my tenant trim my fruit tree badly can I take desposit.

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my tenant trim my fruit tree badly can I take desposit.

Crystal Shi
anaheim, CA · Member since 2014 · 15 posts · 2 votes

My tenant recently moved out and I found he trimmed all branches off my 20 year old fig tree and top it badly. 
can I take money from his deposit as a compensation? 
the tenant also maintained my yard for which I pay him $70 a month. 
i was told by the other gardener that my tree will prone to disease and insect because of bad topping. 
photo is before and after. 

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  • Dustin Allen
    Real Estate Agent · South Lake Tahoe, CA · Member since 2016 · 681 posts · 644 votes
    5y

    @Crystal Shi

    I would ask a lawyer that question. Personally, I feel like you paid him to maintain the yard and he did as good of a job as he knew how to do.

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  • Russell Howes
    Member since 2019 · 16 posts · 4 votes
    5y

    I'm inclined to agree with Dustin--if you were to pursue this and the tenant fought it, it would be very hard for you to prove that the tenant was negligent. Opinions on whether a tree trim was bad or not can be very subjective (every time I get estimates from tree trimmers their opinions are all over the place), and unless the tenant was a professional tree trimmer, 'you get what you pay for'.

    I'd take the lesson learned, and use a professional in the future for tree trimming or do it yourself.

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  • Crystal Shi
    OP
    anaheim, CA · Member since 2014 · 15 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    Thank you guys. I’ve decided to let it go. 

    1Reply
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