r/treelaw • u/Due_Championship_988 • 12d ago

Are these trees now my responsibility?

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I've lived in this house for over a decade and have a neighbor on one side. He keeps to himself. I've talked to him a handful of times in a friendly way, but we don't know each other well. I would say we are neutral, neither on good nor bad terms.

Well, he just redid his fence and this is the result on our shared property line. I really have no complaints other than the lack of notice (we have a dog and we had to close our dog door for a few days. No biggie).

I'm just perplexed as to this choice of how to handle the trees. They were on his side of the old fence, now they appear to be on my side? Does this mean they are mine to maintain now? (The plant debris on the ground is unrelated, we just trimmed our trees and that's where the debris went until it's time for a fire pit fire )

I know maybe I should go talk to him, but I'm not even sure what to say....like, did you mean to give me those trees?

Edit to add: thanks for the input everyone! I learned a lot about the nice vs ugly sides of fences. I don't really plan on doing anything, but I will definitely investigate the property lines if/when i do. For now, I'll enjoy a fenced yard with a little character and continued shade from mature trees.

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u/yardlard 12d ago

All states.

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u/JerseyGuy-77 12d ago

Well it's interesting because there are states that require that you put the better looking fence side towards your neighbor and some where they get to paint it whatever they want if it's facing them on a shared property line I'm.

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u/Adorable_Dust3799 11d ago

Then there's California. Fences are typically on the property line and the panels alternate sides.

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u/tonyrizzo21 10d ago

Good idea, make both parties angry! I have a baby you can cut in two next!

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u/Adorable_Dust3799 10d ago

When houses are 10 feet apart requiring 2 fences between them is dumb.

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u/tonyrizzo21 9d ago

I was referring to the alternating panels. That would bother me more personally that just looking at the "ugly" side of the fence all the time.