Who pays when a tree comes down?
Usually your own insurer, if the tree damaged something insured. A neighbour pays only when their tree was known to be dangerous. Councils look after their own trees. The details decide it, so here they are.
What insurance usually covers
Policies differ, but in general:
- removal of a tree that damaged the insured home is often covered, sometimes up to a limit
- a tree that fell without damaging anything is often not covered
- preventive removal is never covered
- a car hit by a tree goes on the car policy
Call your insurer before authorising any work, and ask for permission in writing, including for emergency repairs. If you're in financial hardship, ask about an advance payment.
Your neighbour's tree
If a healthy tree fell in a storm, it's usually treated as an act of nature: nobody's fault, and each owner claims on their own insurance. If the tree was dead, damaged or known to be dangerous, and the owner had been told, the owner may be liable. Keep any letters or messages you've sent about the tree.
The fence
Dividing fences are normally a shared cost between neighbours. Under the Dividing Fences Act 1991 (NSW), an owner whose negligent or deliberate act damaged the fence can be liable for up to the whole cost of repairing it.
Council trees
Street and park trees are the council's responsibility. Report a fallen one to your council, or to the SES on 132 500 in an emergency, and don't cut it yourself. In the Sutherland Shire, council removes a fallen council tree up to your boundary.
Council approval for the removal
A tree that has already fallen, or is imminently dangerous, can generally be made safe straight away. Most councils ask you to keep evidence (photos, sometimes an arborist's note) and some want to be told within a set number of days. Our main website has every Sydney council's rules.
What a fair emergency quote includes
- A fixed price in writing, with the business name and ABN, before work starts wherever that's possible.
- Exactly what's included: making safe, removal, chipping, taking away timber, stump grinding, clean-up.
- Insurance. Ask for the certificate of currency for public liability and workers compensation. Your own home insurance is unlikely to cover someone else's tree work.
- Photos and an itemised invoice for your claim.
Sources: Financial Rights Legal Centre, Tree damage in a storm; Insurance Council of Australia; Dividing Fences Act 1991 (NSW).
Questions people ask us
Does home insurance pay for tree removal?
Sometimes, usually only when the tree has damaged the insured home, and never for preventive removal. Check your policy's storm section, photograph everything and call your insurer early.
My neighbour's healthy tree fell on my house. Can I make them pay?
Generally no. A healthy tree that comes down in a storm is treated as an act of nature, and each owner claims on their own policy. If the tree was dead, damaged or the owner had been warned it was dangerous, that changes, and the owner may be liable.
Who pays for the fence?
Under the Dividing Fences Act, neighbours normally share the cost of a dividing fence equally. An owner whose negligent or deliberate act damaged it can be liable for up to the whole cost of repairing it. A storm bringing down a healthy tree is neither.
Will you deal with my insurer?
We give you what the insurer needs: a fixed written quote, an itemised invoice, photos of the damage and of the work, and an arborist's letter if asked. Your claim stays yours; we don't take it over or charge the insurer directly.
Is there a call-out fee?
Every emergency job is quoted on the spot, before we start wherever we can. Ask when you call.
Need a quote your insurer will accept?
Fixed written quotes, itemised invoices and photos of the work, from a fully insured arborist.