Your neighbor’s trees have been growing out of control and stretching over your fence so that the branches hang over the driveway. That’s where you park your car, and it’s where your kids often play on their bikes or with other toys. You’re nervous that one of those branches could fall in either injure someone or damage your vehicle.
You also understand that those trees do not belong to you. What are your rights in a situation like this? Those are your neighbor’s trees, so can you trim them back or do you have to ask your neighbor to do it? And what if you ask them and they refuse?
You cannot cross the property line
You can trim back the branches in a scenario like this. You just need to make sure that you do not go over the property line.
For instance, you could set up a ladder in your driveway, right next to the property line, and then climb up and trim the branch at that point. Your neighbor doesn’t have to like it, but they cannot stop you from doing this. If you were to trim the branch off on the trunk, however, then you would have violated your neighbor’s rights by trimming a tree on their property.
This is just one reason why it’s so important to understand boundary lines, the rights you have and the rights that your neighbor has. If you find yourself in some sort of a boundary dispute, always be sure you know where you stand and what legal options you have.
