ᐅ Neighbor's Tree – Safety and Debris: Who Is Responsible?

Created on: 5 Apr 2021 18:46
L
lin0r87
Good day, dear community,
now that we have received a refund from Bafa regarding the subsidy, we want to start working on the front yard and the garden.
Everything is going well with the front yard, but we have a small problem with the garden.
Our neighbor across the street has four trees about 15-20m (50-65 feet) tall, and the branches extend about 1.5-2m (5-6.5 feet) onto our property.
The trees create a lot of debris. During strong gusts of wind, even branches and many pine needles fall to the ground.
We have forbidden our daughter from playing underneath them.

Safety is our top priority, and everything else comes after that.

What have we done so far?

Our first official action was to have a personal conversation. Unfortunately, we were turned away. Our neighbor doesn’t seem to care much.
The trees were here first, and then we came (??), was his reply. For him, the privacy screen is what matters, not safety.
The request to possibly reduce the trees by half was strictly refused! Our invitation to look at the trees and then assess the situation was also declined!

After that, we went to the city authorities and reported the issue. There, too, we encountered a dead end. “The city is not responsible for this.” We were advised to involve a mediator. Said and done. But our neighbor is not interested.

So, dear community, what else can I do now? I’ve found many articles on Google, but none really gives me clear advice in this regard.

As long as the situation with the trees is unresolved, working in the garden will be difficult...

I would be grateful for any small help.

Garden with tall, leaning trees by the fence; pallets and clutter in the foreground.


Large tree with green ivy growth, partly brownish branches; garden fence in the foreground.


Garden view with green chain-link fence on the right, dense deciduous tree, blue sky.


Green metal fence with curved bars in the foreground, behind it leaves and bare branches.


Outdoor area with uneven soil, patches of grass, stones, wooden slat, trash bags in front of a gray wall.


Open garden area with bare soil, sparse grass, and construction debris (pipes, bags) at the edge.


Metal fence at the lower left edge, dense greenery climbing on it, bare branches reaching into gray sky.
Nida35a12 Jun 2021 09:47
Yes, I read it as meaning that you should keep cutting back the overhanging branches until the tree leans onto the neighbor’s side 😉
Y
ypg
12 Jun 2021 16:41
Tolentino schrieb:
Karlsruhe rules on Berlin neighborhood dispute: Is it allowed to cut back the encroaching tree?

The Tagesspiegel reports...
That was in the news yesterday or the day before, right?
Tolentino12 Jun 2021 18:18
I don’t know, I got it from the Checkpoint newsletter by Tagesspiegel.
B
Bertram100
13 Jun 2021 07:40
I would hire an arborist. Definitely do this after you have received approval from your neighbor to remove the overhanging branches. This way, you can prove that you acted professionally if necessary. An arborist is also familiar with the local regulations regarding pruning near property lines. It does cost a bit, but not excessively. It’s better than dealing with ongoing conflicts.