Tree Laws in Ontario ***Need some legal advice
I have a healthy and live tree in my backyard. My neighbor wants me to cut it down because he's worried it's going to tip over and damage his property. I'm not opposed to cutting it, but I want to understand my legal liability and obligations in the situation where we cannot come to an agreement. I don't feel like I should bare the entire financial burden as I'm cutting the tree entirely for my neighbor.
- Is this considered a boundary tree? (From my research online, the trunk indeed crosses into my neighbors backyard, and thus it is a boundary tree)
- How would you determine a "hazardous" tree?
In a situation where let's say the tree is indeed hazardous but it also is a boundary tree and my neighbor and I cannot come to an agreement on splitting costs to cut the tree, so it remains uncut. A storm comes and topples the tree down and it damages my neighbors property, would I be held liable for this? (I'm willing to cut the tree as long as neighbor splits costs, but he refused to do so, so the tree did not get removed)
- Would I be held liable for a boundary tree causing damage?