Are Neighbor’s Trees Hanging Over Your Property Line?

Do you have a neighbors tree or bushes that are encroaching on your property? Maybe there is a large/heavy branch that is growing over your home and you are worried about the damage it may cause or maybe you just have trees that are shedding close to your pool and you can't get your neighbor to trim or remove the tree. This video is about what your options are regarding overgrowth onto your property.

We have come across this many times when we work with homeowners that are trying to resolve issues that come up with trees or shrubs that cause a mess or safety. The rule is that you are allowed to trim any tree or shrub branches that overgrow onto your property line without harming the vegetation. The cost cannot be reimbursed by the owner of the tree but permission is not needed either. We feel that it is best to communicate with neighbors to keep relationships strong but at the end of the day you are responsible for anything that grows onto your property. Here is a link from a great website that describes this legal rule under the subject line “Trees maintenance along property lines”

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[petratrading]

Someone said Dig until you find the roots and inject them with roundup

[thisismylovehandle]

And you can eat the fruit that hangs over your fence! That's my favorite bit of boundary laws.

[citticat]

My neighbors has many trees encroaching on my side and I am so tired of timing their trees and cleaning up leaves and berries, I have no energy left to work my own yard work. Two tree trunks are bending well over to my side. If I cut the trunks the tree dies so I can not. Also those trees dump tons of leaves in the gutter in front of my house - finally I decided to use my blower and I blowed the leaves in front of his house. Let him pick them up.

[vikingstorm]

I live next to a strip mall parking lot and for years there were trees, huge bushes, weeds all growing over and through the fence. It was really frustrating to trim and dispose of all the crap i had to trim. Then one day they clearcut everything. They even tore down the fence.

[BethSJ]

My neighbor bought the model home with the beautiful landscaping. His palo verde sheds leaves and twigs on my artificial turf and gravel. Its a pain to collect all that stuff off the turf and gravel. Sweeping artificial turf is the worst. The trees are beautiful but leaves a mess.

[rick]

There's a very small patch of wooded area behind and beside my back yard, it's overgrown and isn't tended to, limbs, vines, poison ivy, all from the neighbor, grow into my backyard, to the point they are below head level, I've cut them back and that in itself is a big job especially when they grow right back, the thing is, where I live, in a town, there's no way to get rid of all the limbs, it's not free, can't burn, , they're not my branches, it's bad enough I have to keep them cut back, I shouldn't have the responsibility of getting rid of them.

[kath]

Yes! You can trim parts of tree, grass, bushes, etc that grow over your property line. No you cant cut down the whole tree.

[carlosz]

How does it work with a single palm tree? My neighbor has a 30 foot palm tree that leans over my driveway and drops crap all over my car. How can I handle this? Thanks.

[lovewinter]

My neighbor is cutting 9 ft. limbs off my tree and leaning their polesaw 6 to 7 ft. over on my property. They also broke my fence. I guess I have to go to court.

[peanutbutterisfu]

My neighbor introduced himself 4 months after I moved in to ask me to cut the branches going over his property. Legally it’s his problem but I wanted to get the tree removed anyways and another near it. I told them the tree company needs to go on ur lawn to cut them it will ruin ur grass and I’m not paying for ur grass I’m paying 4500 to remove 2 trees so the grass on u, they agreed. The trees get taken down and they flip out about the grass and it wasn’t even bad I couldn’t believe how good it still was. They said we cant us their lawn again. I had 3 more trees I needed taken down but they wouldn’t let me use their property. Well a year later the school grounds keeper calls me (school is next to me) to see if they can go on my property to cut down tree branches, I said let me guess my neighbor is bitching? He laughed and said yes. I said if my tree guy can use ur property to get into my back yard then you guys can go do whatever u gotta do on my property he said no problem. So the tree guy cuts down my 3 other trees, my neighbors were not happy because I found a way around them not letting me use their property. Tree guy comes back to grind the stumps on 4 trees and I didn’t do the stump that’s between our 2 houses because I’m not dealing with the grass situation again. When the tree guy was leaving the neighbor said “when u come back to do the other stump I need u to remove all the roots from that tree because they are in my ground”. Tree guy walks over and said that will be 3500 to remove roots and 500 for the stump, he said he’s not paying and I should pay. The tree guy said anything on ur property is ur financial responsibility. I got home from work as they we’re talking and I told the neighbor I’m not removing the stump because of what happened before and I’m not paying to remove the roots. He calls the town and the town said it’s his responsibility for anything on his property and that if I didn’t remove the trees it would still be his responsibility to cut branches that go over the property line not me. Then he said can u make him remove that stump it looks bad, I told the town guy what happened before and how they told me I can’t go on their property again because the grass got ruined even though I warned them and said I wouldn’t fix it before hand but I still fixed it so I didn’t have the stump done because they told me I could never use their property again to get tree work done. The town guy said there’s no law that u can’t have a tree stump and I said to the neighbor if u don’t like the stump ur more then welcome to pay for it to be removed but I’m all done paying for tree work I have 10k invested into tree work. Next year I put up 300 ft of 6ft tall wood fence. I got a permit, it was all legal. A few weeks later I see the town guy talking to my neighbor and I over here my neighbor saying he doesn’t want the fence there he doesn’t like how it blocks the view lol. The town guy said there is nothing you can do. I walk over there and asked what he called the town on for me now? I said I have a permit for the fence, it was professionally installed and surveyed. My house is perfectly legal everything is. The neighbor said he didn’t like it blocking his view and I should have asked before doing it. I said it’s none of ur business and the reason I put it up is because you are always bothering us, you called the town because of my car trailer was parked within a foot of ur property I’ve had enough of you. So now I’m gonna place a complaint because ur gutters are falling off, the wood on the side of ur house is falling off, ur shed is falling apart, ur driveway looks terrible and it’s not only not safe but brings the property value down. The town guy said do u want me to put in a complaint? I looked at my neighbor and said are you gonna stop busting my balls? If so I’ll not put a complaint in? He said yes and never bothered us again. My neighbors are in their mid 80’s the wife cuts the lawn with a push mower they have over an acher of land. If they didn’t take advantage of me and bust my balls I would cut their lawn and snowblow their driveway but they have been so rude. They even tried to steal my fire wood. I have a automotive lift in my garage and he said it’s illegal to work on cars in the driveway. I said first off I only have the lift to work on my own vehicles I’m not running a business out of my house and secondly why would I work in my driveway? Then a month later he’s got some guy doing his brakes in his driveway lol. If they were nice to me I would have done his brakes for free because they are older people I’m sure on fixed income but no they took advantage of me.

