A tenant was devastated to walk outside one morning and see that a tree on their property had been brutally butchered by a neighbor.

"I absolutely understand cutting limbs off that go into their air space… but this is way more than that," they wrote in their post on the subreddit r/arborists. "I burst into tears when I saw it."

In their photo, one side of the tree looks healthy and flourishing, while the other is a mess of close-cropped branches and straggling boughs.

"You can see that they cut way over the fence line. They didn't even contact my landlord prior to doing it," they vented. "What can we (the landlord not me because I know I can't do anything since I just rent) even do here?"

One commenter jumped in with thoughts. "Not an arborist, but from what I understand...Typically neighbors are allowed to trim branches that hang into their property but they need to do so in a way that doesn't cause the tree to become ill or die. If it does the neighbors could be on the hook."

Many states have timber trespass laws, which mandate repayment for trees unlawfully destroyed on someone else's or protected property, and those payments can get pretty pricey.

One NJ homeowner recently tallied up charges of $32,000 for cutting down a group of his neighbor's trees, and a group of people in Ontario who felled trees to get a better lake view recently faced potential fines of over $140,000 each.

These laws are in place for good reason. Trees serve as natural air filters, carbon sinks, and anchors for preventing soil erosion. Without trees, ecosystems cannot thrive, leading to a poorer quality of life — including for the neighbor who cut them down. 

But in good news for this case, another commenter shared, "It's ugly but it'll likely live. An unbalanced crown won't necessarily make a tree hazardous." But, they emphasized, it was a "scumbag move" by the neighbors to do without consulting the property owner first. "They could report the trespassing and put the company on blast in reviews," they suggested.

🗣️ Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home?

🔘 Yes — always 💯

🔘 Yes — often 😷

🔘 Yes — sometimes 😟

🔘 No — never 🙅

🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

Another Redditor agreed with this take. "The tree will probably continue to live. It will forever look weird though," they said.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.