法律英语：28 Good Neighbor Relations（在线收听）

by Michael W. Flynn

Hello, and welcome to a special joint episode of Mr. Manners’ Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Polite Life and Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life.

But first, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Today’s topic is neighbor relations.

MM:

Let’s go though a few basic points on good neighbor relations.

When we think of the people we live with, we may consider family members, roommates, friends, and even pets. But in reality, we often share walls or immediate space with our neighbors—in a sense, we live with them too. Therefore, it is especially important to treat your neighbors with consideration and respect. If you have ever had especially good (or especially bad) neighbors, you will know what a strong effect that can have on your daily life. I count myself lucky to have incredibly nice neighbors (I get calls to come to the backyard to pick up special treats, invitations to birthdays and parties, peace of mind knowing that when I travel there are watchful eyes on my place. And I occasionally get beaten at Scrabble).

My neighbors are better than I am at hosting neighborhood parties, keeping abreast of the goings on in the neighborhood, and making it feel like we live in a small town, in the midst of a city. So try and make the extra effort to get to know your neighbors—it will make the place where you live a richer environment.

Try to be considerate of your neighbors:
Don’t play loud music or make excessive noise late at night (or at times when you know they are home and might be disturbed).
If you or your guests smoke, make sure that the smoke doesn’t waft into your neighbor’s home.
Offer to pick up their papers and keep an eye on their place when they travel.
Contact them if you see anything awry or suspicious near their house.
If you have outdoor space, make sure that plants or animals don’t cause a nuisance for them.
Consult them on decisions that might affect their quality of life.
Be prepared to make compromises for the sake of good neighbor relations.
Now, let’s consider a typical situation that arises between neighbors and how you might best handle it.

LL:

Consider the following:

Your neighbor has a large crab apple tree growing on her property whose branches extend over the fence between the yards. Leaves, small twigs and crab apples often fall onto your yard and require cleaning up. What can you do about it?

MM:

The first thing to do is to approach your neighbor in a polite and direct way. You might say something like, “Joan, I wanted to talk to you about the crab apple tree. It drops a lot of apples and leaves in my yard, and I was wondering if we could get it trimmed back a bit. I would be happy to cover the expense, and we can pick the arborist together to make certain you approve.” If the tree was planted by your neighbor’s grandfather and she refuses to trim it, you might just decide to live with it rather than risk bad relations with your neighbor. The nuisance of a few crab apples might be preferable to living with acrimony between you and your neighbor.

If negotiation fails and you feel you must do something about the situation, you might need to resort to legal action to solve the problem. Legal Lad will tell you about your rights with regard to the tree.

LL:

In most states, if the base of the tree grows entirely on your neighbor’s property, then she owns the tree and is responsible for any damages the tree causes. If the tree fell onto your house, then your neighbor would normally have to repair any damages. Also, if the roots from your neighbor’s tree damaged your deck, your neighbor might have to repair the deck. However, most courts do not consider normal tree debris to be sufficiently damaging to your property to give you legal recourse against the neighbor. Rather, courts will impose a duty of “self help” on to you to clean up small debris yourself. In the case of a tree that is dropping only fruit and small twigs, you are on your own to maintain your property. If the tree is dropping heavy branches or a sufficient amount of debris to the point that you can no longer enjoy your own property, then you might have a nuisance claim against your neighbor.

Your other option is to remove any branches or roots that grow onto your property. Your property rights extend both above and below the ground. You may trim back anything that grows across your property line. This can create some problems, however, because your removal of the branches might kill the tree. If it does, then you will be liable for the value of the tree you killed. Also, you do not have the right to enter your neighbor’s property in order to trim the branches or roots without your neighbor’s permission.

MM:

Remember, that the best approach is generally to do what you can to maintain good relations with your neighbor. Always be open to settling the issue—trials cost money, and the only parties who always win are the lawyers.

LL:

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life. Be sure to check out all the excellent Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts at QuickAndDirtyTips.com.

You can send questions and comments to.................or call them in to the voice-mail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

Legal Lad's theme music is "No Good Layabout" by Kevin MacLeod.

Dear loyal listeners,
Thank you for sending your comments regarding our joint episode on neighbor relations. We received one letter that we feel exemplifies how good neighbor relations can avoid unnecessary legal costs. Katie wrote:

I just listened to your most recent joint podcast and I had to laugh at the hypothetical situation you chose for a conflict between neighbors—the crab apple tree. As it happens, when I was a small child, my parents bought a house where the neighbor's crab apple tree grew over the fence and into our yard, dropping rock hard crab apples into one side of our backyard. It only became an issue when it was time to mow the lawn because crab apples can damage a lawn mower blade. My father came up with a solution to this problem that left the tree, and neighbor relations, intact: he paid his 3 children a dime for each crab apple collected. We were happy to do it each Saturday for many years. We usually each made enough money to buy an ice cream cone that afternoon and my dad got a clean yard and an unbroken lawn mower, no legal fees necessary.
Thanks Katie forsharing your story and showing how a little kindness and creativity is the best way to solve a problem.

Best,
Modern Manners Guy and Legal Lad