Live in Dallas and our lots are only 50’ wide. Homes are 90 years old so trees are mature. Neighbor has 2 pecan trees that are at least 55’ to 60’ tall, a live oak and a red oak. All are mature.

One pecan tree is right next to our property line and some of the branches hang over my yard and house. As the tree grew it started rubbing against his roof so he had a notch cut in the roof. This pecan is beginning to shed dead branches. This week it shed a live branch that is in photo below and you can see that it fell about 40’ and it almost fell on me while I was in the driveway. I asked him to come over so he could see what happened. He said he had called a tree trimming company but they were too busy and to call back in a week. I told him the branch almost hit me and he had to get his tree trimmed before it killed my wife or myself or damaged our house.

Wife texted him today and he decided to wait until the fall to have the tree pruned. He said we can hire our own company to prune his trees.

Top picture was taken from my bedroom and you can see how close the pecan is to my house and the notch he cut in his roof. Many living branches hang over my house and some dead branches are hanging looped over live branches.

Bottom photo is the branch that almost hit me when it fell. Driveway is 10’ wide and the branch is about 12’.

I don’t know the law, but I suppose if you own a tree that is shedding dead and living branches you have a responsibility to protect neighbors and property. He is refusing to get the tree pruned until this fall and my wife thinks it might kill one of us or damage our house. I sure don’t want to trim his trees for several reasons. Just talking to him is useless.

Give me some ideas how to handle this. Attached File

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Here in FL and in my prior state, the owner was only responsible if they had notice of the danger, such as a visibly sick or dead tree. Mere overgrowth alone did not create liability. And, you could cut off whatever crossed your property line.

So, I'd imagine you either need to wait for him to do it, or you can hire your own tree company to trim it back, or simply cut it all off at the property line.

Document “before” with lots of pics.  Draw the overhanging branches on a copy of your survey.  Send him a certified letter telling him exactly what you’re going to do, and give him a certain date to respond.  After the date passes, hire a tree company to cut off every branch that crosses your property line as if that laser from Resident Evil shot up from the line into space.  I’m not a lawyer by any means.  God, I’m glad I have reasonable neighbors.

Same with Ohio. You are certainly permitted to cut back what's hanging over your property. But that might be another issue.

Anything over the property line is your responsibility. At least where I live.

Check your local laws, call a tree company, cut away.

Oh and if tree falls onto your property, you are responsible for the damage and cleanup. Even though the tree "was theirs".

First 4 posts nail it.  Also, not trying to be a dick but OP is being a little dramatic.  That's not a large branch by any stretch of the imagination

cut any thing that is going over the property line

AFAIK you can cut any part of a tree that overhangs your property.

This, send him a registered letter if the tree is dead, dangerous etc and depending on the state he is responsible if something happens.  Go ahead and get some quotes and have someone cut it back to the property line.

Same for me where I live.

I would trim the fuck out of that tree. It would never be an issue again

It fell 40’. Not dramatic. It is larger than it looks in the photo.

While you are busy cutting all of the branches that hang over your property line, rent a ditchwitch and cut a 2 - 3 ft deep trench along the inside of your property line.  Seed the trench with root killer & backfill.  The next time a hurricane blows from your direction towards his house, the tree will be on his roof where it belongs.

At least, that's how I've heard that it's done in Minecraft, FL.

That looks like a healthy small branch that fell.  He does not have to trim the tree. But you can trim anything over your property line.

Unless the tree is diseased, dying, or damaged by previous storms, the adjoining property owner who is offended by overhanging limbs, vegetation, or intruding roots, are responsible at their own cost to trim or cut such offending back to the property line. If the tree is diseased, dying, or previously damaged to be a peril, the offended property owner must put the tree owner on notice of such issue, before that tree owner can potentially be held responsible for any damages to others property.

Bottom line, find someone to come and trim the tree even with your property line, then pay the man.

OP, in your post to said you didnt know the law.  You need to find someone who does and pay them for their service (meaning, get a lawyer).  THEN proceed from there.

Who moved in first?

OP?

or neighbor?

Why does GD always immediately recommend a lawyer?  Is the lawyer going to bring a chainsaw with him?  


This is a very basic and settled property issue.  Just trim the damn tree.

I called a tree guy.  They were in and out so fast, there was no chance for the neighbor to bitch about it.

