Neighbor's dead tree --what's the next step?

Parent Cafe
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D and Sil moved into their house on a wooded lot (small, about 1/3 of an acre) in a suburban neighborhood late last spring. The area is heavily wooded and HOA rules forbid removing trees more than 3" in diameter unless they are a safety issue.

There were a couple of dead trees of their lot when they moved in so D &SIL had them taken out. No problem.

However the neighbor behind them & uphill has a large dead tree that is leaning at about 30 degree angle toward their house and &deck, and more importantly over the area where the kids’ play equipment is. It’s currently being held up by a much smaller tree, but all it takes is one good wind…

Over the weekend there were wind storms in the area. A very large live tree in a different neighbor’s lot (catty corner, uphill) blew down. It landed on the dead tree and threatening to bring both trees crashing into the roof/deck of our house.

Catty corner neighbor immediately called a tree service and had his fallen tree removed, (The tree service had to go through our lot to reach it, We’re fine with that and happy to have the tree gone.)

But that other dead tree is still there. SIL has emailed and spoken to the neighbors 3 or 4 times about the tree, has sent 2 sets tree service guys over to talk to them, even offer to split the cost of the tree removal but they WILL NOT do anything about their dead tree. They say, yeah, we need to consult someone about it. We’ll get back to you–then never actually get a contractor to come out and look at the tree.

This a large hardwood tree 40+ ft tall and about 18 inches in diameter. People could get killed if comes crashing down. SIL and D are especially worried about the kids since no matter how much you tell small children it’s dangerous and not to go the area where the tree might fall, they can’t be relied on obey the rules. Also kids’ bedrooms are at the back of the house right where the tree will probably land.

What’s next? The HOA is useless. The HOA cannot compel the neighbor to remove the tree and the HOA doesn’t the have the legal authority to send its own tree cutting team. (D and SIL have asked the HOA to intervene and they won’t.)

So what options do they D and SIL have? File a complaint with the county? Have a lawyer send a warning letter/threaten to sue? Just have the tree removed without their permission? This tree is dangerous.

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Where I am…if that tree was on MY property, I could remove the part that was on my property. Check what’s OK where you live. It’s very possible that you all can have the part on your property removed…leaving the rest for the neighbor to deal with.

Lawyer doesn’t have to threaten to file a suit, but a letter from a lawyer (and I’d copy the HOA) stating that the tree has fallen and is endangering the folks in your house might be listened to faster than a letter to these irresponsible neighbors.

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Is there a local 311 system? In my area a call to 311 would have the city out to assess the tree and they can compel the neighbors to take it down if it’s a threat.

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If the relationship with the neighbors is not completely adversarial, I’d offer to pay for an arborist’s assessment and removal of the tree. If the neighbors are no longer talking, I would engage your insurance and get a lawyer involved as the last resort.

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Can they contact the HOA and ask them to investigate the issue?

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HOA is aware of the situation, but cannot compel the neighbor to remove the tree since it’s on private property–not on any common property. Basically, HOA board has thrown their hands up and said sorry, nothing we can do.

Relationship is not adversarial. I would say it’s neutral. Mostly they ignore us/pretend we aren’t there and don’t interact with us. (Unlike the neighbor behind our across-the street neighbors who is the Neighbor From Hell. He has called county police with noise complaints dozens of times. If their dog barks, even if the dog is inside the house, or if their 2 years old twins are boisterous in their backyard. Same neighbor has twice thrown poisoned meat into their backyard after the police dismissed his noise complaint. Crazy dangerous guy.)

We have offered to pay 1/2 of the cost of removal, using the tree service that removed the 2 smaller dead trees in our yard. But they said no, they wanted to get their own estimate–this was back in August-- and we’ve never heard anything back from them. Sil contacted them again Monday after the wind storm this weekend and the tree is now leaning precariously. They still insist they will get their own inspector. They’ve ignored the 2 other inspectors (0ne we hired and the one the catty corner neighbor hired) who have looked at the tree and said, “It’s dead, Jim” and needs to come down.

I’ll pass on the 311 idea to D and SIL. Filing a complaint with the county was going to be their next likely step anyway.

