AHVA Bulletin No. 2023-0507
Dear AHV Neighbors,
We occasionally receive complaints from residents about the branches of trees or plants that grow from their neighboring resident’s property. These branches, often with leaves and fruits, extend over the affected resident’s property, or fall into such property. The affected resident usually demands that the Association’s groundskeepers cut the extending branches without the consent of the neighboring resident.
While we sympathize with the affected resident, groundskeepers are not authorized to do such cutting. Under the Civil Code, Article 680, the affected resident could demand that his/her neighbor cut the extending branches, and the neighbor must cut those branches, or cause those branches to be cut.
We ask residents who have trees or plants that extend branches into another resident’s property to be good neighbors, and to be considerate and respectful of each other. As soon as they notice that the branches of their trees are extending to another resident’s property, or as soon as they are notified of such extensions, they should cut those extending branches, or have them cut immediately, and at their personal expense.
May we remind everyone that the Association’s limited financial resources cannot be utilized to trim and maintain trees that grow within the individual properties of its members. The maintenance of trees by the Association is strictly limited to those trees that grow at the parks and other common spaces of the Alabang Hills Village.
Thank you.
AHVA Board of Directors