Hedging will improve the trees health. Common practice in pecan orchards.

Like I said, I'm so glad I have reasonable neighbors.  Their oak tree had a massive branch that crossed over our driveway.  I told him it could fall on the car if it ever broke off (it's a healthy tree).  He had a crew cut it off, way back from our driveway.  Then, when the tornado came thru our hood in April, a few lighter branches near the top got snapped but were still attached.  I pointed it out to him, and he had a crew out within a week to trim it.  All of these branches were across our property line, but he paid for it all.

Cut anything over your house, wait for fall, light a match to whatever is still hanging over. Maybe put the pipe of a smoker or grill high enough to touch the dying leaves.

Pecans are not great options to have near houses for this reason.

If you really feel the tree has become detrimental and hazardous, you might be able to get city to order the neighbor to have the tree pruned and trimmed to reduce branch end weight and reduce risk for "sudden branch drop syndrome". A growth regulator treatment can also help for a few coming years. Contact your city arborist https://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/arborist/Pages/staff.aspx to inform them what happened and see if they can be able and willing to come out and have a look to see if intervention is necessitated (doesn't hurt to politely offer coffee and desert; those guys love getting calls and reason to come out from behind the desk); be ready to hold your ground insisting the danger the tree is posing.

Get some glyphosate, make sure to only apply it to the leaves on your side of the fence.  The tree will die and then the guy can take the whole tree down.

So did the tree branch almost hit you or almost missed you?

Dewey Screwem and Howe would like to know.

If you are truly worried about personal injury and property damage don’t wait on your neighbor. Hire some to trim the trees and be done with it.

As far as I know, his responsibility ends at the property line.  You are responsible for the branches overhanging your property.

Honestly, the difficult neighbor in this story - is you.  

So long as he can't be found in neglect (a rotting tree he didn't address), that even includes if the tree on his property falls on yours.  


I just dropped over 2k last week clearing out all kinds of offending limbs and cleaning up some prior damage.  Including overhanging branches from my neighbors.  Because those are my problem, not his.

I would rent a lift and take down any branches I'm worried about that are over my property.

You're responsible for trimming limbs on your side of the property line, regardless of whose tree it is. If the tree is diseased or dying, you need to get a certified arborist to declare in writing it’s unsafe, then mail it to the neighbor by certified mail notifying them about it, document everything. I learned the hard way, storm blew over my neighbor’s dying oak tree right on my house, insurance pretty much said I’m SOL as far as getting the neighbor or his insurance to pay for the damages. Of course my bastard neighbor didn’t offer to pay, and his brother was an insurance adjuster who basically coached him through being a dirtbag.

His foundation is screwed I bet with that big bastard so close to his house.

With Pecan trees, not really.  They shoot straight down a good bit, before spreading the roots.  The trees themselves are quite strong, and never just topple over -  but as OP sees, the branches can be brittle.

Op's discretion to cut any and all branches that cross the property line.  And he probably should. Neighbor isn't responsible for that.  

What they *should* do is go in joint with a tree company and split the bill to do both sides of the tree for both benefit.  And while there, get more stuff trimmed too, since the call-out is now paid.  But he erroneously got huffy and may have burned a bridge on that trying to improperly strong arm neighbor to pay for something that wasn't neighbors responsibility.

OP needs to cut the branches. Make it look ridiculous.

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We have decided to go 50-50 with the neighbor when he gets his tree team out this fall. I will pay 50% of the pecan cost but not for his other trees.

Glad you were able to salvage the relationship and for him to agree to that.

Sounds like good smoker wood so get to it.   Aggressively.

" You chopped my property down!" ; " Whelp, it's laying on whose property now?"

In Virginia, yes.

But local laws are local.

Also for Virginia, if the tree falls or drops branches, the tree owner is only responsible for the damage occurring on his property, or to his property.  The rest is addressed by insurance, and responsibility to fix is left to the damaged property's owner.

I went through it this spring when a neighbor's 80 year old poplar came crashing down.  The entire canopy landed in my yard, and it was on me to clean it up.  Insult to injury, VDOT hauled the trunk they cut up out of the road into my front yard as well.

As for notifying the neighbor that his tree is dangerous, certified letter, finding from an arborist and cc'ed to their insurance is what would have worked in VA.