RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
  • Agents
  • Brokers
  • Teams
  • Marketing
  • Coaching
  • Technology
  • More
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • Consumer
    • National
    • Our Editors
Join Premier
Sign In
RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
RISMedia
No Result
View All Result

If Your Tree Falls onto Neighbor’s Property, Are You Liable?

Home Consumer
By Brett Snider, Esq.
July 16, 2014
Reading Time: 2 mins read

uprooted_treeIf your tree falls onto a neighbor’s property, it might not make a sound, but you may be liable.

Trees can fall for any number of different reasons: construction, heavy storms, and even just the natural end of a tree’s life.

But in each of these situations where your tree topples onto your neighbor’s property, when are you liable? Here’s a general overview:

Construction Accidents
Often, a tree on your property will crash into your neighbor’s property as a result of building or construction on your property. If, as a result of your own negligence while performing construction on your property you knock over your own tree, you will likely be held liable for the damage to your neighbor’s property.

Even if a construction contractor you hired is the one who caused your tree to fall, you may still be held liable, as long as your neighbor can prove that your negligent direction led to the tree’s demise. However, many licensed contractors will have liability insurance that will cover these sorts of damages, so you may not have to.

Extreme Weather
Trees are often tossed around like matchsticks in a heavy storm, and a solid lightning strike can slay even the healthiest tree.

Homeowners are generally not responsible for extreme natural conditions that cause otherwise healthy trees to fall onto a neighbor’s property. These “acts of god” (also called “force majeure”) are outside of a homeowner’s ability to predict or prepare for, and damage from these natural events is typically not a homeowner’s responsibility.

However, if an old or diseased tree rolls into a neighbor’s yard after a slight gust or light storm, the tree owner may be liable. Why?

Dying or Unsafe Trees
A property owner often has a duty to inspect his or her property for hazardous conditions, and even without man’s help, trees can become a hazard. A lawyer writing for The Washington Post noted that the general rule for liability hinges on whether the tree owner “knew or should have known that his tree was unsafe.”

So if you failed to make reasonable inspection of your property, and a diseased or dying tree tips onto your neighbor’s land, you’re likely to be held liable. This is especially true if your neighbor has alerted you to the dangerous condition of the tree.

Take good care of your trees, and you should have much less liability to worry about when they fall.

Source: Findlaw

ShareTweetShare
Susanne Dwyer

Susanne Dwyer

Related Posts

Second Century Ventures Announces Early Acceptances for 2023 REACH U.S. Programs
Agents

Second Century Ventures Announces Early Acceptances for 2023 REACH U.S. Programs

March 24, 2023
NextHome Forms Relationship with Realtor.com
Agents

NextHome Forms Relationship with Realtor.com

March 24, 2023
Evocalize and Side Announce Partnership
Agents

Evocalize and Side Announce Partnership

March 24, 2023
Bank Crashes Add New Uncertainty for Commercial Sector, Apartments
Agents

Bank Crashes Add New Uncertainty for Commercial Sector, Apartments

March 24, 2023
Fathom: Weak Q4 but Strong YoY Revenue, Agent and Transaction Growth
Agents

Fathom: Weak Q4 but Strong YoY Revenue, Agent and Transaction Growth

March 24, 2023
New Home Sales Rise for Fifth Consecutive Month
Agents

New Home Sales Rise for Fifth Consecutive Month

March 24, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tip of the Day

4 Ways to Leverage Augmented Reality to Improve the Homebuying Experience

From improving the showing experience to helping clients visualize what their new home could look like, here are a few ways that augmented reality could help you improve your client's search for their perfect home. Read more.

Business Tip of the Day provided by

Recent Posts

  • Second Century Ventures Announces Early Acceptances for 2023 REACH U.S. Programs
  • NextHome Forms Relationship with Realtor.com
  • Evocalize and Side Announce Partnership

Categories

  • Spotlights
  • Best Practices
  • Advice
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Social Media

The Most Important Real Estate News & Events

Click below to receive the latest real estate news and events directly to your inbox.

Sign Up
By signing up, you agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

About Blog Our Products Our Team Contact Advertise/Sponsor Media Kit Email Whitelist Terms & Policies ACE Marketing Technologies LLC

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • News
    • Agents
    • Brokers
    • Teams
    • Consumer
    • Marketing
    • Coaching
    • Technology
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • National
    • Our Editors
  • Publications
    • Real Estate Magazine
    • Past Issues
    • Custom Covers
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Podcasts
    • Event Coverage
  • Education
    • Get Licensed
    • REALTOR® Courses
    • Continuing Education
    • Luxury Designation
    • Real Estate Tools
  • Newsmakers
    • 2023 Newsmakers
    • 2022 Newsmakers
    • 2021 Newsmakers
    • 2020 Newsmakers
    • 2019 Newsmakers
  • Power Broker
    • 2023 Power Broker
    • 2022 Power Broker
    • 2021 Power Broker
    • 2020 Power Broker
    • 2019 Power Broker
  • Join Premier
  • Sign In

© 2023 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

X