Palm tree in backyard.

Hi All,

I have 6 reasonable tall palm tree in my investment property back yard (next to retaining wall which is properly not the best location), they look good but also bring in some hassle for me. I have to have them trimmed and cleaned every 6 - 12 month, and this is fine. However, I wonder, as the leaf are quite large, if these leaves fall onto the tenant and caused any injury. Would I be liable for this at all?
I thought about removing them once for all but they do contribute to the property value especially when it comes to sell of the house.

Any recommendation is welcome, thank you.

Regards,

Mia

 

I don't believe so
I would be very surprised to hear if anyone has ever been injured by a falling palm frond on the Gold Coast or anywhere else for that matter - Anyone???

 

Close call

 

Trees drop branches - just part of nature, so really no liability.

We had a large gumtree - that a neighbour had regularly complained about - go over in a storm and go through the fence and into the neighbour's pool. The neighbor demanded and threatened the lot.

Called our insurer who came out and cut the tree in half at the boundary so that it submerged in their pool. They had to call their insurers to get it out.

Glad that one was an investment property so we didn't have to fully deal with the fallout.

 

Maybe try and sell them ,Landscrapers depending if they rare palms and access sometimes buy them ..

 

Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot, would you be happy? I think not.
Anyone knows that tall gumtrees are a potential headache.

 

I have tried to have one removed with no success.

Apparently they hold a lot of water and so are very heavy.

After they are cut they then need to be left to dry out. So more costs later to remove.

No one wanted to take the job on...plus i had yet to get councils permission to cut down a healthy tree.

 

Not sure where you get this idea from. We just had 7 huge ones removed and the stumps ground down to below ground level for $1100. Call any qualified arborist and they'll be able to do it. Removing palm trees is their bread and butter in QLD and our guy says they're his favourite job. Most times they don't even need to climb because felling them is easy if there's space for them to land.

I made the decision to get rid of them when a big frond crashed right next to me one day. Had my daughter been under it she would have been badly hurt. Also my joy of not running over palm seeds with the lawnmower anymore has made the cost worth it!

 

I wasn't happy in the circumstances that happened and wouldn't be happy in the reverse either.

Council will generally not allow gum trees to be removed - even if they are a potential headache.
We had actually applied through council for the that tree.

My post was just to emphasise the point that it is nature that trees can do damage - so there no reason to be concerned about personal liability. That was what the OP asked.

What was the point you were trying to make ?

 

My point was that the neighbour had raised the issue with you about the gum tree which was on your property and up until it came crashing down nothing had been done to alleviate the problem.
Nice if it would of come down and injured someone.....

 

So, in the context of this thread - you believe trees should be removed whenever there is a concern or a complaint ?

It's a reasonable position but not one that councils generally allow.

In any case - it would only be in unusual circumstances where a property owner is personally liable for damage or injury caused by a tree on their property. That was really all I was trying to add.

 

To answer your first question, yes I do believe that the tree in question should at the very least have been chopped back to reduce potential problems.
Obviously, the tree was a problem, otherwise why would it have collapsed on the neighbours fence and ended up in their pool!
Relying on insurance companies to cover your backside, to me, is **** weak.
Your actions, once again, to me were morally wrong.
Councils are not GODS! They make mistakes regularly.

 

Thanks for the judgement, Mr Steam.

 

Removing trees improves the overall value of a property and particularly if you are using as an investment, you would expect to have improved rental demand.

 

Are you telling me that all I have to do is "remove trees" and my rental demand will increase, wow never knew it was so simple!

 

In my experience tenants often view tree removal similar to a fresh coat of paint / rendering on external walls. It makes the property look nicer and more usuable.

 

I know of one tenant in Margate near Brisbane that request $6000 of tree removal and was willing to pay up to $30 per week more on next renewal.

 

No way mate, what if the tree provided shade in the back yard and once removed it's too hot to go sit out there?
Too many variables to just say "removing trees improves rental demand"

 

Must be a Sydney thing.

In many areas In Melbourne, people appreciate a nice tree for shade, bird life etc.

It’s no accident that the more expensive areas in Melbourne are referred to as the ‘green and leafy’ suburbs.