Berkeley Parents Network: Trees & Neighbors

Berkeley Parents Network

Trees & Neighbors

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Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Trees & Neighbors

Neighbor wants us to take out palm out

March 2004

We have a number of palm trees on our property which we love. However, there is one palm and a redwood that is growing right on the edge of our property. The condominium complex next to ours has decided that they don't like the palm and redwood. They have gotten an expert to look them over and decide that the palm presents a ''hazard to life and limb''. They originally wanted us to get rid of the redwood because it was causing their sidewalk to crack. They apparently couldn't get the tree guy to say that the redwood was damaging their foundation but they are still going after our palm. Their groundskeeper has pulled off half of the frond bottoms that you leave on the tree. I think the tree only extends about 2 inches onto the separating curb and does not impinge or protrude onto their sidewalk between both properties. They are now insisting that we remove the tree at our own expense. Any advice on how to handle this situation? Does the condo association have the right to rip off parts of our tree? Are we legally obligated to tear down a tree that we really like and would like to keep because of their complaints? Your advice is much appreciated. stumped

The book Neighbor Law, published by Nolo, covers many of these issues related to trees and property lines. Unfortunately, sometimes the answer is ''it depends.'' Available at the library or any good bookstore. You could also try the Nolo outlet in west Berkeley, but every time I used go there they were out of the thing I wanted.

If you are considering legal action, you might want to first try mediation, which is almost certainly cheaper. David in Berkeley

Our trees are leaning into neighbor's yard

March 2004

Hi all, We have a couple of trees in our yard (some dead, some alive) that are leaning towards our neighbors yard and house. He has asked that we cut one down (or at least trim it), because he's worried that it will fall on his house or fence. I've been assuming that if the tree falls and damages his property, our homeowners insurance would cover it. I also have been assuming that if I remove it now, insurance will not cover it. Can anyone answer the following questions? Also, feel free to add any thoughts of your own.
1. Are my assumptions about what insurance will/will not cover correct?
2. Do I have any obligation to do anything now to take the tree down?
Thanks!

Let's say the trees were in your neighbor's yard, leaning toward your house and threatening to fall onto your property and damage it or potentially injure you or one of your children. Should your neighbor's primary concern be whether s/he was going to have to pay for removing the tree, or should s/he be more concerned about the risk of injuring you or damaging your property? Your message does not make clear what type of damage might be imminent should one of these trees fall, but it does make clear that your priorities are misplaced. If the thought of damaging your neighbor's property or potentially even injuring your neighbor leaves you unmoved, perhaps the thought that the neighbor might have grounds for an expensive lawsuit that would exceed the bounds of your homeowner's insurance policy might stir your feelings.
Golden Rule applies here

If lightning struck a healthy tree and it fell on your neighbor's house, either your insurance or your neighbor's -- probably both -- would cover the damage. But if the tree just fell over one day because it's dead and leaning, particularly given that you knew about this condition but did nothing to resolve it, you could definitely be held liable and would have a much harder time getting full in! surance coverage. In other words, yes, you have an obligation to take reasonable preventative measures in a situation like this. Remember that besides your neighbor's fence, a falling tree could hurt or kill a person who happened to be standing in your yard or the neighbor's at the wrong time. It's worth spending a little money and time to ensure that isn't likely to happen. Your neighbor may be willing to share the costs with you if you can't afford it otherwise. You may want to visit the library or bookstore and pick up a copy of the Nolo Press book on Neighbor Law. anon

An obvious answer to your question is that you can ask your insurer about the coverage. The question I have for you is why you would consider damaging the relationship you have with your neighbor over a couple of dead trees? Even if you have to pay to have the trees removed, it is the correct and polite, and neighborly, thing to do. Your trees are your responsibility. Heather

Your homeowners policy undoubtedly requires you to perform maintenance and repair problems that you know about. If a tree you realized was leaning finally falls down, certainly this could be construed as maintenance you failed to perform. Read your policy. Homeowners insurance is supposed to cover true, unforseeable ''accidents.'' I'm not sure why you think it's ethical to transfer responsibility for a problem you are aware of to your insurer. Not to mention, waiting until the tree falls puts your neighbor at risk of injury from a tree falling on his home - do you really want to risk this? Your neighbor's request seems perfectly reasonable to me. homeowner

You should check directly with your insurance provider to see what is covered. Have you considered also that if the trees are large enough for you to worry about fence damage, they are probably large enough to cause human injury --possibly even kill someone. I think you are being somewhat short-sighted not to consider that possibility. You might be liable for your neighbors injuries--not to mention the ethics of failing to prevent a forseeable accident. anon

Please, you don't! want to risk someone getting hurt. Be respectful and considerate. Take care of the trees. You may think you will save money by letting the insurance pay for it after the damage is done, but more likly, your insurance will go up. Try collaborating with your neighbor. Maybe they would be willing to pay for some of the work if they enjoyed some benefit. sunsol

Uhh, forgive me if I'm wrong, but it seems that your thinking goes like this: I don't want to spend the money to cut down those dead and leaning trees, so I'll just wait until they fall on my neighbor's house and then I'll let my insurance pay for the damage. If so, I respectfully submit that your thinking is--please pardon me--selfish as well as shortsighted. What if someone gets hurt by the falling trees? Not only would you feel terrible (I assume), but you could be bankrupted if your insurance coverage doesn't meet the medical needs of the injured person. And even if the only thing injured is a fence, you're still going to get bit in the butt if you claim the damages through your insurance. Your rates will go up, and in today's climate, you may very well be subsequently dropped by your insurance company (Allstate recently tried to drop us because we had two small theft claims in a period of less than five years. It's the norm these days.) For what it's worth, our neighbor's tree had some branches that were bumping against our house. After asking his permission, WE hired a tree person to trim the branches in question. When the same tree was subsequently blown over in a recent windstorm and actually fell against our house, HE immediately--that afternoon--got someone out to cut the whole thing down. I think you absolutely have an obligation to take down those trees. Happy Neighbor

