Neighbour’s tree overhanging your Central Coast block?

Your common-law right — and where it stops

Under NSW common law you can prune any part of a neighbour’s tree that crosses the boundary, back to the boundary line, at your own cost. You don’t need permission, you don’t need to give notice, and the cost is yours. The branches you cut are technically still the neighbour’s property — you should offer them back before chipping them and the polite move is to leave a stacked pile against the boundary fence for collection.

The right stops at three lines: (1) no trespass onto the neighbour’s land — the climber and EWP must work entirely from your side; (2) no damage to the parent tree — cuts must be AS 4373 compliant; and (3) no touching a protected tree, whether by Central Coast Council’s 2017 DCP, a heritage listing or a court order. Where the tree is regulated we apply for the permit and prune lawfully, which takes about two weeks.

Central Coast Council 2017 DCP — what’s exempt

Trees over 5m high or with canopy spread over 3m on private land are prima facie regulated under the Council’s 2017 Tree & Vegetation DCP, meaning a permit is required before pruning or removal beyond minor maintenance. The exemption schedule cuts this back considerably:

Camphor laurel, declared an environmental weed across NSW — exempt, prune or remove without permit. Willow, privet, cotoneaster, and the other declared weeds on the schedule — exempt. Trees within 3m of an approved dwelling for fire-safety reasons — commonly exempt subject to confirmation. Dead trees and trees the council has assessed as imminently dangerous — exempt with evidence (arborist’s report). Self-sown saplings under the regulated size — exempt. The full exemption schedule sits on Council’s website and is updated periodically; we check the species and the site against the current schedule before quoting any work near the boundary.

Where the tree is regulated and not exempt, the permit application through Council takes 10–28 days and we lodge it for you with an AQF 3 arborist’s assessment. Pruning without permit on a regulated tree carries penalty units that bite — far cheaper to wait two weeks and do it lawfully.

The AS 4373 boundary-cut spec

Cuts must be made at a lateral branch or back to the branch collar — never flush with the trunk and never as a stub. A flush cut removes the collar and stops the tree sealing the wound, leaving an open path for canker pathogens. A stub-cut leaves dead wood projecting from the trunk that rots back into the parent tree over the next two winters. The correct cut, in the right place, at the right time of year for that species, lets the tree compartmentalise and callus the wound naturally.

Where the overhanging branch crosses the boundary in mid-span, the right call is often to cut at the next lateral inside your boundary that’s at least one-third the diameter of the cut branch — a “target lateral” cut that lets the tree re-route sap to that lateral and seal the wound cleanly. This commonly means we actually cut slightly further inside your boundary than you might have expected, which both protects the parent tree and gives you a cleaner long-term profile.

AS 4373 also caps live-canopy removal at 25–30% in any one year. On a heavily overhanging mature tree it can be tempting to ask for the whole side cleared back to the fence; if that exceeds the cap, we stage it across two pruning windows 12–15 months apart, or we prune to the cap now and book a return. Removing too much in one go even from your own side of the fence can give the neighbour a basis for a damages claim, because the tree may decline as a result.

The conversation across the fence — and Council mediation

Legally you don’t have to tell the neighbour. Practically, a five-minute conversation almost always sorts it without it escalating. Tell them what branches and when, offer them the cut wood, and where the tree is regulated share the permit you’ve obtained. Most Central Coast neighbours appreciate the heads-up — they often haven’t noticed the overhang.

Where the conversation doesn’t go well — the neighbour refuses access for the climber to work safely from their side where that would protect the parent tree, or branches are dropping onto your roof or pool and the neighbour won’t act — Central Coast Council’s neighbour-tree mediation service can step in as a first stop. Beyond that, the NSW Land & Environment Court hears formal disputes under the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006, which gives the court power to order pruning, removal or compensation. The Act covers high hedges (over 2.5m blocking sunlight or views) and dangerous trees specifically.

For court-grade evidence, an AQF Level 5 consulting arborist’s report is required. We hold AQF 3 in-house and refer to local AQF 5 consultants if a matter is heading that way.