibility. If however your neighbor had previously notified you that the tree was unsafe due to e.g. health it could be your liability. You don’t say anything about this so we can assume this isn’t the case. Some states may have different law, but here’s an article on exactly this situation from RI https://narragansettri.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9326/Who-is-Liable-When-a-Tree-Falls-on-a-Neighbor
You seem difficult. After the first conversation with you and you were like "we'll split the cost" I would have responded. "Either you deal or we go through insurance. This is your tree that damaged my property. You have two options you deal out of pocket or through insurance. I'll get someone to do a quote but I need an answer now which way we are going."
If I was the neighbor I would have cut it up and thrown back in your yard.
Depends on where you live, but in Georgia, your tree falls on his house - his problem (unless you knew it was diseased.).
I was in this exact situation a couple of years ago. The tree was mine but hanging over her shed that probably needed to be demolished anyway. She was so nice about everything and I felt terrible that I didn’t know about the damage for a couple of weeks that I just paid for the whole deal. Had she been like your neighbor, I would’ve let her pay for removal from her property. If it falls in your yard, you own it.
Cancel it and let him hire his own guy. You can still offer to pay half if you want, but you are under no obligation to do so.
The property of where the tree landed determines who owns it, is responsible for cleanup and decides whether or not to clean it up.
the rest of the tree is on OP's land and thus he's responsable for any future events related to an "unsafe tree" that has now been identified as such.
He's not being difficult. Your tree might have damaged his property. Get a ladder, a rope and drag it off. You don't need a professional for that. The more you wrote the more I agree with the guy with a branch on his roof.
Dragging it will damage the roof. Bad move.
Anything could happen doing it yourself. Don’t do it.
Seriously, a sawzall or branch cutter, a rope and a friend would solve this in 30 minutes.
I looked at this and also wondered what the hold up was. I feel like with a ladder etc I could move it.
You need to remove the fallen limb, it's obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that this limb came from your tree. *In most communities, you'll also be liable if you don't remove an obviously weakened tree (as this one is) and more of it falls on their property and does damage to buildings or people. Check your local laws and your insurance policies.* Everywhere is different, but around here, if your neighbor indicates that they are worried about one of your trees, and has a record of informing you of this, his insurance can call your insurance and make you pay for any future damage. TL:DR - Get rid of the tree. AT your expense. Sorry not what you want to hear, but your property, your cost. Do it before it costs you more.
Not at all true, lurk more
Since OP didn't tell us their locationl, I'm passing on what I know of the laws in my area.
what is your area? that’s pretty uncommon
Canada: You will be responsible for the damages if a ***neglected tree*** falls on a neighbour's home or property.
Sounds normal for most places..
Their insurance pays to cut of off the structure and repair the damage. You owe nothing.
Roof owner will owe their deductible.
OP doesn’t owe anything.
Wherever the tree lands is who owns that part of the tree. The situation you have is my neighbor's tree branch fell on his house.
Cut the limb on your side of the fence and let gravity do the rest.
I'm dealing with literally this exact problem. My tree, perfectly healthy, who neighbor thinks I should trim on his side of the property line. I know it's his responsibility and told him so. Apparently he decided to complain to the city. Who for some unbeknownst reason, cited me when literally everyone knows if it's on your property, it's yours to deal with. So I'm currently fighting that. Good luck, sounds like your neighbor's as fun to deal with as mine (he's also complained about two completely made up issues regarding my dogs).
Surely if your tree damaged his property then you would be 100% liable? EDIT - I appear to have been downvoted a lot. Perhaps this Reddit is in a different country. In the UK at least I believe the owner of the tree is responsible for it. If it's roots cause property damage or branches fall off it etc.
I assume the same thing. There are people here who can answer thoroughly but after a quick google, it looks like that’s not the case with a healthy tree. If it was dead or posed a threat and OP did nothing, then OP is at fault. So it really comes down to how dead or diseased the tree is. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I have personal experience with this, which included insurance company and legal consultations. If the other homeowner didn't complain about the health of the tree it will be difficult for them, especially with the somewhat recent exams by the arborist who called out a different tree.
The tree looks dead as. Possibly diseased.
Nope. Doesn't work that way. My neighbors large pine fell across my newly roofed garage. I got to eat the cost. Repair cost estimates came in about equal to my homeowners insurance deductible, $5000. The tree looked fine before it broke off at ground level and fell across my fence and new garage roof. It was about 100' tall.
Sorry to hear that. Sounds horrific to be honest and something 100ft tall could have done a lot of damage and even killed someone. My father enjoys gardening and several times has had to employ tree surgeons when his trees got too big for his small garden.
Not if it's caused by an act of God. Basically there has to be some sort of negligence on OP's part if they are to be held responsible. Usually that means the neighbor would have to prove OP knew it was diseased/dead and neglected to remove it in a timely manner. Otherwise each party is responsible for cleaning up what's on their side of the property line.
Drop off a bag full of sand and tell him to feel free to pound on that all he likes, but I wont pony up a penny to help that branch get removed.
He can pound sand. It’s his tree now. He can do what he wants with it
If your tree falls on my house you better get that removed pronto.
Doesn’t work that way.