In regards to your leaning trees, I think you should cut them down. Although it is true that your insurance will cover it, you are being rather impolite by assuming that your neighbor will not mind the damage it does to his house or yard! What if one of your trees causes damage to his roof and it is raining? His hand made rug is ruined, his precious porcelain vase is broken, his house is now very cold...he will be furious! That is a MAJOR inconvenience which could have been avoided if you have kept up your yard properly. I think that being a good neighbor requires you to consider the damage and trouble your trees would cause your neighbor and do what is necessary to prevent that. denise

What a timely question! In last week's wind/rain storms, one of our Cedar's snapped off and was hurled into out neighbors yard, destroying the front of his garage and decimating a 75 year old maple tree. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the damage was minimal. The trouble with falling trees is that you usually don't get to decide which way or when they fall. To my surprise, our insurance did not cover this incident. It was considered an Act of God that created a falling object and our neighbors homeowners insurance is covering the damage done to the garage. (They are also raising his rates as a result, which seems so unfair, but is the topic of another post.) AND, neither insurance company covered the cost of removing the cedar or the maple. You literally couldn't get to his house, but his insurance company stated that they insured his house, not his tree or landscaping. Although we were under no obligation to pay for anything, we felt it was appropriate to pay for removing both trees at a cost of about $1600 to us. Now in our case, we are talking about a healthy tree that we could not forsee would do this damage. Not tending to dead and/or leaning trees could be seen as negligence and leave you open to a lawsuit - especially since they have pointed it out to you and asked you to take care of it. IMHO - it's better to be safe than sorry. Remove your dead trees. Take care of the other trees that are leaning. Show some good faith that you are concerned about the safety and well-being of your neighbor and his property. It will protect you and keep your neighborhood relations in good standing. Hope this helps! Feeling fortunate

Let's see -- because your neighbor has put you on warning, you are indeed liable if a tree falls on your neighbors property. I'm not sure how tall your tree is, but beware! If a tree falls and kills or injures someone, it would be your fault both morally and legally. Your homeowners insurance would cover the damage up to the limits of the policy (most likely) but if you really want to be certain you should ask your insurance broker if your policy would cover these things. Your best bet would be to get an arborist to come take a look at your tree. Most arborists will come out and give a free estimate. If an arborist says that the tree is not a risk, then they assume the liability of a future tree failure. And, most importantly, tree removal is not the only option. Structural pruning can definitely improve tree safety! We recently had Maxwell Klump remove a large and hazardous 100' cypress tree. It was expensive, but his bid was low compared to the other 5 bids we obtained. Here is his info -- I highly recommend him! Maxwell Tree Service 510-652-3473 - Candace (arborist in training)

We have two really large trees hanging over our neighbors' property (as well as our own house). I asked my insurance company about our liability if a limb falls on the neighbors' house. They said PROVIDED I could demonstrate that I'd routinely maintained the trees by professional inspection and trimming, then a falling branch is considered an ''act of God'', and they will cover the damage. However, it seems unlikely that a dead or leaning tree that you have declined to remove after your neighbor has requested it would fall into that category. Besides, someone could be hurt or killed if they're under the tree when it falls. Sorry, I am afraid that it is your ethical and financial responsibility to trim or remove the trees before they do any damage. If they were healthy trees that the neighbors wanted trimmed for view enhancement it is reasonable to expect them to pay for this service. But it is your responsibility not to endanger your neighbors or their property. --circumspect tree hugger

Who Pays for Tree Trimming?

August 2003

We have a tree on our property, some branches of which extend onto a neighbor's property. The neighbor would like to trim the branches to increase sunlight. What's the norm around here for paying for that trimming -- does he pay, do we, or do we share the costs? (I know he has the legal right to cut them and does not have a legal right to demand payment; I just want to know how good neighbors behave.) Thanks! Chris

My husband, Richard Trout, UC campus arborist and consulting arborist, gave me the following answer:

Who pays varies, but the rule of thumb is that the person who benefits pays for the trimming. If the tree does not loom over and dominate the neighbor's property, the neighbor typically pays. But it gets tricky when you consider the issue of how much growth over a neighbor's property is reasonable. If a tree cuts off all sun to a backyard, then it is often reasonable for the owner of the tree to pay, or to split the difference. And, if there is encroachment over a neighbor's roof, for example, then it is reasonable for the tree owner to pay.

A couple of things to consider. If the neighbor wants to cut so much that the form and/or health of the tree is affected, the tree owner may not wish to pay. And, the tree trimmer's client is the person who writes the check. Many times, a tree owner will pay, in order to ensure control over just what gets cut, and to make sure that the job is well done. Nolo Press has a good book ''Neighbor Law,'' which deals with trees among other subjects. It covers common sense reasonableness and also addresses legal issues. For example, have you considered the possibility that your neighbor hires an uninsured person to cut your tree, who then falls out of it and is injured? Who is liable? Not that that ever happens, but these things should be worked out ahead of time. Stefanie

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