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Neighbour tree law: what the statutes and official pages say, place by place

Which statutes and official pages deal with a neighbour's tree or hedge in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, New Zealand, British Columbia and seven US states, with the section numbers.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. Each row names the law and the official source it was read from on October 8, 2026. Places whose official pages were not opened are left out rather than guessed.

In England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland a neighbour's hedge is dealt with by a council under a high hedge Act. In New South Wales a court can order work on a tree or hedge under a trees Act, and in Queensland a tribunal can do so under a neighbourhood disputes Act. In Ireland there is no hedge Act, and a tree at the boundary counts as a party structure under a 2009 Act. In Western Australia the government says general tree issues are civil disputes between neighbours resolved in the Magistrates Court. In Victoria the government says neighbour tree disputes fall under general property law and common law, not a tree Act. In New Zealand the Property Law Act 2007 lets the District Court order a tree trimmed or removed. In British Columbia the pages read name no tree statute and describe border trees, boundary trees and nuisance. In the seven US states read for this page, the statute gives the landowner a claim for multiplied damages against someone who cuts trees on the land without permission: three times or more in six of them, and two or three times in Maine depending on the state of mind.

Places read

PlaceLaw
England and WalesPart 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
ScotlandHigh Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013
Northern IrelandHigh Hedges Act (Northern Ireland) 2011
IrelandLand and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009, sections 43 to 47
New South WalesTrees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006
QueenslandNeighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011
VictoriaCommon law
Western AustraliaNo tree Act named on the pages read; Dividing Fences Act 1961 for fences
New ZealandProperty Law Act 2007, sections 332 to 338, as cited by Community Law and two district councils
British ColumbiaNo tree statute named on the pages read; border and boundary trees and nuisance, per People's Law School
WashingtonRCW 64.12.030
MassachusettsChapter 242, section 7
MichiganMCL 600.2919
MinnesotaStatutes section 561.04
OregonORS 105.810
ConnecticutGeneral Statutes section 52-560
MaineTitle 14, section 7552

Each of the first ten places has its own page with the section numbers and what the sources say about fees, appeals and limits. The seven US rows are described below.

Seven US statutes on cutting trees on another's land

Washington: RCW 64.12.030 says that when a person cuts down, girdles or otherwise injures or carries off a tree or shrub on the land of another person "without lawful authority", any judgment for the plaintiff "shall be for treble the amount of damages claimed or assessed."

Massachusetts: chapter 242, section 7 says a person who without license willfully cuts down, carries away, girdles or otherwise destroys trees, timber, wood or underwood on the land of another is liable to the owner in tort for three times the damages assessed. If the defendant had good reason to believe the land was his own or that he was otherwise lawfully authorized, he is liable for single damages only.

Michigan: MCL 600.2919 makes a person who cuts down or carries off trees or timber or despoils or injures trees on another's lands liable to the owner for 3 times the actual damages. Single damages only are given if the trespass was casual and involuntary, or the defendant had probable cause to believe the land was his own. Subsection (3) says the circuit court shall grant injunctions to stay and prevent threatened trespass when the remedies in subsection (1) are not fully adequate, and in any case where the trespass is of a continuing nature.

Minnesota: section 561.04 makes a person who without lawful authority cuts down or carries off a tree, or girdles or otherwise injures any tree, timber or shrub, on the land of another, or on the street or highway in front of a house or city lot, liable in a civil action to the owner for treble the damages assessed. Judgment is for single damages only if the trial shows the trespass was casual or involuntary, or that the defendant had probable cause to believe the land was the defendant's own or that of the person who directed the act.

Oregon: ORS 105.810(1) says that when a person without lawful authority willfully injures a tree, timber or shrub on the land of another, or on the street or highway in front of a house, judgment for the plaintiff "shall be given for treble the amount of damages claimed, or assessed." It says proof of ownership and of the act is prima facie evidence that the act was willful, intentional and without the owner's consent. Subsection (2) lets a court award a prevailing party reasonable costs of litigation including attorney fees, and subsection (3) lets it award a prevailing plaintiff the reasonable costs of reforestation. Subsection (4) limits a contract logger to actual damages when six conditions about a written contract and a marked operation area are met.

Connecticut: section 52-560 makes a person who without license of the owner cuts, destroys or carries away trees, timber or shrubbery on the land of another or on public land, and anyone who aids in it, pay five times the reasonable value of a tree intended for sale or use as a Christmas tree and three times the reasonable value of any other tree, timber or shrubbery. If the court is satisfied the defendant acted through mistake and believed the tree was growing on the defendant's own land or on the land of the person the defendant cut it for, judgment is for no more than its reasonable value. Land covered by section 52-560a is excluded.

Maine: title 14, section 7552(2)(A) says that without permission of the owner a person may not cut down, destroy, damage or carry away a forest product or an ornamental or fruit tree from land not that person's own. Subsection (4) sets the damages: a person who negligently or without fault violates it is liable for 2 times the owner's damages or US$250, whichever is greater, and a person who intentionally or knowingly violates it is liable for 3 times the damages or US$500, whichever is greater. Subsection (3) lets the owner of lost trees claim market value, loss in value of the whole property, or, for ornamental or fruit trees and trees within 400 feet of a dwelling, replacement and cleanup costs. It says public utilities and contractors working for them are not liable under that paragraph for trimming or removal necessary to provide safe and reliable service.

These seven statutes are about the person who does the cutting, so a tree crew working from a wrong boundary line is the reader most likely to meet them. The other states were not read for this page.

The guide on tree protection orders, bylaws and permits covers the separate rules for protected trees, which can apply to a hedge or a tree whatever the neighbour law says. The guide on checking tree rules with UK councils lists the councils' own tree pages. The guide on entering a neighbour's land covers access.

Roots are treated differently from place to place: the English and Welsh Act and the Northern Ireland Act both say they do not apply to complaints about the roots of a high hedge, and the Scottish Act says no account is taken of roots.

Neighbour tree law, place by place

Sources