Renter seeks advice after neighbor's shocking act of property destruction: 'She hacked away at the whole thing'

A renter took to Reddit looking for advice after a neighbor hacked up a fig tree that was hanging over the sidewalk from their yard.

Posting in the r/BadNeighbors subreddit, they explained their plight.

"As the title mentions, today my neighbor hacked away at a fig tree in my front yard without my permission," they wrote. "When I asked her about it, she said there's a city ordinance saying plants can't obstruct the sidewalk. Sure, I get that, but it's not her job to go on someone else's property and start hacking away without asking."

They go on to say that they confronted her and said their landlord would be unhappy about the damage to the tree, and the new neighbor gave them her contact information to pass on to their landlord. In the comments, they also noted that she didn't just cut the overhanging branches.

"She hacked away at the whole thing," they said.

Damaging trees on other people's property isn't just being a bad neighbor; in many places, it's also illegal. But that hasn't stopped disgruntled or overbearing neighbors from trying to exert their will over other people's land.

The internet is rife with stories of homeowners having lawsuits threatened over their trees, and even had their trees poisoned by neighbors who want to improve their view. Other neighbors have also poisoned trees, dumping herbicides over walls in an effort to remove them.

Commenters in this case were quick to note that while it was a shame, the poster couldn't do much besides pass the information to their landlord.

"Since you don't own the property," one said. "I would just pass the info along to the owner and let them deal with it. This takes you out of the confrontation."

Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden? Yes 💯 Only if it impacts your neighbors 🏘️ Depends on what you're growing 🌼 Heck no 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Others sympathized more strongly with their issue.

"She came on someone else's property and cut down their tree?" said another. "Yeah y'all are way too nice, I would have let her have it before I filed a police report. If she has the gall to do that, prepare for even worse."

"As the owner of a 70 year old fig tree that is very dear to my heart, I'd be extremely angry," said a third. "You handled this well!"

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