It’s Fall and, while we are surrounded by the beauty of nature, that nature can become a problem if your neighbor’s trees are dumping leaves and branches into your yard. Today’s Article will address what you can and cannot do in such situations.

Tree disputes are one of the top disputes between property owners. A neighbor’s tree may be extending over your fence, blocking your view, dropping leaves into your pool, and their roots may be destroying the fence and cracking your driveway. What are you to do?

California Civil Code section 733 bars anyone from going onto the land of another and cutting or removing trees. That makes logical sense because you have to trespass on their land to do so. But what about when those limbs cross onto your land. Do you have an absolute right to cut these? The answer is “No”As a string of California cases has repeatedly affirmed, a neighbor does not have any absolute right to cut off encroaching roots or branches so that they don’t cross over the property line. Before doing so, you must first evaluate the health of the tree and then act reasonably in any trimming that you attempt. By “reasonable”, the law means that you must exercise care to avoid unnecessary damage… in short, you can’t kill it.

California Civil Code section 3346 considers the encroachment of branches and roots onto your property to be a nuisance. You are allowed to trim the tree on your land in a way that the tree is not damaged. Keep in mind that if you cause the tree to die or cause so much damage that it’s value is destroyed, you can be held liable for up to three times the damage. That means determining the value of the tree which can easily be more than $10,000. In addition, damage that destroys a “protected tree” such as a Heritage Oak can bring substantial additional penalties. So what are you to do?

First – Talk to your neighbor – by explaining the situation and showing the damage, it is very possible that the two of you can agree to a trimming plan. Maybe the neighbor is also concerned about the tree growth and you can collaborate on an equally beneficial remedy;

Second – Talk to an arborist – before you start any substantial cutting, talk to a tree professional and find out what is safe to do and what is not. There are proper ways that trees can be trimmed to get you the benefit you want with the least damage to the tree;

Third – Use professionals – if the trimming work is substantial, be sure to use a licensed, bonded tree contractor. This reduces the risk of unexpected damage and gives you protection in the event that unexpected damage does occur.