another one: need advice on dealing with neighbor
 

I have a rental house on the other side of the hill with a neighbor who just doesn't do any maintenance. He lives in DC and rents to a very nice lady with her little boy. He responded to one of my many e-mails but without an definite answer and nothing more.

Half his rubber tree is hanging over our roof and fills the gutters every season. It has caused water to dam up so the rain water runs back into the roof. We just replaces the entire patio cover and put on a new roof along with new gutters, plumbing electrical and interior is all new. I like to have him cut the tree, but its $3k so do it along with other brush that's taking over the only stairs case that lead onto the back yard. Fence that has fallen over but held up by vegetation. We are down hill from them, and I do not want their fence to fall onto my new tenant causing an easy lawsuit. I am more then willing to split the cost of a new fence but not cut his damn tree. what can I do or what would you do since he will not respond to my emails. His poor renter wants the trees cut on the property also. this is the house he's eventually going to live in after retirement. i don't want to go the route of a lawyer or small claims court, but like to do something about it before we rent it out. Lets hear it guys.

oh, my first email to him has been over two months. He refuse to give me his number. I think he's afraid that I will tear his balls off through the phone lines.

Green waste roll-off bin. Will a chainsaw cut through that bizzo? I can lend you a few monster saws.

First off your landlord neighbour sounds very unreasonable. I would check to see if there are bylaws covering trees from neighbours encroaching your property. Here in Edmonton we have encroachment provisions in this regard. We have recently talked one neighbour into removing three large spruce trees because the roots came onto our property and it was getting hard to cut our grass because they were above ground. Also the roots were undermining our garage. At first he talked lawyer and then he must have consulted somebody and gave in and hired a tree cutter.

The other neighbour has a pear tree overhanging our property. The pears come down on our property and make a heck of mess. So in the past I have trimmed the branches that overhang our property. I am not sure if you could legally do that in your part of the world.

So my suggestions are:
Check LA City bylaws covering what you can and cannot do in regards to neighbours' trees.
Check tree encroachment procedure in your City if there is one.
Also if you sold your house now you have a legal problem with the new owners having an encroachment problem with the neighbours' tree so you want to get this problem solved now. I know you are not selling now but you want to get this problem solved anyway.
The last course of action is a lawyer as you want to get this situation resolved cheaply.
This landlord sounds like he does not want to spend the money. There must be an amicable arrangement to resolve this issue. Perhaps get the landlord's ph. number from the tenant? This situation is quite stressful for you but I feel confident that you will resolve it in an amicable manner!
Cheers, Guy

anything hanging over our side its fair game. A few branches or even more then that, its no big deal we just cut it to save the head aches. The tenant and I have been talking about this damn tree for a few years now. This is not a few branches.

I have done a cursory check of LA bylaws and cannot find anything in this regard. I have looked up the legal side and it is quite adequately covered. As I mentioned above see if you can get the landlord's ph. number from his tenant. Try the amicable route first before the legal route. It is cheaper and less stressful.

I can't agree with yo more. Avoiding the lawyer route is a must at this point because by the time we are done, I am sure it will be more then 3k in fees. the phone number isn't good or he's just not returning my calls. PITA.

Are there any power lines or utilities near the tree ? You could ask around to see if a mobile bucket utility truck could pare it back a bit "for safety purposes".

Rubber Trees (aka Ficus elastica) are extremely invasive and messy. They are notorious for having extensive root systems that seek out water and many times are responsible for clogged and/or broken water and/or sewer pipes.

The ideal scenario of course would be for the owner of the tree to contract a tree service to cut it down. If you have exhausted all efforts toward this, you could cut off all limbs overhanging your side and try to live with that situation.

There is a chemical that can be sprayed onto the open wound of a tree that translocates down into the roots and kills the whole thing. It's called Tordon RTU and is available from Amazon. You could spray this on all the open cuts left from trimming the limbs from your side and see what happens. If you spray enough surface area...it would do the tree in. Then at least it would stop growing.

If you're going to kill it by chemical means...this would be a better way to go than something environmentally damaging such as pouring diesel fuel on the roots as some might suggest.

All the solutions I came up with at first involved fire so they're probably out...

Why not just have the branches cut back and send him a bill for half?

Is there any local ordinance about this kind of thing?

If all else fails, I think painting the tree baby poo yellow is in order.

I have the tools & experience where I would do this at minimal $ (if the owner was so inclined)....YMMV. If the owner isn't cooperating at all, then legally, you have the right to cut off all limbs and ROOTS that are over the property line (which will kill most trees)....that's the law, and how you handle it is up too you, but I personally wouldn't give him but a cursory notice and then do what you need to do at this point.

You can pay for someone to do that, but it's on your dime...the other property owner is NOT responsible for your side of the line either....

I googled law re encroaching trees and the person that is responsible for cutting roots on your own property(namely you) is liable if say the tree falls down subsequently and causes damage.

I would contact this knucklehead, recalcitrant idiot and advise him of the situation and what you want done. If he does not respond then I would threaten him with a lawsuit which would be way more expensive for him.Don't get angry but just use a matter of fact tone. Be firm and fair.

Sorry, but your google search is wrong. If the tree is dead, etc. then the tree's owner IS responsible, but I assure you that I do indeed know the law regarding this matter. The other property owner is NOT responsible for your side of the line when the tree isn't dead/dying...the limbs AND roots on your side of the propertry line are yours to deal with.

I am not surprise if the roots is already in the Jacuzzi yet? Its all plastic, so you think I am safe. It sits about 30' from the tree. How long do you suspect this chemical will take before it will kill this tree?

It works fairly quickly...especially this time of year. But it will depend on how large the tree is and how much surface area you can get sprayed. The larger the tree the longer it will take and the more area that is sprayed the faster (and more effective) it will work.

I've used it for years and it works very well.

Check the reviews out:

http://www.amazon.com/Tordon-RTU-Cut-Stump-Killer/dp/B004RCWG40

I would be very careful about spraying anything on the tree to kill it. All it takes is one neighbor telling the owner you sprayed the tree and now it's dead and you end up in court over the deal. I agree you are allowed to trim anything on your side, but spraying it is a whole bother barrel of monkeys....

Go to a lawyer and find out what your legal remedies are. This shouldn't cost more than an hour.
Send him registered letter telling him what needs to be done and the deadline on which you want it to happen. Be prepared to pursue legal action if he doesn't comply.
The guy would have to be really, really stupid to know his property needs maintenance and spend money on a lawyer to postpone spending on the maintenance.

Cut the branches off at the property line to begin with.

I agree with sending Ninjas over the fence to cut a limb and assasinate the tree with chemicals.

If you want to kill the tree simply cut the bark in a full circle.

Do not do that. Killing the tree is really bad advice.

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.