Business Law 101 / Trees and Plants

Business Law 101  / Trees and Plants

By Albert L. Kelley, Esq.

A reader recently suggested a topic that, while not directly business related, seems to crop up on a regular basis. The reader’s situation was potential damage from a neighbor’s tree that overhung his property. The question arises, what can a homeowner do regarding plants that encroach property lines.

Florida law is clear that a property owner has no liability to their neighbors for damage caused by plants on the property owner’s land that overhang the neighbor’s yard. To keep things clear, in this article we will refer to the property owner where the plant originates as the “plant owner” and to the neighbor as the “overhanging owner”. So in a situation where a palm tree grows in a curved manner so that coconuts fall on their neighbors building, the property owner of the land with the palm tree (the plant owner) is not responsible for the damage the coconuts cause to the neighbor’s property (the overhanging owner). However, the overhanging owner is always allowed to trim any plant or tree that crosses into their property at the overhanging owner’s expense. And just as the plant owner is not liable to the overhanging owner, the overhanging owner is not liable to the plant owner for damage that may result from trimming overhanging branches.

Property owners control not only the land they own, but also the limited airspace above it. They are allowed to control the light and shade within the bounds of their property. If they do not want any plants overhanging the yard, they are entitled to trim back all plants and trees to the property line. This can be troublesome for the plant owners. If the overhanging owner trims too much it could kill the plant and leave the plant owner with the expense of removing the dead plant or tree trunk.

The next issue regards the roots of the plant. Just as property owners are allowed to trim overhanging branches, there are also entitled to trim tree roots the cross onto the property. This again can cause problems for the plant owner. If the overhanging owner cuts all roots crossing into his property, it may weaken the support of the tree, and in a strong windstorm, allow the tree to fall on either property. If the tree falls on the plant owner’s property, the plant owner cannot sue the overhanging owner for the damage; the overhanging owner has no duty or obligation to protect the plant owner’s house.

Neither the plant owner nor the overhanging owner may do anything directly on the others property without permission. The overhanging owner cannot go on the plant owner’s property to remove the plant, and the plant owner cannot go on the overhanging owner’s property to trim the plant.

Another question arises as to fruit bearing trees. Just as stated above, any fruit overhanging the property line belongs to the overhanging owner. The plant owner cannot simply pick the fruit that are overhanging. This would be tantamount to theft (this is no different than people sneaking into a farmer’s field to steal fruits and vegetables the farmer is growing to market). While the plant owner may feel responsible for this fruit due to his work cultivating the plant, once the plant crosses the property line, the plant owner loses all claims to fruit on the overhanging branches.

Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney located in Key West and previously taught business law, personnel law and labor law at St. Leo University. He is also the author of “Basics of Business Law” and “Basics of Florida’s Small Claims Court” (Absolutely Amazing e-Books). This article is being offered as a public service and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about legal issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida attorney.

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