California tree law is not one statute but a stack of them: state rules on ownership and damages, a criminal statute on unauthorized cutting, local ordinances that regulate removal, and wildfire rules that can override the rest. The single most important piece for property owners is Civil Code section 3346, which lets a tree owner recover up to three times the actual loss when someone wrongfully cuts or removes their trees. Getting the rules wrong, whether by trimming a neighbor’s overhanging branches too aggressively or by removing a protected oak without a permit, can cost tens of thousands of dollars and, in some cases, a misdemeanor conviction.
Who Owns the Tree
Ownership follows the trunk. If the trunk sits entirely on your land, the tree is yours, even when the roots run under the neighbor’s lawn and the branches hang over their patio. That rule comes from Civil Code section 833.1California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code Division 2 Part 2 Title 3 Chapter 1 Article 2 Section 834
When the trunk straddles the property line, both neighbors own the tree jointly. Neither can remove it or significantly alter it without the other’s consent, and courts have treated unauthorized removal of a boundary tree as grounds for substantial damages. Get written agreement before any work on a shared tree.
You generally can trim a neighbor’s branches or roots that cross onto your land, but only back to the property line, and only in a way that doesn’t seriously harm the tree. California courts have held that if your trimming foreseeably kills or seriously damages the tree, you can be liable. Aggressive root cutting that destabilizes a healthy tree can expose you to the same multiplied damages that apply to outright trespass.
What It Costs To Cut Someone’s Tree
Civil Code section 3346 is why tree disputes in California are so expensive. When someone intentionally or recklessly injures, cuts, or removes trees on another person’s land, a court can award three times the actual loss. If the trespass was accidental, or the person genuinely believed the land was theirs, the mandatory minimum is still double the actual damages.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code Section 3346
Actual damages usually start with the drop in property value: what your land was worth before the tree loss versus after. If the owner intends to replant and restoration is feasible, courts sometimes award replacement cost instead, including mature specimens, planting labor, and follow-up care. For trees that produced fruit, nuts, or other crops, lost harvest value can be added on top.
One limitation catches many owners off guard. In Scholes v. Lambirth Trucking Co. (2020), the California Supreme Court confirmed that section 3346’s multiplied damages require an actual trespass onto your property. If your neighbor kills your tree entirely from their own side of the line, you can still sue for the actual loss, but the two- or three-times multiplier doesn’t apply.
You have five years from the date of the trespass to bring a claim under section 3346.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code Section 3346 Document damage right away regardless. Photograph the stumps and remaining tree material, get a written assessment from a certified arborist, and preserve any communications. Evidence gathered in the first days after the incident is what makes a strong case months later.
Criminal Penalties for Unauthorized Cutting
Civil damages are not the only exposure. Under Penal Code section 384a, cutting or removing trees, shrubs, ferns, cacti, flowers, or other plant material from land you don’t own, without a written permit from the landowner, is a misdemeanor. A conviction carries up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 384a
The written permit is more formal than most people expect. It must be signed by the landowner or an authorized agent, acknowledged before a notary public, list the number and species of trees, include a legal description of the property, and be filed with the county sheriff before any cutting starts.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 384a For five pounds or less of shrubs or boughs, the notarization and sheriff filing requirements are waived. If you hire a tree service to work on a neighbor’s or an absent landowner’s property, make sure the paperwork exists. Both of you can face criminal exposure if it doesn’t.
Permits for Removing Trees on Your Own Property
California has no statewide permit requirement for removing trees on private residential land. Local ordinances fill the gap, and they vary widely. Some cities require permits for any tree above a certain trunk diameter, others regulate only specific species or designated heritage trees, and a few have no tree ordinance at all. Call your city’s planning or public works department before removing anything large.
