You love that tall, graceful eucalyptus tree in your backyard. But your next-door neighbors don’t. How come?
Its branches hang over your property line, so fallen leaves and limbs sometimes clutter their yard. Its roots have crawled into their backyard as well, posing a potential tripping hazard and breaking up their nice, manicured lawn. High winds and soil saturated by El Niño rains threaten to send the tree crashing through their fence. And speaking of their fence, it looks like it’s about to fall over anyway.
What are you supposed to do when it comes to neighbor etiquette? You don’t want to sue or get sued by a longtime community resident, but you don’t want to spend a fortune on tree repairs, either. And you can’t force your neighbors to prop up the fence. Or can you?
Few things can come between neighbors more contentiously than landscaping disputes. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending which side of the fence you’re on, literally), California law has clear-cut rules for dealing with such situations. But before either party resorts to legal actions, it’s best to try to resolve differences on your own.
That’s usually easier said than done, of course. But if you’re on talking terms with your neighbors, it might help if you inform them of their legal obligations as homeowners regarding landscaping. Some examples:
Bark up the right treeThe first matter to resolve in any tree dispute is determining who owns the tree in question. According to California Civil Code Section 833, “If the trunk of a tree stands wholly on the land of one landowner, that landowner owns the tree regardless of whether its roots, foliage, or branches have grown onto the land of another.” But the next section, 834, states, “If the trunk of a tree stands partly on the land of two adjoining landowners, then both landowners own the tree.”
Now that you’ve hopefully agreed on ownership, bear in mind that it’s usually perfectly acceptable for your neighbor to trim or modify any part of the tree that encroaches their property if it causes a nuisance. This includes “overhanging foliage, branches and limbs so long as the owner acts reasonably so as not to seriously injure or kill the tree causing the nuisance.”
But, according to Civil Code Section 3346, “If a landowner cuts foliage that is not encroaching onto his property and does not have the permission of the tree’s owner to trim, however, the person cutting the foliage may be liable to the adjoining landowner for up to triple the amount of the damage caused by the wrongful cutting. However, if the damage is accidental or based on a mistaken belief, damages may be limited in the court’s discretion to double the value of the wrongful cutting.”
In California, landowners have a duty to inspect their trees to determine if they are healthy or hazardous, and to remove branches and even an entire tree if it poses a hazard. If the tree owner was negligent or careless by failing to maintain a tree after warnings or visual signs of problems, that owner is responsible for resulting damage. If the tree was well-maintained and a storm or earthquake causes a tree to fall, the courts will find the damage was from an act of God, and the tree owner won’t be held responsible, or liable, for any resulting damage.
CA landowners have a duty to inspect their trees to decide if they are healthy or hazardous Click To TweetCalifornia Civil Code 841 requires that adjacent landowners equally contribute to maintaining walls and fences between them, unless one of them opts to let the remaining sides of their property remain unfenced. If that landowner later fences in their property, they will then be responsible for payment of their proportional share of the original value of the fence.
What should you do if your neighbor doesn’t want to maintain a fence that’s falling down? First, try to reason with that neighbor. Good neighbors should agree on splitting the cost of the repair, especially if informed that they have a legal obligation to do so. If that fails, send your neighbor a demand letter setting forth their legal obligation and the cost of the fence. Attach a copy of any estimate you have acquired. If your neighbor still refuses to pay their proportional share, contact an attorney or pay for the repair yourself and consider filing a claim in small claims court.
Like what you see here? Sign up for more! Our free e-newsletter informs you of listings in your community, insider real estate tips, the latest in home trends, and more.
This was really informative! I have never really cared much about zoning and stuff like that. If you have a tree that you aren’t taking care of, I’m going to cut it down or trim it. End of story.
Thanks Drew, we’re glad you enjoyed it!
This incredibly user-friendly application contains energetic women and ladyboys, and offers you a great deal of advanced search filters to assist you rack up a day whenever, anywhere! In addition to conference Asian women online, Chinese woman date men that have an interest in a large range of topics, consisting of topics on Chinese travel, organization, and several even more. Not gon na lie, there’s a little dork-nerd in every Asian. Basically, it’s pretty simple to utilize Asian worldwide dating websites where you can meet Japanese mail order bride-to-bes and girls from other nations. Comparative, young pairs in the West are completely all right with leasing because it’s a lot extra financially viable for them. According to tale, when the Ming Emperor had a dream of Buddha, he sent out 2 agents west to revive Buddhist followers. These envoys situated two Buddhist monks that agreed to go back to China in addition to a white steed carrying Buddhist bibles. The Longmen Grottoes are an extensive complex of caverns sculpted with Buddhist statuaries. Carved right into sedimentary rock high cliffs, these caverns get on both sides of the Yi River, situated on the faces of Mount Longmen and Mount Xiang.
When discussing solitary parent, they are used to being productive in taking care of duties and commitments. AsianDating provides a membership base of over 4.5 million participants with a guarantee of presenting you to single Asian men and attractive Asian females from all over the globe. When the founder of Dongba society resolved in the location, the natural mineral terraces that run over the town of Baishuitai first gained recognition. Though 6 empires positioned their resources in Kaifeng City, where the Dragon Pavilion is situated, the area reached its elevation under the Northern Song Dynasty. To this particular day, those fans recognize the area as a shrine. He encouraged his followers to deal with others kindly, have solid precepts and appreciate their forefathers. Using the beauty of the landscape, he brought in followers. The charm of China is recorded by this collection of 50-plus gardens. The Classical Gardens of Suzhou have a credibility as some of the most stunning yards <a href=[Link deleted]review in the world, earning the recognition of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today it is detailed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here are some suggestions to aid you browse the wild world of Asian dating. A vacationer can look the known world and never ever find a cavern chamber larger in quantity than the Miao Room, located in the Ziyun Getu He Chuandong National Park.
The Shuanghedong Cave Network is identified as the lengthiest cave in all of Asia. Discovered in the 1980s, the cave has 203 known entries that lead right into an underground labyrinth that runs 782,411 feet. On your journey, you may find that unique individual that can result in the day when you walk down the isle together. If you wind up winning a single Vietnamese person over, you might have a lifelong companion and an attractive connection that adheres and faithful. The framework initial opened in 1997, after that underwent remodellings in 2006. Visitors may ride the Peak Tram to the tower. To see the Three Natural Bridges of Wulong, visitors need to take a trip to the Wulong Karst National Geology Park in Wulong County. The park restricts the number of visitors each day, so a sense of intimacy is produced in between nature and the visitors who check out. Nevertheless, there are a number of countries that have an exceptional variety of women trying to locate a foreign partner.
A pair of words about what differentiates Flirt. The Huaisheng Mosque is one of the oldest mosques located in China that’s still in presence. Constructed in 627, the mosque signifies when Islam was introduced to China as the religious beliefs spread east. The pillars of the Temple of Heaven were constructed not just to stand up the temple however also to give vital meaning. When the holy place was built, these vintages bring to life the society of the Buddhists that lived throughout the Liao Dynasty. When the Pagoda of Fogong Temple was repaired in 1974, several makings and silk images were uncovered inside busted statues. Incredibly, 40 spaces are connected with each other along the Hengshan Mountain by a collection of passageways to create the dazzling marvel known as the Hanging Temple. Completed in 1636, the Mukden Palace contains about 300 spaces and 20 yards. The royal residence was long utilized as a royal residence, but in 1955 it was converted right into a museum. Ruins and a museum stand where the ancient funding of Yin was located. Yinxu is the location of the old resources of the Shang Dynasty throughout the Chinese Bronze Age.