Natural Disaster Property Damage
August 4, 2020 7:56 AM   Subscribe

A tree in a neighbor's yard split, fell over the fence and into my yard. This has caused 2, possibly 3, problems that I don't know how to proceed to have them fixed. 1)The tree fell onto a brand new (3-4 weeks old) pergola that I just finished assembling, and completely destroyed it 2)Tree removal 3)Fence damage (didn't have time to wade in the mess to see if there was any before work, but a precursor look says no)

My first instinct would be that any possible fence damage would be repaired by my landlord, the tree removal should be handled by the neighbor whose property the tree sits on, and, hopefully, the pergola would be replaced by them as well. I don't have the resources to replace the pergola, which has broken my heart. I am trying to prepare myself for the possible answer that it's just terrible luck and I won't get a replacement.
Tree removal is not really something I'm willing to let go, however. It's not the whole tree, but the top half, and it's a huge mass over 20 feet long and 8 feet high of branches, which would need lots of power tools, time, and money to cut down and haul away.
I've been a lucky coastal dweller so far, this is my first time dealing with real damage, and so I'm appropriately confused and sad.
posted by FirstMateKate to Home & Garden (8 answers total)
 
Do you have renter's insurance? I'd get in touch with them about the pergola if you do.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:01 AM on August 4, 2020 [9 favorites]


The tree's owner almost certainly has insurance, and they are liable. If you have insurance, they'll help you with this. Even if not, ask your landlord to help you work with their (landlord's) insurance company to require neighbor's insurance company to fix stuff. Pergola should be replaced by their insurance. Debris removal and fence repair are your landlord's responsibility, and should be covered by neighbor's insurance. Worst case, you could go to small claims court, but it seldom comes to that. In the middle of Pandemic, it feels overwhelming, but there is a process for this.
posted by theora55 at 8:13 AM on August 4, 2020 [3 favorites]


Take pictures now from a variety of angles for documentation, pull together any receipts or pictures of the pergola and fence pre-tree-smashing, and get in touch with your renter's insurance. Or if you don't have insurance, ask your landlord whether their homeowner's insurance might cover your pergola as well and/or be willing to fight it out with the neighbor's insurance.

Tree removal is definitely something you should not have to do yourself, but it may not be the neighbor who's responsible for removing it. This may be the kind of thing that varies with location, but my understanding is that often (maybe always?) if the tree has fallen on your property it's your (your landlord's) responsibility to have it removed. Possibly they could get the neighbor's insurance to pay for it, but your landlord would have be the one to hire/pay/coordinate the people to do the work on their property.

So for now, work with your landlord and your renter's insurance with a focus on getting your landlord to handle the tree, and documenting the pergola damage. Leave the fence as a future question, and don't get in the middle of any neighbor-landlord disputes about payment if you can help it.

I'm sorry this happened!
posted by Stacey at 8:15 AM on August 4, 2020 [6 favorites]


This is a location-specific legal question. In many places, the tree would be your landlord's problem unless the tree was obviously dead/compromised and the neighbor negligently failed to have it dealt with. If the tree was in good condition as far as the neighbor knew, then they probably aren't responsible for it having fallen on your landlord's property. If that's the case then your landlord takes care of the fence and the part of the tree that's on his property, and you take care of the pergola (edit:assuming the pergola belongs to you).
posted by jon1270 at 8:16 AM on August 4, 2020 [8 favorites]


In my jurisdiction the theory from jon1270 applies.

I personally have taken some measure of responsibility for tree branches on neighbor’s properties, but that was out of my own pocket as a goodwill measure. I would not cover something like the pagoda that would/should be covered by insurance; I just paid to clean up the mess (not covered by insurance) out of pocket.
posted by doomsey at 8:24 AM on August 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


Here in my state of Colorado, the rule is as jon1270 and doomsey explain.

As homeowners, we checked into this a few years ago when my neighbor's 100+ year old tree dropped a large, heavy limb on our property, crushing our pergola as well as our shared boundary fence, during a spring storm. We cleared up the branches ourselves (and had we kept the pergola we would have used our property insurance). Our neighbor felt bad about the situation and insisted on repairing the shared broken fence, which faced their side anyway. Legally, we would have been directed to split the cost of repairing the fence.

The rule may be different in your home state.
posted by mochapickle at 8:33 AM on August 4, 2020


Yes, we had serious wind with this one....
Call your landlord; he will need to get his insurance to review because hopefully, the pergola will be covered.

However, the tree and fencing will probably have to be paid for by the landlord unless it's on the house.

Hugs. There are some trees and limbs down hereabouts, too. The EMS and Fire trucks are busy.
posted by mightshould at 9:27 AM on August 4, 2020


I am north of you, but please let me know if you need anything.
posted by mightshould at 1:15 PM on August 4, 2020


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