Last year at least one Pinehurst person’s fence was smashed when a neighbor’s tree fell during a storm. It’s good to know who’s responsibility it is to repair the fence. Here’s info from Pemco:
Unconvinced that “good fences make good neighbors,” Robert Frost probably wouldn’t care if the neighbor’s tree smashed his. Not so for the rest of us. Most people incorrectly believe that the owner of the errant tree is at least partially obligated to fix the damaged fence (or shed, garage, or landscape feature) on their property.
The question gets tricky because we may not know for certain who owns the fence separating our yard from our neighbor’s. Generally, if the fence sits on your side of the property line, it’s yours. If it runs right down the property line, it’s shared.
But regardless of who claims ownership, if it’s damaged by a falling tree, barring negligence on the part of the tree’s owners (for example, they knew it was rotten and likely to fall), the fence owner’s own insurance company generally pays.
The same is true even if a tree smashes right through the living room.
In the case of shared fences, each party’s insurance company will pay its “insurable interest” (50% assuming each person owns half of the fence) to cover repairs, minus each policy’s deductible.
OOF! So, if my tree drops a limb on my neighbor’s fence/house/vehicle THEY would have to take care of it. I can see how that would make them resentful of me. Time to get an arborist over here, I guess.
I am no attorney but I believe that if you have a certified aborist inspect the tree and they deem it unsafe you need to send the neighbor a letter with your concerns and a copy of the tree inspection report. It’s a good idea to use certified mail that they mush sign for. Unfortunately not all neighbors are honest, reasonable and financially responsible.