Florida lawmaker wants to make property owners responsible for fallen trees

Yahoo

19-02-2025

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida lawmaker wants to make property owners responsible for fallen trees.
Florida Senator Jonathan Martin (R) 33rd District filed a bill, the 'Fallen Tree Act' last week that would make a property owner liable for damages if a tree or shrub from their property falls onto another person's property.
According to the bill, where the tree or shrub was rooted in the ground determines ownership.
'Should it be the individual who owns the tree, who has maybe failed to maintain the tree, the person who planted the tree too close to neighboring property, or should it be the person whose property was damaged,' said Senator Martin.
This comes after a devastating hurricane season left many property owners dealing with damage from downed trees.
Months later, Jay Harrold the owner of Albert & Ellis Landscaping and Tree Services is still getting calls about fallen trees.
'A lot of these trees they been neglected from an owner who doesn't know or didn't have the budget,' said Harrold.
Harrold said about half of the calls he's received have been from homeowners forced to fix damage after a tree fell from a neighbor's property.
'I've seen stuff as far as much as $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the size of the damage caused by a tree, for us to safely remove it,' said Harrold.
Many have learned the hard way that when someone else's tree falls on your house, fixing the damage is your problem, which can cause your insurance to go up or your insurance to drop you. Your insurance company can then choose whether to go after the other person's insurance company.
Senator Martin believes the bill would force homeowners to be more responsible with maintaining their trees.
'When less bad decisions are being made, when our trees are safer for the type of environment that we live in, there's going to be less damage that's done to our properties. There's going to be fewer insurance claims and ultimately insurance rates will go down,' said Senator Martin.
Harrold recommends homeowners get their trees inspected to make sure they are safe.
'With us, this is a free service. So we come out and we can give you some advice on what you can and what not to do,' said Harrold. 'You have some options as far as what to do moving forward with your trees to make you aware of something and you can set aside a budget for it.'
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