tenant cut down trees

I rented my property and home out and the tenant cut down almost all of my trees without permission what can i do? should i call the police? these were very nice old trees. --75.247.xxx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by new gal [OR]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 1:18 AM
Message:

shoot, shovel, shut-up --137.53.xxx.x

tenant cut down trees (by Wallace CPM [VA]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 3:58 AM
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Don't renew their lease and get bids from nursery to replace them...take money from their deposit when they move.

Take a look at the DO NOT ALTER PROPERTY wording in your lease....you may need some HIGHLIGHTS! --184.5.xxx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by Pattyk [MO]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 4:12 AM
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big trees? Saplings as in general lawn care? Some trees are very expensive. Did you ask them what they were doing/thinking? --174.157.xx.xx

tenant cut down trees (by V [OH]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 5:37 AM
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Inspect more often, to deter bad things from happening to good places, although I must admit I had a good tenant go bad in my common 60 day period causing 7000 in overflow tub damages along with painting very dark colors and the xmas puppy wetted every inch of carpet, yes it went to hardwood after many planks were replaced from the heaving of the tub overflow 2nd floor bathroom. --68.76.xxx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by S i d [MO]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 6:10 AM
Message:

Cops aren't going to care about a tenant cutting down trees unless it falls on someone or someone's car. They'll tell you it's a civil matter (and that's correct). You will have to attempt to get money out of them, if you want to be compensated.

Get estimates for the value of the trees from a certified arborist. This should be possible based on the size (diameter) of the stump. Some trees might have quite a high value, if they were oaks which would have good lumber value.

Bill the tenants for the cost of damages, along with the arborist fee. Any money you receive in rent goes toward this bill first and rent last. When they are short on rent, evict them.

Don't wait until they move to deduct from deposit. If they do other damages in the meantime, you won't have anything left to cover yourself. Damages must be fixed and billed against the tenant while they are still there to avoid running out of deposit. --208.70.xxx.x

tenant cut down trees (by Kay [KS]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 6:14 AM
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Just had a young single guy purchase house near mine in an older, established neighborhood. First thing he did was cut down all the large, beautiful oak trees from his yard and remove all shrubbery from around his house. I couldn't do anything about that except drop my mouth. But when he started cutting down the large oak in the easement - one of many large oaks that line our street - I called police. (I figured my trees were next on his agenda!) The police got there in time to save the trunk of the oak and about half of the upper tree. Don't know if he got cited or not, but I did find out that messing with an easement tree on City property was against the law. I know this doesn't help much with your situation, but had to share my own!

As for your situation, I would call a nursery and get an estimate of what the replacement costs would be for the trees. Cite the tenant for damage to the property and tell him he can either replace trees to your specifications, or pay for you to do it. I would keep it very businesslike and treat it as you would treat typical damages to the property. --64.151.xx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by phil [OR]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 6:39 AM
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Not only the value of the trees-- there was a recient article that homes sold and rented faster and for a higher value when they had trees. Sorry I can not quote the source. --98.232.xxx.xx

tenant cut down trees (by Barb [MO]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 6:52 AM
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Find out the value of the trees, charge them for the large trees and the cost of replacing them with decent sized replacement trees. You also need to charge them the cost of removing the stumps property - as in grinding them out.

You also now have decreased "curb appeal" since older trees that are in good condition help to sell a home. I don't know if you can bill them for that or not.

I note that you said "property and home". Was this standing timber they cut down on some acerage? If so, they also owe you the value of the timber. This one is likely going to cost a great deal more than you expect. If they sold standing timber, you may have a suit against the sawmill that purchased the timber since they didn't purchase it from the rightful owner. If this was standing timber that is. --216.229.xx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by Frank [NJ]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 7:42 AM
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If some T cut my trees I wouldbe spitting fire and looking for a some way, any way to have them arrested.

I would be consulting w/my atty. ASAP and getting ready to file some sort of criminal charges [if possible, criminal mischeif?] to get the effect of hitting the T over the head with a board to let them know that this is a vey serious issue and will not be going away easily.

THEY DAMAGED YOUR PROPERTY and in a way that is going to cost BIG $$ to return it to the condition it was in before they took occupancy.

IMO they will not be taking this seriously and unless you really hammer them hard they are going to try to slip & slide over this "mistake".

Get ready to lose this tenant and be prepared to get a new one. When confronted hard & serious the L/T relationship is gooing to go to heck in a hurry.

Sue & get a judgement or better yet, $ NOW before they up and leave in the middle of the night.

Or....like the first guy said...gun, shovel, ...forget of course that is a jokke. --75.198.xxx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by AllyM [NJ]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 8:46 AM
Message:

Yes, you should be able to keep their security if you have an estimate from an arborist. You can sue them in small claims court too after they leave or before, whatever you decide. I hate to hear this. I have trouble with neighbors who want to cut trees down next to my rentals on my property. I took one to court for harrassment. Another one next to my home would watch my schedule and have a tree guy come and cut down trees on my side. One was a mid size red maple. I put up a boundry line of timbers sunk in the ground and had two feet on my side of the timbers mulched. Also I added a Keep Out sign, which he ripped down. Every property next to a male owner has this problem. Why do men want to cut down trees like that? Are they jealous of the size of the tree? --69.141.xxx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by BRAD 20,000 [IN]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 10:37 AM
Message:

A different viewpoint: overgrown trees near houses can be an expensive liability. A local LL cuts down ALL trees when he buys a place.

Our ins co sends us letters requiring us to cut back or cut down trees.

Did they perhaps do you a favor? Save you $700 per tree?

--50.129.xxx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by Mike45 [NV]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 11:07 AM
Message:

I would get an estimate for the replacement of the trees with trees of similar size -- not with saplings. And of course, that includes the cost of grinding out the stumps and planting the replacement trees.

I would then sue this guy in the appropriate court (presumably the Superior Court of the county in which the property is located). I would not evict, I would not confront, I would simply sue.

I hope the tenant has the money to pay for the damages he caused.

--71.49.xxx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by Reid [KS]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 12:33 PM
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When they're done there send them out here I'd like to have any tree within 75 ft of any of my places cut down but it's too expensive(LOL) --108.236.xx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by Gwen [OH]) Posted on: May 18, 2012 12:34 PM
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There are places that specialize in transplanting big trees raher than just saplings. A mature tree can be worth thousands. You need a certified arborist to tell you what the value was. Then add in the cost to replace them with like kind. What does the inside look like? This might be a time to get a public insurance adjuster for vandalism and malicious mischief. --174.130.xx.xx

tenant cut down trees (by Reid [KS]) Posted on: May 19, 2012 7:47 AM
Message:

It's hard to image a tree as actually worth something unless maybe it's a big American Walnut , Pecan or Fruit tree. Here they are for the most part giant weeds that clog your gutters, sewer pipes or fall on the roof or power lines in a wind or ice storm.At one time in the 1870's here in kansas there was such a dearth of native trees here on the praire that seed for the Hedge trees like those grown in the Normandy area of France was selling for $70.00/lb and that was in 1870's dollars. Now those hedge trees are considered pests and are sprayed from the air to kill them off en masse . --108.236.xx.xxx

tenant cut down trees (by Kathy J [CA]) Posted on: May 19, 2012 1:58 PM
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What part of CA is this? Some cities have ordinances against cutting trees over a certain diameter to preserve 'heritage' trees. (Santa Clara County, San Jose for one) Other communities have ordinances prohibiting the disturbance of nesting birds (Campbell CA) They might have made you liable for some citations from your city or county. Be careful how you proceed. --63.81.x.xx

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tenant cut down trees

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