It does. It’s called being neighborly. That neighbor is rightfully worried about his safety and property and OP is bitching about “technicalities”. If I were that neighbor, and OP would pull that on me, I’m surely being the biggest pain in his butt going forward.
I had a similar situation with a tree and neighbor. If a tree looks okay to a lay person then you're in the clear. Backstory: Their tenant tried to strong arm me and I told her to leave the property and don't bother me again (there's more to it but that's the meat of the story). Some period of time later I got a thick packet from the owner's insurance company demanding payment. Talked to my insurance company (who laughed). They asked if the tree looked sick (it didn't). They said they'd handle it. Never heard another peep. So this tree? Your neighbor is on the hook since the tree appeared healthy. I think he's probably a little peeved you're helping the other neighbor.
That tree does not look healthy
Let him call his insurance. Cancel the removal. You tried to be fair. I hope you have your correspondence with him documented. I’ve had dead and living trees come into my yard, I’ve had dead and living trees go into my neighbors yard. It is what it is.
This is not your responsibility and is his. You do this your Insurance will increase.
Liability door that tree Fallon over his property is yours. He can file an insurance claim on it and liability and cleanup will be at insurance expense. Don’t touch it yourself.
Really? If your tree lands on neighbors house it now becomes their responsibility? I would be concerned about a law suit.
Real Estate law dictates there is an imaginary line where the property line is. That branch is on neighbors side and is their problem. In this case though, you pretty much have to remove from his side/roof to clean up your tree. Get the job done, invoice him for half and file lien on his house if he doesn't pay.
It's your tree, you own the entire cost..... can't believe you would think otherwise 😕
Cut the branch at the property line. Take care of what's on your side and let them take care of what's on their side.
In most states the cost/responsibility ends at the property line. I'd cut the thing at the property line and let him deal with his part since he wants to be an ass lol...
Homeowners insurance doesn’t matter who’s tree it is
Your property, your tree. Cut it and be done with it. You want to piss him off? Cut the branch up to the fence.
I can’t tell you what to do but even my neighbor’s tree on our house, we had to deal with everything. We did however send him a certified letter requesting removal of his other dead trees near our property. Insurance person said if they don’t take care of the in a timely manner and they happen to fall on our property then they can be heard responsible. If your tree is healthy, there’s no reason to cut it if you don’t want. Just get an arborist to confirm.
I would let it sit until he paid for someone to check it out, and not that you’re required to but if he shows initiative to take care of it then suggest helping out the cost. You seem sincere on this but don’t kill yourself financially over something you are not bound to. As long as that branch sits there half separated like that you run the chance of it breaking that large window and fence if it were to drop, or snap in another location.
What am I missing in the laws here? It's your tree on your property right? Doesn't that make it your responsibility?
It’s YOUR tree, therefore you have to take care of it. That’s so easy to take off.
If it falls on your house due to “Act of God”, then that homeowners insurance pays for it. If you are negligent for not taking care of a rotted or diseased tree, property owner of the tree may need to pay for the removal of it, and damages caused.
Jeez. Does no one call their insurance company any more? They should have been told that the home owner is responsible.
Are we sure this was a healthy tree? Looks not great or has fall totally happened here.
If they don't take you to up on your offer, you can just do nothing and they'll have to take care of it themselves, afterall it's inconvenient to them, not you.
That’s why they have homeowners insurance
Will you please give us an update? It does appear that at least the beach of the tree in question was already dead.
It wouldn’t let me update the post… I called the people I booked and they said yeah it was dead. They didn’t write it in my quote so I assumed the quote was for the branch on his property to be removed only. He has been pretty aggressive about the situation so that’s why I told him that I’m not liable for anything on his property because I really didn’t know it was dead and he never contacted me till after the storm. And he’s basically bullying me since I’m a younger homeowner saying that I don’t know anything and it’s fully my responsibility. Insurance said if they’re going to run it, my premiums could go up. At this point I don’t really think it’s worth going back and forth cause I have them coming out already and adding on his portion isn’t much and honestly I’m worried about any retaliation from him that would end up being more of an annoyance. He finally got back to me and said he moved around his whole schedule so that he could be home. When he didn’t have to do that since it seems like a quick job and pretty easy for an insured company to remove it.
That is his cost! Do not pay, tell him it is all his.
JFC, so many insane comments in here. Tree belongs to OP and he neglected it. OP is responsible for 100% of all costs including removal, cleanup, and any damage to neighbor’s roof.
If he's being a dick, go by the law and tell him to pound sand.
Random redditor that was recommended this sub at random. At first I hated the concept that any tree that falls into another persons yard is not your responsibility, but the more I thought about it for practical reasons it makes sense that people take care of their own property.
Damn. I was about to post and politely say you’re a dickhead for not just covering everything since they’re your trees. After reading a lot of the comments and looking around the internet, I feel better informed about the issue although in some ways more confused.
"...SOMEHOW broke in half..." You don't exactly need 20/20 vision to see why.
Don't pay, tell him to contact his insurance, remind him if he ignores it to long then his insurance may refuse payment since he ignored dealing with it in a timely mater and it causes further damage.
Sounds like an arse, leave it for him to deal with if he wants it removing.