Michigan Tree Laws: Boundaries, Trespass, and Damages

Michigan tree laws give property owners strong control over trees whose trunks sit on their own land, a narrow right to trim a neighbor’s overhanging branches back to the property line, and shared authority over trees that straddle the boundary. They also create serious financial and criminal exposure for anyone who cuts or damages a tree belonging to someone else. The statute that drives most of that exposure, MCL 600.2919, allows the tree’s owner to recover three times the actual damages.¹

Trees on Your Own Property

If a tree’s trunk is entirely on your land, you own it. Michigan follows the common law rule that trees belong to the landowner of the soil under the trunk, so you can trim, prune, or remove your own trees without a neighbor’s permission. The real constraints come from local ordinances, homeowners’ association covenants, and environmental protections for specific species and sensitive areas.

Ownership carries a maintenance duty. Michigan courts apply general negligence principles to tree-related injuries: if you know, or reasonably should know, that a tree on your property is dead, diseased, or structurally compromised and you do nothing, you can be held liable for the damage it causes. A healthy tree that falls in a storm generally does not create liability, because the owner had no reason to anticipate the failure. The line is foreseeability.

Things that put an owner on notice include large dead branches dropping regularly, visible trunk rot or deep cracks, significant leaning toward a structure or power line, fungal growth around the base, and prior warnings from neighbors. When any of those conditions are present, a professional evaluation is the safest move. Arborists holding the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification are trained to assess structural defects and assign risk ratings that carry weight in court. A formal written assessment typically costs between $100 and $450, depending on the number of trees and the complexity of the report.

Trimming a Neighbor’s Branches That Cross the Line

Michigan recognizes a self-help right to trim branches or roots from a neighbor’s tree that cross onto your property. You can cut back to your property line and no further. This is one of those areas where the legal right is narrower than most people assume, and careless trimming creates more liability than it resolves.

The important limit: your trimming cannot cause irreparable harm to the tree. If you cut overhanging branches and the tree dies or suffers serious damage as a result, its owner can bring both civil and criminal claims. Civil exposure includes liability for triple the tree’s value under MCL 600.2919, and separate criminal charges may apply under MCL 750.382 for destruction of another person’s trees.¹ Aggressive pruning of major structural branches that could kill the tree is far riskier than removing smaller limbs.

If the tree is large or the work involves heavy branches, having an arborist evaluate which cuts are safe for the tree’s long-term health is cheap protection against a treble-damages claim.

Boundary Trees You Share With a Neighbor

When a trunk straddles the property line, both landowners share ownership. Michigan courts have applied this common law principle consistently: neither owner can unilaterally trim, remove, or alter a boundary tree without the other’s consent. Cutting down a shared tree exposes you to the same treble-damages liability as cutting a tree that belongs entirely to someone else.

Shared ownership means shared responsibility too. If a boundary tree’s roots damage a foundation or its branches drop onto a neighbor’s roof, both owners may share liability because both had a duty to maintain it. When one owner wants the tree gone and the other doesn’t, the dispute often lands in mediation or, failing that, in court.

If there is any doubt about which side of the line a trunk sits on, a professional boundary survey removes the guesswork. Residential surveys in Michigan typically run between $1,200 and $5,500 depending on lot size, terrain, and how much deed research is involved. That is almost always cheaper than litigating a boundary tree dispute after someone has already started a chainsaw.

When Removal Requires a Permit

Even on your own land, removing a tree in Michigan can require a permit. The restrictions come from three layers: state environmental law, local ordinances, and private deed or HOA restrictions.

State Environmental Protections

Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act protects specific plant species from being cut, removed, or transported without documentation proving the owner authorized it. The list under NREPA Section 52901 includes flowering dogwood and all native orchids, among others.² Removing a protected species without proper authorization can result in felony charges carrying up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000 or three times the value of the plant, whichever is greater.

Trees in wetlands face additional restrictions. Under NREPA Part 303, activities in regulated wetlands, including removing vegetation and soil, require a permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.³ Rural and lakefront owners may not realize their wooded areas contain regulated wetlands.

Local Ordinances

Many Michigan municipalities layer their own tree removal rules on top of state law. Some cities require permits before any work on public rights-of-way that border your property. Ann Arbor, for example, requires a permit for any work affecting a city-owned street tree, including removal, trimming, and even fertilization treatments.⁴ The permit itself is free in Ann Arbor, though a canopy loss fee or tree appraisal may apply when a city-owned tree is removed. Other municipalities require permits for removing large or heritage trees on private property. Check your local rules before scheduling any removal.

HOA and Deed Restrictions

Homeowners’ association covenants and deed restrictions often impose extra limits on what you can do with trees on your own lot. These private agreements can require board approval before removal, mandate replacement plantings, or protect specific species that define the neighborhood’s character. Violating them won’t send you to criminal court, but it can produce fines, forced replanting, or a civil suit from the HOA.

Timber Trespass and Treble Damages

MCL 600.2919 makes anyone who cuts down, carries off, or injures trees on another person’s land without permission liable for three times the actual damages.¹ Mature residential trees can appraise at thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars. Tripling that turns a neighborly dispute into a devastating judgment.

