WA Trees on Fences - Stop Before Damage or Personal Injury Occurs?

[Sandra oldroyd]

The neighbour at the bottom of my garden has two enormous trees right up against my fence the tree are in a bad condition and I have been told by a tree surgeon that if we have some high winds the branches may break and will fall onto my property. I have just paid seven thousand dollars to have a new patio build and these trees are right above it we have cut back as much as we can on our side but the rest is too high. The trees are about two feet away from fences and the roots are lifting the fence and it is leaning onto my side also they have a shed right up to fence and that is also tilted towards fence as the roots are lifting it. I have written and posted a letter to them voicing my and my other neighbours concerns about this problem, but what I want to know is what if they refuse to do anything about it I would prefer to get it sorted before any damage is caused to property or personal injury be accuse looking at the trees they are very scary and I have grandchildren who play out there.

Regards

 

[Rod]

What state are you in?

BTW, if you bought the property and the trees were there, and you built the patio knowing the trees were there, seems a little unfair to attempt to force your neighbours to make changes.

 

[Sandra oldroyd]

I know the trees were there when I bought the property but since being here the tree and root situation has got considerably worse. The fence was not leaning over when I moved in and now the trees look nearly all dead they were not like that when I moved in and is worse now

 

[Rod]

Laws may be different in each state. Contact your local council for advice.

 

[Sophea]

Hi Sandra,

Check out this article regarding liability for trees: Neighbour Disputes – Tips for Dealing with Them - LawAnswers.com.au Blog

Generally the person whose land the tree is on is responsible for ensuring it doesn't pose a hazard to people or property on neighbouring properties. You should talk to your neighbour about removing the offending branches. If they don't do it, you can remove the branches yourself back to the fence line I believe.

 

[Sandra oldroyd]

We have already cut It the trees back as much as we can but they are about 25feet high and we can not reach that far without getting in a tree surgeon which will cost a lot I already paid $200 for a extendable chain saw just for these two trees. But the question I want answering is she refuses to do anything what else can we do no one seems to want to answer this. If it were a fence or bushes there are hight restrictions but not with trees.and the council will not get involved just basic advice.

 

[Sophea]

I would suggest writing a letter to your neighbour -

• setting out what the damage is
• giving them copies of quotes for getting the work done and
• asking them to pay to fix the problem so it does not happen again

Keep a copy of the letter, because once your neighbour is aware of the problem posed by the tree they will have a responsibility to fix the issue. Try to reach an agreement with your neighbour as to who will pay before you start, and if you can't agree there are mediation services available to assist you.