“Most Passive Response” — Neighbor Cuts Down Woman's Trees Without Her Permission

It's a well-known fact that neighbors have been known to overstep their boundaries — both verbally and physically.

You all know the type: the person who just can't keep their nose out of your business, or, in the case of a TikToker named Meranda (@merleighw), their bodies out of your lawn.

In a series of videos she posted to the popular social media platform, she shared how vexed she was to see that the landscapers who were cutting trees in her neighbor's yard hopped the fence to enter her property and chop down the trees that were on her land.

"So our neighbors paid to have our trees cut down and I don't know what to do. These guys are almost done like cutting a whole tree line that's on our property. They jumped the fence, got onto our property, but they're parked at the neighbor's house," the woman says, seemingly stunned as she speaks into the camera in the first clip.

"I'm like actually upset, I really liked that tree line; it gave us a lot of like privacy to our yard and we were going to put up like a whole little bird section in our yard, and put a whole bunch of tree houses up there this year. I don't even know what to do about this right now," she says as the video cuts out.

One commenter who responded to Meranda's initial video wrote: "They can't legally do that!!!! Why didn't you go outside and tell them?" And the TikToker responded to their query, explaining why she didn't head outside and confront them.

"Well, by the time I even noticed that they had started like cutting this tree line, they were about halfway done and it is pouring down rain outside. I am home with my toddler, I did not want to have to suit him up to take him outside to go and confront two men by myself, if I'm being honest," she replied.

Another person wrote that the only part of a neighbor's tree someone can legally have cut is if there's a portion of the growth that is seeping onto their side of the property: "They can only cut what's over," they wrote.

Meranda responded to this as well: "All right so I got quite a few comments just like this one. Yes I know that they can cut like if something is leaning into their yard, however this line of trees was not in their yard whatsoever. This line just kind of covers the view from like the street into our yard, so if you were driving up the street you could just like have a direct sight into our yard."

She went on to further explain the way her backyard was laid out and the work that the neighbors put into cutting down the tree she was sad to see go. Basically: there was no overgrowth; someone physically came into her yard to cut down a tree that was on her property.

"If that makes sense? If it was something that was like, you know, hanging over into his yard I wouldn't have been upset if they just trimmed it but they literally cut them down. And I'll show you guys that," she promises at the end of the clip.

Numerous folks on the app chimed in with recommendations on what Meranda could do in this situation. One viewer shared their own anecdote that culminated in legal action and ultimately, a payout: "You can sue the company that cut them down. This happened with a property my husband was working. Their insurance reimbursed the complainant."

Another person just remarked how shocked they were that this landscaping company went in a stranger's yard to cut down a tree the property owner's permission: "If the branches are hanging over their property, they can legally cut their side, on their property. But NOT a whole d--- tree."

In a follow-up TikTok picture montage, Meranda showed off a duo of photos showcasing the trees that were cut down. All that was left were a few stumps, and it's evident that the trees, or what was left of them, were on her side of the property.

But there were a lot of folks who thought legal action was Meranda's best course of action, like this person who said: "File a police report. Neighbors will legally be required to compensate you and it’s costly. I believe upwards of a grand a tree."

Have you ever had to deal with neighbors who thought that they could do whatever they wanted?