Council tree overhanging your property: your options

Street trees and park trees make suburbs cooler and greener, but living under one isn't always easy. Branches over the roof, gutters full of leaves, a limb that dropped onto the driveway last storm. If the tree is on the nature strip, footpath or a council reserve, it's almost certainly the council's, and so is the job of looking after it. Here's what you can and can't do, and how to get the council to act.

First: is it a council tree?

Trees on the nature strip (the grass verge between the footpath and the road), in parks and reserves, and along council roads are generally owned and managed by the council, even when you mow the grass around them. Trees on a neighbour's land belong to the neighbour. Trees along highways may belong to the state road authority, and trees near power lines are often pruned by the electricity distributor to keep the lines clear.

If you're not sure, ask the council. Give the address and a photo, and they can confirm whose tree it is. Our council directory has contact details for councils across Australia.

Can I cut the overhanging branches myself?

It's tempting, but check first. The general legal idea that you can trim branches that cross onto your land doesn't give you a free hand with a council tree:

• Many councils ask residents not to prune street and park trees at all, and prefer to do the work themselves to their arborist standards.
• Tree protection rules may apply. Many councils have tree protection controls, and in Queensland some trees are covered by vegetation protection orders. Damaging a protected tree can bring a fine.
• Bad pruning can make a tree more dangerous, and you could be liable if a branch you cut damages something or hurts someone.
• Never work near power lines. Only authorised workers can prune near them.

The safe route: ask the council to prune it, or ask for written permission (and any conditions) before you or a contractor touch it.

How to ask the council to prune it

Most councils have an online form or phone line for tree requests, often called a "tree pruning request" or "tree maintenance request". Use it first, and get a reference number. A request that gets approved usually shows a real problem, not just a preference:

• branches touching or rubbing the roof, walls or fence,
• leaves and debris repeatedly blocking gutters or downpipes,
• low branches blocking a driveway, footpath or sightlines for drivers,
• dead or cracked limbs over a house, car or play area, and
• branches that have already fallen, with dates.

Include the exact location, the species if you know it, and dated photos taken from your own property. Say what you're asking for (pruning back from the roof, not removal) and acknowledge the council's need to keep the tree healthy. Councils are more likely to say yes to a reasonable, specific request.

If the online form doesn't get a response, follow up in writing with this letter:

What to expect from the council

Usually an arborist or tree officer inspects the tree and decides what work, if any, is needed. Timeframes vary widely between councils and depend on the risk: a hanging broken limb over a footpath should be treated urgently, while routine pruning may be put into a scheduled program. Check your council's website for its tree policy, which usually explains what it will and won't prune and why.

Many councils won't prune or remove healthy trees for reasons like leaf and fruit drop, bird droppings, shade, blocked views or solar panels. That doesn't mean you can't ask, but expect the answer to depend on the council's policy.

Trees near power lines

If a council tree is growing into power lines, including the service line that runs from the pole to your house, report it to the electricity distributor as well as the council. Distributors are generally responsible for keeping vegetation clear of their lines and run their own pruning programs. Private property owners are often responsible for keeping trees on their land clear of the service line to their home, so check with your distributor. Never try to prune near a power line yourself.

Roots, footpaths and pipes

Roots from street trees can lift footpaths, crack driveways and get into old sewer and stormwater pipes. Report a lifted footpath as a trip hazard: it's a council repair job, and the council may be able to prune roots or install a root barrier. For pipes, get a plumber to confirm the cause with a camera inspection and keep the report. It's the key evidence if you ask the council to act or lodge a claim.

If you want the tree removed

Removal is a much bigger ask. Councils generally remove street trees only when they're dead, dying, structurally unsafe, or causing serious damage that can't be fixed another way. If that's your situation, build the case:

• dated photos of fallen branches, cracks, lean or dieback,
• evidence of damage, such as a plumber's report on roots in a sewer pipe or photos of a cracked driveway,
• an independent report from a qualified arborist, if the council's inspection disagrees with you, and
• support from neighbours who are also affected.

Our complaint letter to council guide has a template for requesting an inspection or removal of a council tree.

If the council says no

1. Ask for the reasons in writing, and whether a qualified arborist inspected the tree.
2. Ask for a review, with new evidence if you have it. An independent arborist's report is often what changes the outcome.
3. Talk to your local councillor if the issue affects several homes, or you think the council's tree policy needs to change. Councillors set policy and budgets for street trees.
4. Go to the ombudsman if the council didn't follow its own policy, didn't give reasons, or ignored you. See how to complain to council for the ombudsman in your state.

State differences

Each state has its own laws for tree disputes between neighbours, but those laws often don't cover council trees. In NSW, the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 doesn't apply to trees on land vested in or managed by a council, so you can't take a council street tree to the Land and Environment Court under that Act. In Queensland, the overhanging branch rules are aimed at neighbours' trees and exclude trees covered by vegetation protection orders. For council trees, in any state, the council's own request, complaint and review process is usually the way to go.

If a council tree has damaged your property

If a branch has fallen on your roof, car or fence, or roots have damaged pipes or paving, you can lodge a claim with the council. Look on its website for "insurance claims" or "public liability claims". Include photos, dates, repair quotes, and any earlier reports you made about the tree. Earlier reports matter: they show the council knew about the risk. Your home and contents insurer may also cover the damage, so check your policy.

Put your request in writing

An online request is the right first step. When it doesn't get a response, a signed letter creates a record that's hard to overlook. With Better Letters you can write it online and we'll print and post it for $3.95, or download the PDF free and post it with your photos. No account needed.