Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in the Town of Islip. A neighbor cut branches off my tree that were over his yard. However, he didn't notify me, had the tree company climb my tree and cut every branch from the fence line up to the top of the tree. Now the tree looks like something out of a horror movie. Charlie Brown's X-mass tree looks better. My question is; to what height can he legally cut those branches and does the tree company need to contact me before doing any trimming of my tree whether they climbed the tree from my yard or my neighbor's yard?
It's too bad that he did this without talking to you, first, but in most places, he has a right to cut anything over his property. And, no, the company doesn't need to ask permission.
I strongly suggest that you get a tree trimmer out ASAP and get the rest trimmed, particularly if it's an older tree, or it may come down during the violent spring storms.
Yeah, the situation stinks, but if you just get mad about it and don't do anything, there might be worse problems in a few months.
Everywhere I've lived it's been legal, permissible, to cut a neighbor's overhanging branches. I've never heard of a height limit or being required to contact the neighbor. You're going to have to ask the town about those points. I once read, probably on C-D, about a guy whose tree was so badly damaged by the pruning, that it had to be removed.
I live in the Town of Islip. A neighbor cut branches off my tree that were over his yard. However, he didn't notify me, had the tree company climb my tree and cut every branch from the fence line up to the top of the tree. Now the tree looks like something out of a horror movie. Charlie Brown's X-mass tree looks better. My question is; to what height can he legally cut those branches and does the tree company need to contact me before doing any trimming of my tree whether they climbed the tree from my yard or my neighbor's yard?
They don't have to notify or ask permission to cut off branches that overhang the property line into your "airspace", no matter how high the limbs may be. However, it would have been polite to do so.
If they took off so much as to impair the health of the tree, they may be required to replace it:
To run afoul of the law, your neighbor doesn't have to chop down your tree. Its enough to just damage the health of your tree. For example, your neighbor has the legal right to trim branches of your tree if they hang over the property line. But if the trimming seriously injures your tree, your neighbor will be liable to you for the damage done. Similarly, if your neighbor uses a chemical in his or her yard to destroy unwanted roots, and the chemical seeps onto your property and kills one of your trees, your neighbor can be liable.
However...
For instance, if a neighbor trims the part of your tree that hangs over the property line, making that part of the tree look terrible but not harming it in any way, you have no right to recovery. That's because your property (the portion of the tree that's on your side of the property line) is not damaged.
I would assume that the tree trimmer climbed the tree (your tree) from the neighbor's side, because they should not have gone into your yard without permission. Theoretically. They may have used a bucket truck and not even climbed onto your tree's trunk at all, in which case they didn't even trespass.
I live in the Town of Islip. A neighbor cut branches off my tree that were over his yard. However, he didn't notify me, had the tree company climb my tree and cut every branch from the fence line up to the top of the tree. Now the tree looks like something out of a horror movie. Charlie Brown's X-mass tree looks better. My question is; to what height can he legally cut those branches and does the tree company need to contact me before doing any trimming of my tree whether they climbed the tree from my yard or my neighbor's yard?
Your neighbor has every right to have any branches from your tree that overhang onto their property removed and doesn't need to notify you. Now, simply from the point of being neighborly they probably should have given you a heads up and perhaps you guys could have worked something out between yourselves, but they certainly have no obligation to do so.
In addition to the comments, if the tree dies, get an arborist to find the cause. If it died from tree trimming, get an estimate of the tree cost and sue neighbor.
Status:
"Let this year be over..."
(set 16 days ago)
Location: Where my bills arrive
19,219 posts, read 17,075,134 times
Reputation: 15537
Quote:
Originally Posted by ubering
In addition to the comments, if the tree dies, get an arborist to find the cause. If it died from tree trimming, get an estimate of the tree cost and sue neighbor.
I was going to say the same thing but I would get the arborist now to evaluate the tree. They have a right to trim what overhangs but not a right to butcher a tree if it should die I would take them to court. Just because the neighbor hired a tree company doesn't mean their experienced arborists or even licensed for that matter it could be 2 schmucks a truck and a chain saw...
It also would have been nice if the neighbor extended the curtesy of speaking to the trees owner..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
