Question: A townhouse owner in our complex has a mature gum tree inside their lot that is distorting a common property boundary fence. Who is legally and fiscally responsible for removing this large tree?
A lot owner in our NSW townhouse complex has a mature gum tree growing just inside their lot. The tree is over 20 metres tall and has started to distort a common property boundary fence. This tree’s growth will shortly damage and push the fence further into a common property pathway and impede access to many of our other lots.
Who is legally and fiscally responsible for removing this large tree? Will the local council’s tree preservation scheme influence the tree’s removal?
Answer: As the cause of potential damage will presumably be the roots or the sheer height of the tree (both seemingly within the common property), the removal (if Council consent is obtained) should be the owners corporation’s cost.
You have identified the key issues here. While the tree is technically within the lot, its height and depth will likely be outside the stratum/cubic air space of the lot and penetrate common property air space at both ends (the strata plan will indicate what the lower and upper limits of private air-space are).
You should seek Council consent for the tree removal (and the owner’s) as the specific requirements vary from council to council. In terms of the financial responsibility for the tree removal, the cause of potential damage will presumably be the roots or the sheer height of the tree (both seemingly within the common property). Therefore, the removal (if Council consent is obtained) should be the cost of the owners corporation.
This post appears in the August 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Leanne Habib Premium Strata E: info@premiumstrata.com.au P: 02 9281 6440