Neighbor big tree branches are hanging over my property

[Mina G.]

Can I just cut the branches that are in my yard? The neighbor doesn't maintain his backyard at all.

[Roy N.]

Here, the neighbour is responsible for her/his trees.

We had a situation last month where a neighbours aging silver maple was rubbing the shingles on our roof.

This has occurred before and all past attempts to elicit action from the "neighbour" have been unfruitful. The first couple of times we trimmed the branches where they crossed the property line. This last time, we happened upon a City work crew trimming trees on the boulevard and asked them about the situation.

Given there is an easement between the two properties to accommodate a footpath to a playground, the City foreman unexpectedly offered to have his crew trim the trees. A couple of weeks later we heard from our neighbour: the City had sent him an invoice for tree trimming.