There's something about trees that can really inspire a good neighborly dispute. Perhaps it's their tendency to grow without concern for property lines, or the dizzying complexity of the laws that govern them. Whatever the root cause may be, you'll find countless tales of arboreal arguments all over Reddit.
Take this one shared to r/legaladvice by user u/Hawful titled "Neighbor is demanding I cut my own tree's roots on his property" for example.
The post details the OP's story of moving into a Northern California home with a number of trees all over the property. One of them is an around 30-year-old redwood situated right on his neighbor's property line. As you may have guessed, that's where the trouble begins.
"About 20 years ago…my neighbor built an additional home right up against that property line [with the redwood]," the caption details. "Now he's split his property and is trying to sell that house, but surprise surprise, potential buyers don't like the look of massive redwood roots encroaching on the foundation."
The OP goes on to state that the neighbor expects them to remedy the issue.
"I know CA law has some standards of maintenance to deal with dangerous trees or avert property damage, but it isn't currently doing any damage," they say. "How much of this responsibility do I actually bear?"
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As you may know, tree law can be quite complex and it can leave many neighbors on either side of the property line confused. Fortunately, commenters on the post brought plenty of local legal knowledge to the thread:
"This sounds like he knows he screwed up and is trying to make YOU fix HIS problem by killing your Redwood," one says.
Many confirm that this assessment was likely spot on.
"You don't have to do anything and your neighbor can't cut the roots in a way that would hurt the tree. It's just tough luck on him and if he damages your tree, he's liable," one explains.
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Yes 💯 "Check his building permits and building setback laws for your area. The redwood was there before the house," another suggests. "Flip the narrative and try legal avenues related to that damn house being so close to your awesome tree."
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