Neighbor's Encoaching Trees

[mcanton]

My neighbor has several large cotton trees that are overhanging my roof and driveway and create large messes all year long. I have asked the neighbors to trim the trees, and she has refused, claiming they I should not have purchased the house if I didn't like overhanging trees. If will cost thousands of dollars to hire someone to trim the trees, and I don't want to bear that expense since it is not my responsibility. I offered to pay part of the cost of the pruning, and the neighbor still refused. I would like to get a court order requiring the removal, but my husband would rather not go to court because he does not want to escalate the dispute any further. However, it appears that going to court is the only option, unless we elect to hire someone to trim the trees ourselves, and even this will be an ongoing expense on our part as these tree will probably need to be cut back every couple of years. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[NYClex]

basically you have already summed it up: either do nothing, or negotiate with the neighbors, or go to court. That's it. You must know yourself if the court order is worth having enenmies next door for the rest of your life.

It's a tough one.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I would write a certified return receipt letter to her stating that the trees are her responsibility as they are on her property. If she does not return them then she will be responsible for them, the damages that they may cause, including the resulting clean up costs that may be required because the trees overhang on your property. Additionally, you may want to state that if she does not trim the trees then you will do so as they hang on your property and she will be responsible for any expenses that you incur as a result of her failure to take care of her own property. You may want to draft a friendly but stern letter, e.g. "obviously if our trees grew so large that the branches reached the windows of your home you would expect us to trim our trees. I hope that we can work this out amicably."

My understanding is that if the trees are hanging on your property, you may trim the trees up to the point of your property line. You may then go to court and sue her for the money it cost you to trim the trees.

This happens frequently and I believe she has no case and her logic is absurd. You may need to go to small claims court once but it may solve your problems for years to come. Word of advice -- take plenty of pictures of the trees, the droppings, and what you need to do to handle the problem before taking any action.

Originally posted by mcanton
My neighbor has several large cotton trees that are overhanging my roof and driveway and create large messes all year long. I have asked the neighbors to trim the trees, and she has refused, claiming they I should not have purchased the house if I didn't like overhanging trees. If will cost thousands of dollars to hire someone to trim the trees, and I don't want to bear that expense since it is not my responsibility. I offered to pay part of the cost of the pruning, and the neighbor still refused. I would like to get a court order requiring the removal, but my husband would rather not go to court because he does not want to escalate the dispute any further. However, it appears that going to court is the only option, unless we elect to hire someone to trim the trees ourselves, and even this will be an ongoing expense on our part as these tree will probably need to be cut back every couple of years. Any suggestions would be appreciated.