Question: I have been reading your column for years.
I recall that you have written about branches from a neighbor’s
tree encroaching into a homeowner’s backyard. We live in a subdivision
in Mesa where most of the homes have orange trees in their backyards.
Every year we have our own orange trees trimmed by our landscaping
company. Every year we also have two of our neighbor’s orange
trees cut back because the branches of these orange trees hang
over into our backyard. We have never even discussed the trimming
of these branches with our neighbor. Do we need permission of
our neighbor? Can we bill our neighbor for the cost of trimming
the branches of these two orange trees?
Answer: You do not need the permission of your neighbor
to cut back the orange trees to your property line provided that
the orange trees are not destroyed. Unlike other states such as
California, however, Arizona does not permit a homeowner to recover
the cost of trimming the branches or roots of a tree back to the
property line. On the other hand, in Arizona and in most states,
the cost of repairing any damage by the encroaching branches or
roots is recoverable, for example, roots causing damage to a concrete
patio in the backyard.