Heritage tree rules are common, and they often protect native oaks at a smaller size threshold than other species. Sacramento protects all native oaks, sycamores, and buckeyes at 12 inches in trunk diameter, and other trees at 24 to 32 inches depending on the type of property.4City of Sacramento. Tree Permits and Ordinances Menlo Park protects any non-oak tree with a trunk diameter of 15 inches or more, measured 54 inches above the ground, and any native California oak at 10 inches.5City of Menlo Park. Heritage Tree Definition and Ordinance
Penalties for violating a local tree ordinance can be steep. Menlo Park imposes fines up to $5,000 per violation, and if the violation results in the death or removal of a heritage tree, the fine rises to $5,000 or the appraised value of the tree, whichever is higher.5City of Menlo Park. Heritage Tree Definition and Ordinance Mature trees can appraise at $10,000 to $60,000 or more depending on species, size, and location.
Native oaks deserve a separate mention. The Oak Woodlands Conservation Act, codified in Fish and Game Code sections 1360 through 1372, established a framework that many California cities have used to adopt their own oak preservation ordinances.6Justia Law. California Fish and Game Code Article 3.5 Oak Woodlands Conservation Act The practical result is that native oaks are often protected at diameters where other species on the same lot are not. Removing a mature oak without checking first is one of the costlier mistakes a California property owner can make.
Many local ordinances also require replacement planting or a payment into a reforestation fund when a protected tree is approved for removal. Ratios and species rules vary. Some cities require natives adapted to local climate; others let the owner propose alternatives subject to approval.
Wildfire Defensible Space Can Override Tree Protection
If your property is in a State Responsibility Area, Public Resources Code section 4291 requires 100 feet of defensible space around buildings and structures.7California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code Section 4291 CAL FIRE divides that area into a zone within 30 feet of the structure, where dead material must be removed and trees kept separated, and a zone from 30 to 100 feet, where grass is cut short and trees are spaced and limbed up.8CAL FIRE. Defensible Space
Well-maintained individual trees can stay within the 100-foot perimeter, provided they don’t create a path for fire to reach the structure.7California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code Section 4291 You are not required to clear-cut. But when a heritage or otherwise protected tree sits close to a home and blocks compliance with defensible space rules, PRC 4291 generally takes priority. Talk to both your local fire authority and your city’s tree preservation office before cutting a protected tree for fire safety. Documentation that you were complying with state fire law is your defense against local tree-ordinance penalties.
Your Duty To Maintain Trees You Own
Ownership comes with a duty. If you know a tree on your property is diseased, leaning dangerously, or dropping dead limbs over a neighbor’s home, ignoring the hazard is negligence. You can be held liable for injuries and property damage that follow. California courts have imposed liability on owners who failed to abate a tree nuisance even when no intentional or negligent act created the problem in the first place. The obligation is ongoing: monitor, and maintain.
Root damage is where this becomes expensive. If your tree’s roots crack a neighbor’s foundation, break a sewer line, or buckle their driveway, you can face nuisance claims and be required to pay for repairs.
Regular inspections, prompt removal of dead wood, and written records of tree health are evidence that you exercised reasonable care. Arborist consultations in California typically run $75 to $450 depending on scope. Removal of a large or hazardous tree typically runs $400 to $5,000 or more depending on size, location, and complexity. Those numbers are almost always smaller than what a nuisance or personal injury lawsuit will cost.
Buying or Selling Property With Protected Trees
Tree obligations run with the land. Buy a property with heritage-designated trees and you inherit the maintenance requirements and removal restrictions attached to them. In cities with strict ordinances, construction within a heritage tree’s protection zone, sometimes defined as an area with a radius equal to ten times the trunk diameter, requires a tree protection plan approved by the city before a building permit will issue.5City of Menlo Park. Heritage Tree Definition and Ordinance That can limit additions, remodels, and driveway work.
Sellers should disclose known tree issues: a citation from the city, an arborist’s diagnosis of disease, an unresolved neighbor dispute over encroaching roots or branches. Failure to disclose can support a fraud claim after closing, which almost always costs more than the price adjustment the seller was trying to avoid.