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I live next door to a man who has a grand oak tree on his property. I have had the tree pruned twice on my side in four years, however there is still large/heavy limbs that overhang my roof. I created enough of a canopy so nothing actually touches my roof. I'd like to have a couple more heavy limbs cleared above my roof to prepare for hurricane season.
The problem is my neighbor has never pruned his side of the tree. It has large/heavy branches all over the place that are very low on his side. He has money (is a landlord with 12 properties), but refuses to have his side pruned. I even offered to split the cost of trimming just his side (so I'd basically be giving him $500). He said he will prune his side of the tree if I pay the full $1,000 to have it done, and hire out someone, and supervise the work. Yes, you read that correctly.
I am not rich. Not at all. I am a typical middle-class American. I don't have a money tree in my backyard to give him $1,000 so he can trim his side so then I can pay another $1,000 to trim my side more.
I asked if he would sign a waiver so I can trim my side and let his be. Basically that I wouldn't be held responsible if the tree ends up falling on his house. He said no.
I don't know what I should do about this tree. It is otherwise healthy. I have been such a great neighbor. I put up a vinyl privacy fence last year and paid for all of it.
There is no bad blood between us. The guy is just cheap. And if that trees falls on his house he will sue me.
I had three certified arborists come out and look at the tree. They said it is too heavy on his side. They want to re-balance the tree.
All this to say, what would you do in this situation. I feel stuck.
I'd go to city hall and find out what my property rights are. Take pictures of all sides of the tree in relation to its encroachment over your property to show them.
To the best of my knowledge you should be within your rights to remove any foreign tree growth that crosses your property line and threatens your property and structures. I don't believe you need a waiver to do so (where did you get that waiver idea from anyway?). And I don't think he can sue you if his tree which is growing on his own property topples over onto his own house because of his own negligence to take care of pruning his tree. It is his problem, not yours and you are not liable for his problem that you did not cause. Your neighbour and his tree branches and roots have no rights to the air space above your property nor below the surface of your property. At least here where I live that would be the way of it, but things might be different where you are so you need to find out what the rules are where you live.
Here if my neighbour's tree branches grow across my property line I can cut off everything from top to bottom that is directly above and in line with the property line and is encroaching over above my property and I do not need his permission. But I can not cut anything that is on the neighbours side of the property line. It doesn't make any difference if the encroaching branches are actually threatening my property or not, if I don't like them hanging over my property I can cut it all off. If there are big roots from the tree growing across the property line onto my property I can get rid of those tree roots too if I want to. I might want to grow my own trees there on my own property directly below where the neighbour's branches are and it is my right to have the growing space above and in the ground of my own property. I'm pretty sure it will probably be the same for you, but go find out exactly what your rights are first.
You are very, very lucky that he did not take you up on your offer of a waiver!!!! Do NOT offer to make up or sign some kind of waiver and don't agree to arrange for or to pay for a portion of getting professional arborists to come do his side of the tree. You can get yourself screwed over and into extremely expensive legal hot water if you do something like that. You do not have any obligations to your neighbour and you should not accept any obligations. Protect yourself and protect your property but do not obligate yourself to him.
City Hall... the permit office, will tell you what they will allow you to do, but if they have any brains they will not attempt to tell you what your "rights" are. They do not like to be put in the position of defining a citizens legal rights. Some communities are very protective about limiting major damage to its trees, so some do require permits.
Nor will they attempt to tell you who can and can't sue you. Pretty much any idiot willing to spend the money on a hungry lawyer can sue you for just about anything, right or not. The liability determination is up to the courts and odds are they would probably not find you at fault unless you set yourself up for it in some way.
You have every right to protect your property against damage from the tree, so more than likely you would prevail against the neighbor on your rights to remove the limbs and in the unlikely case it were necessary, against the City in getting a permit, if they require one and in the odd chance they might oppose it.
You have two courses of action:
1. Fully familiarize yourself with your rights in the matter and proceed accordingly. If it were me I'd probably include writing a polite letter to the neighbor, which would serve as evidence later, that you are putting them on notice, the tree is a hazard to your property, and you are going to trim it back to decrease that risk. I would include written notification to the neighbor that you offered to have the tree trimmed on his side as well to keep it balanced at his expense, that he was advised of this need and the potential risk to his property if he did not do so, and that you cannot be responsible for any damage that results from his lack of responsible behavior and refusal to cooperate and take responsibility for those modifications.
2. Consult with an attorney for advice on how to best go about all of this and how to word the letter. A few dollars spent here could easily be cheaper than repairing the major damage and inconvenience that could occur to your home. A good attorney would probably advise you on this and still stay in the background unless you needed them to get more involved. That keeps the tensions down if it is not obvious to the neighbor that you have consulted with an attorney.
Serve proper written notice to the neighbor and proceed to protect your property.
If a tree falls on your house from the next door neighbor's property, he's not liable for the damages in most states if the tree appears to be sound and if the homeowner is unaware it's diseased.
If the owner knows the tree's in bad shape, he is liable if damages result from his inaction. And often, homeowners insurance will not cover the damages.
I would talk to City Hall to see if they have special regulations on trees that may be damaged.
Under Florida law, the health of the tree determines who is responsible for damages to neighboring property. link to law
Make sure your homeowners insurance is paid up, and it will cover any tree damage.
Regards
Gemstone1
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