The statute includes a safety valve. If the trespass was “casual and involuntary,” or the person had a reasonable belief that the land was their own, the court awards only single damages. That distinction is why boundary surveys matter. A property owner who gets a survey, learns a tree is on the neighbor’s side, and cuts it anyway has no good-faith defense. Someone whose surveyor made an honest error at least has an argument for reduced damages.

The statute applies broadly to anyone who damages trees on your land, including neighbors, landscaping companies, and contractors who stray beyond their work area. If a tree service you hired removes the wrong tree and it belongs to your neighbor, both you and the company may face liability.

Criminal Penalties Under MCL 750.382

Michigan imposes criminal penalties for willful and malicious destruction of another person’s trees. Penalties escalate with the value of what was destroyed:⁵

Under $200 in value: a misdemeanor.
$200 to under $1,000: a more serious misdemeanor, or a felony with a prior conviction under the statute.
$1,000 to under $20,000: a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 or three times the value of the trees destroyed (whichever is greater), or both.
$20,000 or more: a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000 or three times the value of the trees destroyed (whichever is greater), or both.

Separately, violating NREPA’s protected species provisions carries a felony with up to five years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine or three times the value of the property involved, plus civil liability for up to three times the fair market value of the damage or $100, whichever is greater.² The operative words in MCL 750.382 are “willfully and maliciously.” Accidental damage from a tree service’s equipment is still civilly actionable, but generally won’t support criminal charges unless the conduct was reckless or intentional.

What Utility Companies Can Do With Trees on Your Land

Property owners are often surprised by how much authority utility companies have over trees near power lines. Most Michigan utilities hold easements, many recorded decades ago, that give them the legal right to trim or remove any tree within the easement area to maintain safe and reliable service. These easements run with the land and survive changes in ownership, so the fact that you planted the tree after buying the home does not protect it.

Under OSHA standards, tree work within 10 feet of energized power lines qualifies as line-clearance trimming and requires trained personnel.⁶ Utility arborists weigh species, proximity to lines, and tree health to decide whether trimming is enough or removal is necessary. A tree may be removed if it is dead, dying, diseased, leaning toward a line, or simply too close to keep clear through trimming.

Utilities are generally responsible for clearing vegetation around primary voltage lines but not around communication wires owned by other companies, streetlight illumination, or the service drop running to your home. If a utility notifies you that a tree needs work within its easement, you generally cannot block it by withholding consent. You can, however, ask to see the easement language and confirm the tree is actually within its boundaries.

Resolving a Tree Dispute With a Neighbor

Most tree disputes start with a conversation and escalate from there. Michigan offers several resolution paths depending on the amount at stake and how cooperative the parties are.

Mediation

Michigan’s Community Dispute Resolution Program funds mediation centers around the state that handle neighbor-versus-neighbor conflicts, tree disputes among them.⁷ You can contact your local CDRP center whether or not you have already filed a court case. Mediation works best when both sides want to preserve the relationship and are willing to compromise, and a successful session can produce a binding agreement covering cost-sharing for removal, replacement plantings, or future maintenance responsibilities.

Small Claims Court

For disputes involving $7,000 or less, Michigan’s small claims division offers a streamlined process without attorneys. That cap covers many residential tree damage claims, though it will not be enough for mature trees with high appraised values once treble damages are added in. Useful evidence includes photographs of the damage, a written appraisal from a certified arborist, and any communications that put the neighbor on notice about the problem.

Civil Litigation

When damages exceed small claims limits or the case involves complex issues like boundary lines and shared liability, a civil suit in district or circuit court becomes necessary. Michigan courts can order monetary compensation based on the tree’s appraised value, tripled under MCL 600.2919 for intentional trespass, along with injunctions and, in some cases, orders requiring a party to remove or maintain a specific tree.¹ Attorney fees add up fast, which is why mediation and small claims are worth exhausting first.

Recovering From Storm Damage

When a storm destroys trees on your property, two financial recovery paths often go overlooked.

Homeowners Insurance

Standard homeowners policies typically cover debris removal when a tree falls because of a covered peril like a windstorm or lightning strike. Coverage limits are often lower than people expect. Many residential policies cap tree debris removal at $500 to $1,000 per incident, and that amount is separate from the cost of removing a tree from a damaged structure. If a large tree takes out a fence and lands in the yard, structural damage and debris hauling are usually handled under different sublimits. Read your debris removal sublimit before an emergency makes you learn it the hard way.

Casualty Loss Tax Deduction

Beginning in 2026, the federal casualty loss deduction was expanded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Previously limited to losses from federally declared disasters, the deduction now also covers losses from state-declared disasters, provided the other requirements under Internal Revenue Code Section 165 are met.⁸ For personal-use property such as residential trees, you must reduce each loss by $100 per event and then subtract 10% of your adjusted gross income from the total. Gradual deterioration from disease or insects generally does not qualify, though sudden destruction, such as a rapid beetle infestation, may. Consulting a tax professional after significant tree loss is worth the cost.⁹

1
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 600.2919
2
Michigan Legislature. Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (Excerpt) Act 451 of 1994 – Miscellaneous Topics
3
State of Michigan. Wetland Permits
4
City of Ann Arbor. Street Tree Permits
5
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 750.382
6
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution – Overhead Line Work – Line-Clearance Tree Trimming Operations
7
Michigan Courts. Community Dispute Resolution Program
8
Internal Revenue Service. Casualty Loss Deduction Expanded and Made Permanent
9
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 547 (2025), Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts