Back in the 80's a guy I worked with sued his neibour over the neibours trees. Guy had planted 8 birch trees in a row at the edge of the property line. They can drink 600 gallons of water a day (600 X 8 = 4800 gals a day). This caused the ground to shrink and the guy I worked with had a slab home. The slab cracked and there was a 8" difference between the two ends of the house. He sued for the replacement of the house and won.

Before he went to a lawyer he approached the neibour and said I think the trees are causing damage to my house. The neibour said "so sue me" and he did.

The trees send creeper roots out that look for water. He had plans to drill these roots and pour copper sulfate (blue stone) into them to kill the trees. He told this to the lawyer he hired and the lawyer said if he did kill the trees he could be responsible for any damage the trees might cause and it would hurt his case. So he didn't.

If your laws allow it trim all the branches that overhang your yard. If you trim enough this can cause the tree to go into shock and sometimes they don't recover. Stay away from chemicals. ;)

that's half the freaking tree

Sounds like trimming it at the property line will kill it... Spend the money to have yor side trimmed and hope for the best.... ;)

You know Sid, half of that freaking tree is hanging over our property. A big wind storm will tear some of the big old branches off. Because its so big and heavy, it will go right through the roof, house and kill someone for sure. its about 3k to trim at the property line. I know legally I can cut off what's on my side, but I really rather not spend the money on what's suppose to be his responsibility. Goddarnit, I hate people who don't do their part of take care of siht that effect others. I was hoping to hear "cut the tree and collect at small claim court and be done with it" from you guys. I'll see about shooting some pics for you guys tomorrow. Now, how does that work if I file in small claims court and the owner lives in DC? Does the court force him to come back to CA to defend himself? i want to give him a couple more weeks and hope he will make this right. I told my wife that when we cut all that crap, just throw it over the fence back over to his side and let the tenant bark at him for the clean up. It will fill 10 pickup trucks easy but i can't do that to her and her kids, they are decent people. the fence. I am just going to tear out that trash and pay for it myself instead of waiting for this bastard. My new tenants should not have to look at that carp falling over. My opinion is that if you have crap it will attract crap.

I don't think it is his responsibility.

As I read the OP, tree is on his side and healthy/alive? Fence... whose is it? His or yours?

I'd read up on local zoning ordinance, and/or take some pics and a plot plan down to zoning office, perhaps zoning officer will issue citation for this fence falling.

You did the right thing contacting owner first. No response, talk to local officials.

In my area the tree on my neighbours side of the fence is his responsibility. The part of the tree in my air space is my responsibility
(even if I didn't want the tree or fast growing hedge)

Where it gets tricky is where the property line is in the middle of the trunk.

It sucks but sometimes we just need to suck it up, go out there, and git er done before a bad situation gets worse.

Given OP's line of work he might just be able to barter for the services of a pro tree guy.

The other option is to just leave it until the branches cause damage. Then file a claim with your insurance company. Let them go after him and his insurance company for repayment. If you can document that you tried to get him to do something about a hazard before it happened it no longer is a act of god and he would be libel (Stayed at a Holiday Inn last week).

If OP cuts down or Kills neighbor tree, without written approval, he may be liable for replacement. I don't know if this information is accurate(I'm not a lawyer, nor live near op): Conflicts Involving Trees and Neighbors - FindLaw

Basically what GWN7 said......a whole lot of trouble can come your way if it is found out that you poisoned the tree, or cut the limbs off and caused the tree to die. All of a sudden it is your fault and I think a court might agree that you are responsible.

Document what you said and when you said it, and what he said in response, and give him several chances to make it right.

We don't always get a free pass just because we notified someone of a dangerous or threatening situation.

If there was something we could have done but chose not to we can also be held liable.

YMMV

This guy is bonded, has contractors license.
Cut down two big trees, three small trees, two huge bushes for $800.
Might want to get a bid from him:

Tree Service | Lomita, CA

Is it possible to spend the money you would spend cutting only your side into cutting both sides and trim the tree down? The property owner might tell you he likes the tree there but perhaps you approach him with "is it OK if I pay to have it trimmed heavily" and he agrees. Otherwise I don't think a guy is going to spend that kind of money on a house he is probably keeping as an income generator.

If the branches fall on his side of the fence after cutting, they are the neighbor's responsibility. I'm just saying.

The housing commission can get quite nit-picky over "safety issues" and renter's safety if it comes to that.
Also, the electric company will want to keep their electric lines safe. For free.

My previous neighbor turned out to be quite a booger considering all I'd done for his elderly mom.
I paid her a bit of money for one guaranteed to take out all power/cable/phone in the entire neighborhood.
Lots of bad trees on the property line.
I didn't wait and trimmed back my side.
The present owner is only waiting for an insurance claim to rebuild, I'm suspecting.

Well you can cut them for free. It's transporting the branches that cost money. I'm pointing out that oopsie most of the big branches fell on douchebag's property. Don't know how that happened.

Thanks Baz. ;)
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Amazon.com : Tordon RTU Cut Stump Killer - 1 Quart : Outdoor And Patio Products : Patio, Lawn & Garden

I wouldn't. If I had a tree that suddenly died, with yellowing, curling leaves, I'd immediately take samples.

And any good lab can see picloram and 2,4-D way low, and they are persistant in soil and vegetative material. I'd know you poisoned the tree, and I'd win in court.

That's cheap. Thanks Scott. When the dust settles, I will definitely give him a call.