Who Is Responsible For Overhanging Trees in Australia?

We have all experienced the hassle of having an overhanging tree intruding on our garden and wondering whether it would be acceptable to take matters into our own hands. If you're wondering whose responsibility it is to remove them, carry on reading. In this blog, we're going to answer this question for you and give you some advice on how to go about any disagreements with your neighbours in the future.

According to guidelines by the Neighbourhood Disputed Resolution Act 2011, the tree keeper is the owner of the land that the tree is growing on.
 
So if the overhanging tree is in your garden, it is your own responsibility to trim it or hire someone to do it for you.
 
However, if this isn't the case and you don't know who the land belongs to, you can find out by doing a street address inquiry through the NSW Land Registry Services and getting in contact with the land owner.

If a tree is overhanging into your garden and it doesn't belong to you, but it's coming from your neighbour’s land, the first thing to do would be to ask them how they would feel about cutting it down.
 
Since the overhanging branches are technically coming from their land, it's their responsibility to cut it, and most neighbours will act cooperatively and do so.
 
However, if it's hanging into your land and they refuse to cut the overhanging branches, this is when you can exercise the common law right of abatement.
 
This means that you can argue the right to remove the overhanging branches since they are disturbing you and encroaching on your boundary line. However, it's important to try and resolve the issue in a professional manner.

Believe it or not, sometimes overhanging branches can lead to disputes between neighbours.
 
If this is the case and your neighbour's tree is indeed affecting you on an everyday basis, the responsibility to fix this issue can be handed over to the Land and Environment Court in regards to the hedge height law in NSW.
 
Legally, an overhanging tree is seen as affecting you if it's beginning to interfere with the enjoyment you get from your land due or if it seems to be causing an obstruction of sunlight to windows or is impeding upon the view from your property.
 
If this is found to be the case, the Land and Environment Court is responsible for stepping in and legally forcing a decision on the matter.
 
However, this will only occur once an assessment has been made and it's proven that a reasonable amount of effort has been taken to try and reach an agreement with the landowner where the overhanging tree is located.
 
For more information on tree removal and tree services, get in contact with us at All Area Tree Service today.