‘They jumped the fence’: Homeowner says neighbors paid to have her trees cut down without permission
Neighbors can impact your life, either making life easier or difficult. Most people like their neighbors, while others deal with unruly ones. An Ohio-based woman revealed how her neighbors chopped down the trees in her yard without permission in a video with over 971,000 views.
The video features TikTok user Meranda (@merleighw), who was confused about what to do about what her neighbors were doing. “So, our neighbors paid to have our trees cut down,” she said. “And I don’t know what to do.” In addition, she said the tree cutters trespassed onto her yard to reach the trees. “They jumped the fence and got onto our property, but they are parked at the neighbors' house.” As a result, the content creator wasn’t happy. “I’m actually really upset. I really liked that tree line. It gave us a lot of privacy to our yard,” she shared. “I don’t even know what to do about this.”
Meranda asked in the caption, “what would you do??”
The Daily Dot reached out to Meranda via TikTok comment and direct message. Viewers in the comments section were as angry as Meranda.
“If [the] branches are hanging over their property, they can legally cut their side, on their property. But NOT a whole [d*mn] tree,” one viewer stated.
“They can’t legally do that!!!! why didn’t you go outside and tell them,” a second remarked.
@merleighw what would you do?? #neighbors #wronghouse #trees #whatwouldyoudo #ohio #backyard ♬ original sound - Meranda????
In addition, others offered suggestions.
“You can sue the company that cut them down. This happened with a property my husband was working. Their insurance reimbursed the complainant,” one viewer wrote.
“File a police report. Neighbors will legally be required to compensate you and it’s costly. I believe upwards of a grand a tree,” a second suggested.
“Sue the neighbors. They have to pay to replant trees of THE SAME HEIGHT and type. It will be EXPENSIVE,” a third advised.
Then, in follow-up videos, Meranda elaborated more on the situation. First, she said she didn’t stop it because the tree removers were already more than halfway done. Since it was raining, she didn’t want to take her toddler with her to confront them.
Next, the content creator said another neighbor informed her that the tree removers returned to her yard while she and her husband were not home. Consequently, Meranda said she called the police on the neighbors for the second trespassing.
Is it legal for neighbors to remove trees in your yard?
Since Meranda is located in Ohio, the neighbors can trim tree branches that encroach into their property line, according to Tree Images Professional Tree Service. However, it is illegal for them to remove an entire tree without her consent. The site states, “If your neighbor or someone else cuts down, removes, or damages a tree on private property without the owner's permission, that person is required to compensate the tree owner. This recovery is available even if the damage was unintentional. If necessary, you can sue to enforce your rights.”
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