This Week's Q & A

Q: My neighbor has a large tree that sits near our property line. Although the tree itself is squarely in his yard, several branches extend over the line, hanging low over my property. I’ve asked the owner to trim them, but he refuses. He also says that since the tree belongs to him, I can’t trim the branches without his permission. Is that true? On a different issue, involving the same neighbor, I have several tall trees also located near the property line. The company I hire to keep them trimmed uses a cherry picker, but the only way they can reach some of the branches is from my neighbor’s property, and he refuses to let them bring the truck down his drive. Consequently, they have to climb the trees in order to trim them, for which they charge me more. Is there some provision in the law that would give me access to my neighbor’s property under these circumstances, solely for the purpose of trimming my trees?

A: This hardly sounds like a neighbor match made in heaven, but personality questions aside, the legal issues are (you’ll forgive me) reasonably clear-cut. On the first question, your neighbor is dead wrong. If the branches are hanging on your property, you are within your rights in trimming them, as long as you don’t have to set foot on his property in order to do so. That suggests the answer to your second question: Barring the existence of an easement, an adverse possession claim or some other legal basis for demanding access, there is no law that gives you the right to trespass on your neighbor’s property in order to trim your trees or for any other reason. And there certainly is no law requiring your neighbor to reduce your tree-trimming costs.