[krisb]

Does anyone know of case law in Nevada related to this? NV tree law does NOT specify who is responsible, only that one MAY trim overhanging limbs to the property line, but if you damage the tree, the owner of the tree can sue you for treble damages. I can't afford to defend myself in such a lawsuit, even if found innocent of such charges. My neighbor is an attorney. They refuse to trim their trees. They say I can trim them but must use a certified arborist and they can sue for treble damages if I damage their trees. I told them I'm not touching their trees and risk being sued, as I cannot afford lawyers to defend me in a lawsuit. I sent them two certified letters outlining the hazards their trees are posing and the fact that I can't pull my RV into my driveway without scraping the roof on their tree limbs. So they have been put on notice of the hazards, so when a limb causes damage, it will not be an act of God, it will be an act of negligence and they will be liable for the damages. But who, in Nevada, by law is responsible to prune the trees? I can find nothing in the law. Does anyone know of a court decision in NV that establishes a legal precedent in this matter? The only thing I can find is in the Reno City Nuisance Code, the property owner is responsible to abate nuisances emanating from their property, including encroaching vegetation.

[johnnylong]

The mess that it LEAVES… pun intended? Lol

[Jay-dqvu]

That’s just wrong so your neighbor could let it grow and your supposed to pay to get it trimmed . Funny

[RoundheadRecords]

The neighbor has a huge tree near the line and over our fence when the helicopter things come down - they fill my side of the fence to where it needs to be blown each day and collected. Here is a crazy question because I imagine I get more than he does because it is so close to the line. I do know I can advise and offer him the date to be there when limbs over my prop will be removed. However they still will blow over in large amounts. Have you ever heard of a collection system used for a short time that can catch many of these things? I was thinking of a tarp that starts at the top of my fence and goes upwards towards my property. Or something else but it is taking me hours or forcing me to hire someone to remove the massive amounts of these things.

[michaelm]

I'm in N California. My neighbor has this palm thats non indigenous and drops 8-10' frawns on my yard throughout the year. Our waste pick up no longer takes it as yard waste, rather I now have to chop it up and stow it in the regular trash. We don't get along and I'm almost tovthe point of chucking them over to his side.

[jbilotta]

I had to post this! I live in a beach community where you don't have tons of property. My neighbors own a house on the sand and one right next to me. First off, they don't research the trees they are planting, just shove them in the ground and see what happens! It will cost me 300/500 every 2/3 years to keep their River birch tree off my property. It's annoying. They have created a mini forest on both properties. I'd be furious if I were their next door neighbor on the sand side... they have a row of trees that REALLY hang over the neighbor's property. I mean, how rude! If you want to live in the forest, live there! Don't make the beach your personal forest. PS, I love trees but this is just selfish man.

[gracenguyen]

Big trees close and on your property, they do not only damage your houses and garages’ floors, but they are places for hidden cameras and hiding intruders!

[ChickenPermissionOG]

what if it is causing damage to your fence.

[williamsignorovitch]

Since I have no trees can I throw the trimming over the fence? 😂 why should I be responsible for getting rid of it. Just shoot it with copper bbs

[victorsalazar]

Ok but what if the neibor didn't inform the tree owner and then just started sawing over the fence line well into the yard over the fence by about three feet?