dead tree issue

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? virginia

our neighbor has a very tall oak on their side of the property line -- it's obviously dead. it's about 20 or 30 feet higher than surrounding trees and there have been no leaves on it for years.

the way the land lays, if it falls for whatever reason, it will fall away from their house. it could go down in their backyard, but more likely it will fall towards our house or at least across our privacy fence.

i realize that if a live tree falls, the person who gets the damage is responsible regardless of whose property the tree was on -- but what if the tree is dead?

i've read some opinions that if a person knows they have a dead tree on their property and doesn't remove it, they are negligent and responsible for the damage, but i can't find any law saying that.

we don't want to get into one of those things where our insurance & their insurance are pointing fingers -- and we're not on speaking terms with those neighbors -- a long story and the reason for the privacy fence.

to get to the point, who would be responsible for damages?
what would be the best way to ask them to take care of the tree without talking to them?

Talk to a lawyer and have him give notice to the neighbor that the tree is a potential hazard.
In most cases that would shift the burden of responsibility to the neighbor for any damage or injury.

154NH773 said:

Talk to a lawyer and have him give notice to the neighbor that the tree is a potential hazard.
In most cases that would shift the burden of responsibility to the neighbor for any damage or injury.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure you need a lawyer for this. You need to have proof you informed him of the dead tree to make sure you can show he knew it was dead. A letter sent certified return receipt should do the trick. You can be nice in the letter but firm. Eg your tree appears to be dead and I'm asking you to remove it before it falls and causes damage. If I does eventually fall you can either sue for damages or let your insurnace do the same.

thanks to both of you -- sorry it took me so long to look at the thread again.

i guess it always looks better on a lawyer's letterhead.

i might have some basic legal coverage for stuff like this through my employer, maybe enough for a letter.

i guess i should call my insurance carrier with a what-if queston as well -- we're doing some renovations on our house and i need to make sure our coverage needs to change anyway.

Your insurance company may help you with this as well, and then it wouldn't necessarily come from you, and you can be a little transparent.

I've had my insurance company come out periodically and do a property review....and you could to. That insurance agent would walk around the property with you, and notice that dead tree (after you point it out to him). It would be in their interest to take action as well.

our neighbors now have a for sale sign up.

wondering if i should send a copy of the letter to the realtor as well?
to make sure the problem is disclosed to the buyers?

or if they don't, proof that they should have?

i wouldn't want to meet the new buyers with a "hey, cut your tree" demand

Your city /county govt center could be of assistance in this matter, call zoning depot to learn if there are any local ords addressing tree removal when it appears that the tree in question is dead, IF there is a local ord get a coy of it and then send that to the neighbor with your requesting them to address the problem, IF they dont act once they have a copy of the notice then call the city /county inspections desk. BTW there is a real possibility that there is no local ord , if thats the case you should still address your concerns in writting to the nieghbor.

slwx said:

i wouldn't want to meet the new buyers with a "hey, cut your tree" demand

Click to expand...

My neighbor did JUST that. We were bringing in our first load of things when the neighbor on the left, came over introduced herself, and then said the last owners were supposed to cut down those trees, as I am worried about them falling on my shed, she was pointing to 6 pines that were on the front of our property fairly close to the property line but still within our yard. My husband told her, you want them down you pay for it. And walked inside.. LOL

That was almost 4 yrs ago, and aside from the one tree we had cut down because it was struck by lighting and was dead, the others remain, guess she wasnt all that worried after all... LOL

slwx said:

our neighbors now have a for sale sign up.

wondering if i should send a copy of the letter to the realtor as well?
to make sure the problem is disclosed to the buyers?

or if they don't, proof that they should have?

i wouldn't want to meet the new buyers with a "hey, cut your tree" demand

Click to expand...

Telling the realtor doesn't guarantee it will be disclosed to the buyers, nor would it prove the buyers knew about it.

On the other hand, a tree that is obviously dead should be pretty obvious to anyone looking at it. You're better off sending another letter to the sellers, with a "request" that they disclose it to their buyers. Then you can tell the buyers too, but tell them "hey, it's not so bad, the sellers failed to tell you .. . ."

thanks for the replies.

i sent a letter -- with pictures -- certified mail with a delivery signature requirement.

they weren't home when the mail was delivered -- i happened to be home that day, so i know. they haven't picked the letter up yet and i'm expecting the unopened envelope to be returned to me anyday now. i don't think they're dodging it, they're just not going out of their way to pick it up.

so -- what do you do when people don't get the letter?

since the last time i posted, we had a storm & some other dead trees in the back came down on our fence.
luckily nothing really broke, but we had to go out & chainsaw the part on our side up to get the weight off -- we threw all of the cut wood & branches back on their side of the fence.

dead tree

You can send a certified letter to the realtor selling the property. I would suggest that since the neighbor is not willing to accept a certified letter from you. By telling the realtor in writing, you establish that the problem is present, is obvious, and needs to be addressed before the property sale is closed.