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I know our homeowners insurance won’t renew if there are dead trees that they deem dangerous and need removal. Not sure if it would be better or worse to get your home owners insurance involved.

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@vwlizard it’s the neighbors tree…it just happens go have fallen down in this OPs yard…precariously.

Our homeowners pays for this type of tree removal…on our property. But like I said…that is allowed in this state. If it’s on your property, you can deal with it.

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There have been similar discussions in our local Reddit. Apparently here if a healthy tree falls during a storm it is considered an act of God and the owner/insurance of the property it landed on is responsible for the damage no matter who owned the tree. If the tree was dead and the owners knew, then they are responsible if it lands on your property.

You may be able to have a local expert verify if it is the same in your area and send the information to the neighbor so they know they could be liable for a lot more than the cost of removing the tree. I would keep any documentation showing it is dead and they know.

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I would contact your local govt employee to see how this is handled in your area. Like others, we are allowed to cut any portion that is hanging over our property line. Past that, I’m not sure. It would likely be a property dispute between neighbors and would wind up in court.

But the person in our area who is knowledgeable about the process would be Code Enforcement under Public Works.

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And I would contact an attorney who is an expert with HOA’s and ask counsel to review teh HOA docs and opine if there is any responsibility for the HOA if the tree falls and injures a person or property. If so, a letter to the Board and the HOA’s insurance company (Director’s and Officers insurance policy) should get some action.

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I’d send them a dated letter describing the hazard, make copy of past e-mails with response, any proof you have that tree service told them it was dead and take pictures of the tree so you have evidence that they were aware of the danger.

I’d also go over the HOA rules (don’t just ask them) to see if there are provisions for maintaining landscape, safety rules (can’t endanger neighbors), nuisance rules (the tree poses danger to backyard and they can’t let children play there).

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Since your relatives have already offered to pay half of the removal cost of the dead tree which threatens the health & safety of their children, why not offer to pay the entire cost ?

Even though tree removal can cost $40,000, how much is the health & safety of the kids worth ?

They have an unusual HOA. In states like Georgia, an HOA would order the tree removed and assess fines in the interim if compliance is not timely which become a lien against the property.

Of course, the crux of the matter is that the tree is on private property even though subject to HOA rules.

For the safety of your family members, think about hiring an attorney familiar with HOAs and offer to pay 100% of the estimated cost for removal. You need an attorney to handle this as an agreement regarding any damage caused by removing the dead tree needs to be agreed to in writing by the parties involved.

Of course, you should get local government officials involved, but this seems to be an urgent matter and government often acts slowly.

P.S. Have an attorney check out the relatives’ homeowners insurance policy to check about reimbursement (but, do not contact the insurance company directly due to risk of being cancelled.)

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Their insurance company would make them take down the tree if they knew about it- not sure how you can find out who the insurance company is, but you could contact your own insurance company for advice.

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So the HOA will forbid the removal of a tree until it is a safety hazard but will not enforce the removal of trees when they become a safety hazard? At some point an attorney should force them to address that lack of oversight.

I would call your own homeowners insurance and ask them if they have advice, since they would have experience in dealing with it if the situation was reversed (if they were insuring the homeowner ignoring a safety hazard on their property).

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Sadly, where I live, that’s the city code. No significant tree can be removed unless an arborist says it is unhealthy.

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No I get it, I think its more the one without the other I found surprising!

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But seems like in this case, that hurdle has been met already.

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Latest update: the HOA is sending an arborist to examine the tree.

HOA can order neighbors remove the tree, fine them if they don’t comply, but cannot force the neighbor to cut the dead tree down if they refuse.

Apparently tree has been dead for a number of years and they simply don’t believe it needs to be removed. They claim the tree is "stable"and not in danger of falling.

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My next door neighbor lost his kitchen and deck (completely sheared off the house) from a falling “dead but stable” tree behind his property. Tree belonged to the homeowners who lived behind him- it was clearly dead for a long time.

Perhaps someone in the neighborhood (not you) can suggest that they upgrade to an umbrella policy IMMEDIATELY since once the arborist tells them the tree is dead, they can no longer claim that they had no idea it was a potential hazard.

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