Tree roots and fence issue

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Tree roots and fence issue

Samantha Serenes
Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 2 votes

Hi, I need advice, please. Should I hire a lawyer or should I start fixing all this mess? Sorry for the lengthy story. 

The house I bought a year ago has a shared fence with a neighbor. At the end, there are 2 gates on both sides for my property and my neighbor's. I rent it to a tenant. It's in California.

1. A month ago HOA notified me that the gates didn't close properly and needed to be fixed soon by me. He thinks it's caused by my trees pushing the fence from the middle line. The neighbor has no trees. He notifies both me and the neighbor.

2. The neighbor said I need to remove all the trees (10 melaleuca trees) and replace the fence asap. The trees are too tall. Branches and leaves touch their windows on a windy day. And the trees are leaning against the fence. The fence is unstable. The fence is 20 years old by the way. 

I responded that I'll remove all the 10 trees and replace the fence at my own expense. The gate should fix itself once we have a new fence. 

3. The neighbor then added that the ground on their side is uneven. When removing the trees, they want me to lift up the brick paver on their side (they are small bricks and look easy to remove and put back) and check underground if there are roots and whether they cause foundation issues on their side. The fence is about 6 feet away from their house. 

I reported this to insurance and insurance said there is only 1 tree that touches the fence. The rest are about 4-6 inches from the fence. The roots are touching some part of the fence. Per insurance, the fence is still straight. 20 years aged fence contributes to wear and tear. They make it sounds like all these complaints are over-reacting. I'm still waiting for my insurance if they will cover at all or none. 

My preference is to remove all 10 trees and replace a new fence and be done with it even if the insurance doesn't cover this cost. But my neighbor seems to be a difficult person and now starts talking about liability for their tenant if they slip and fall due to uneven ground that they think is caused by my tree roots. I honestly don't know what causes the uneven ground. It could be the earth moving or the tree roots. 

My concern is replacing the fence and removing the trees may not be it. It could be opening a can of worms for more requests/ complaints. 

Do I need an attorney? Or should I proceed and do those 2 things? 

Thank you in advance for your time and for your help. 

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Matthew Paul
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
4y

The roots on your neighbors property belong to them , not your problem . You are under no obligation to remove any trees just because your neighbor wants you to .   The branches that overhang his property , he can cut them to the extent they dont kill the tree ( at his expense )  Do some research online there is lots of info

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  • Craig Janet
    Member since 2019 · 223 posts · 261 votes
    4y

    I agree with most of the other posters. You should do nothing and ignore the neighbor. You will end up spending a lot of money to please a neighbor. Your property will not be more valuable or be able to increase the rent. If the neighbor approaches you I would like politely tell them that the fence "looks fine to me" 

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  • Michael Deering
    Rental Property Investor · Lehigh Valley, PA · Member since 2017 · 200 posts · 191 votes
    4y

    Wait- how did a gate not closing properly turn into removing 10 trees and installing new fence and evening your neighbor's pavers?

    Did you first call someone to try to fix the gate?

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  • Samantha Serenes
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Caroline Gerardo:

    Remove the tree that touches under the fence and fix the gate your side only. Melaleuca should not have been planted in a small yard. They can grow to twenty feet in ten years and they spread seeds. Have the tree guy bid to grind the one stump down and you put epsom salts on the stump which shrinks the roots. One tree is $700. Take down three and ask tree guy to add two more. The two extra just cut to the stump and not ground down. Ask for three at $1000 and ask if he can fix your side fence off an extra $200 for the labor. Remove the one tree close to the fence and two other that you choose. I would not advise the neighbor. I would not call an attorney. Call the HOA as many times as you feel, they might want some permission to have tree guy's truck on site if there is shared access. Order the door/gate in advance to match the slat types of existing (Home Depot online or Amazon for $100 and have the tree crew screw it in to the existing studs on your side. Total cost $1300. Don't talk with neighbor, don't call attorneys, get the HOA manager to send an email blessing your plan. Where in CA?

    Thank you, Caroline. Appreciate your good advice. The property is in Irvine. 
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  • Samantha Serenes
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Curtis Mears:
    Quote from @Samantha Serenes:

    Hi all, I just spoke to my insurance today. She receives the final report and this is what she wrote to me.

    "We agree to cover 25% of the repairs to the whole fence as there are a few places where our insureds trees have pushed through the fence..." 

    She will mail a copy of this letter to my neighbor as well.

    I'm thinking to ask the neighbor to pay half of the remaining cost (75% of the total cost since insurance will pay 25%). If they don't agree, then I'll just remove that 1 tree that is leaning on the fence and stabilize the fence but doesn't change it, and fix the gate. I'll leave the other 9 trees alone.

    I appreciate all your comments that have helped me see through this situation. If you don't mind giving me your feedback about this idea, please let me know. Thank you so much.

    I would not use insurance unless absolutely necessary. Using insurance almost guarantees higher rates. I used insurance many years ago to cover stolen bike and lost wedding ring. State farm paid, then promptly dropped my policy (this was my personal homeowners policy).
    i would trim back the tree touching the fence if it were an actual issue (causing stress on the fence), and leave remaining trees alone (unless you want them gone for personal reasons). The neighbor can trim any tree over the border so they can trim those if they wish  As for the fence, I would inform neighbor I am willing to split the cost to repair the fence as it is a shared fence.
    nothing you do will fix the root issue if it is the issue. You would need to rip up the entire yard to remove roots. I would not accept responsibility for tree roots. Have you seen the issue? Are the roots so bad that they are obviously causing the issue? It could be the neighbor trying to get a free fence.
    also, if the neighbor is really freaked out about the fence, suggest their home owners insurance may help them.

     Thank you, Curtis. I don't know if there is root damage. The neighbor mentioned in his email that there are. I agree that he can contact his insurance if he wants to pursue it. 

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  • Samantha Serenes
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Kar Sun:

    @Samantha Serenes I know you are trying to be nice but you are doing everything the least beneficial way for you. You are asking for advice and then continue on with your way of doing it. Either you are not mentioning something here or you just disregard the advice. Like I said, do not involve attorneys (they are utterly useless in this case and expensive) and do not contact insurance companies. If your neighbor continues to annoy you let him take you to court and he will lose. 95% chance your neighbor will not do it. You got to start ignoring people. 


    Thank you, Kar.  I talked with insurance a month ago and she got back to me today so I thought the different info might have given different perspectives so I wanted to ask. I get your points and appreciate your sincere help. 

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  • Samantha Serenes
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Michael Deering:

    Wait- how did a gate not closing properly turn into removing 10 trees and installing new fence and evening your neighbor's pavers?

    Did you first call someone to try to fix the gate?

    Lol I know, right? I got a few long emails from the neighbor and trust me the "lawyer talk" is very intimidating. I discussed this with HOA and he brought some suggestions and these are the questions I asked above.

    I did try but there are still gaps. 

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  • Samantha Serenes
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    Thank you, everyone. I've got a lot of good info to proceed. I will think over it this weekend. 

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