Tree removal

It's a board decision to take down this tree NOT the majority of homeowners. The BOD in this case has the authority to hire the tree company to come in and cut the tree down despite the protests. That's because it is the BOD's responsibility to protect property for all the residents. So if you got the board vote already, cut the tree down and the handcuffs off the tree huggers around it.

Ironically, the LAST week of my Presidency this happened to me but the tree DID fall down! I had paid 2K to take down other problem trees and had gotten a bid on a few extremely large pine trees infested with pine beetles/disease. It was too expensive to remove the Pines at the time so we left them and I kept the bid to forward to the new board to handle.

Unfornately, one of the southern pine trees that looked "okay" from the outside, was filled with rot in the inside. It was winter time and the freeze and thawing cycle was finally too much. The tree broke in half and fell into the house next door's roof, over the fence, and partially in the original yard. The owner the tree was in did NOT have homeowner's insurance!!! The owner with the tree in the roof did. The tree was on "Common Property" which the HOA owned. The HOA was technically responsible for the tree since it was on the property from the original development times. I had to try to contact the HOA's liablity insurance. However, they wanted to deny the claim of course.

What ended up happening is the owner who's roof was damaged, their insurance picked up the repairs for the house. I agreed as the HOA president to pay for the actual cleanup of the tree from the common area at the cost of $1500. I am not sure about how it worked out with the owner with no insurance. They had a hole in their roof as well and put a tarp over it. (It turned out to be rental property and the tenants moved out due to the damages). The original bid for the tree removal was $1500- $2K. Go figure! I quit as President the next week! However, the new board was angry that I spent the money to clean up the mess. It was our responsibility and if we didn't we would have gotten sued by the owners.

Cut the tree down and live with the anger!!! It's much less damage!!!

I currently serve as the Board President in a 132 unit condo property.

I have served on the Board for 20+ years.

The Board is elected to manage and oversee the property.
If the Board voted to have the tree removed by a majority vote then the tree should be taken down.

The Board is supposed to act in the best interest of the unit owners and not need to have every decision approved by the unit owners.

A petition signed by one or all of the unit owners should not change a Board vote especially when this tree poses a threat to the structures on the property.

We remove trees on our property all the time without owner approval or input.

Some have questioned our actions even when the trees in question are DEAD!

IMO to allow unit owners with no knowledge of what or how decisions were made to holdup or change a Board decision renders the Board impotent.

Another problem I would have is with the Board member who voted not to remove this tree and then ran to his wife to instigate this petition which was not in the best interest of the Board or the property. Sounds like you have more trouble then just this tree.

LoisC - There have been statements to your posts which may or may not be true. Such as "If the Board voted to have the tree removed by a majority vote then the tree should be taken down.", and "It's a board decision to take down this tree NOT the majority of homeowners.".

I am not disputing that taking the tree down is a good idea and that it's safety issue and your Board has a responsibility to protect the unit owners. However, IF your governing documents state that the Board has a limit/threshold of spending on a matter such as tree removal than you can't take it down without the owners approval. If indeed the Board has the authority, don't cowtow to unit owners, invite them to attend a meeting with the arborist to explain why the tree needs to remove the tree and to present a proposal to evaluate all trees.

I'm the president for a 10 unit / 3 owner association in NH. The association consists of 5 separate building. One of the buildings has 5 large pine trees overhanging the the roof one one side and the driveway of the other. I'm sure the BOD will vote to remove them since there is only 3 of us.
My question is who is responsible to pay for the work.
The trees are cleary located in common area even though they are located very close to one building. Not listed as limited common area in the docs.
Would the work fall under:

RSA 356-B:45, II – Allocation of Common Expenses
II. To the extent that any common expense benefits fewer than all of the units, or is caused by the misconduct of any unit owner, the association may assess that expense exclusively against those units benefited or affected.

The trees need to come down because they are a damager to one building. A recent insurance inspection also mentioned any trees overhanging the buildings need to be addressed.

I don't know what to do in this situation. Any advise

Tom

The RSA section says the association "may" assess the expense. This means the board can use its best judgment.

Given the liability concerns, and so how the HOA does achieve some benefit from removing the trees, I would vote for the cost to be split among all owners. Put this in the Minutes.

Does your operating budget have a line item for landscaping - if so you could put the expense there. Operating budgets are used for routine expenses and maintenance, while reserves are used for major repairs and replacement of certain common elements like roofing.

Usually, landscaping isnt included in reserves because it's easier to calculator the useful life costs for something like roofing as opposed to a tree because trees can become diseased, get struck by lightning, etc., and you can't predict the length of its useful life.

If you've never done a reserve study or yours doesn't address landscaping, consult a reserve study specialist to see if you need need to include landscaping in the next one. If it's been over 5 years since your last reserve study, make this a top priority for next year. If this will be the first time you've done one, read your documents to see how it defines common area - board members should already know this so they can prepare operating and reserve budgets properly.

The budgets should have line items and definitions of what fall under them. Fir example landscaping in the operating budget might include tree pruning, snow removal, lawn care, etc,

Bottom line, this is an association expense that all homeowners share. Hopefully you won't need a special assessment to pay for tree removal - if you do, you'll have to follow your documents to put this before the homeowners so they can take a vote to authorize it. After that take a hard look at your budget because special assessments should be rare- maybe it's time for a reality check.

Per ThomasN5's Oct 31, 2025 post, not necessarily.

Verbiage like that ThomasN5 quoted is pretty common in condo declarations.

Given the quote, “ RSA 356-B:45, II – Allocation of Common Expenses
II. To the extent that any common expense benefits fewer than all of the units, or is caused by the misconduct of any unit owner, the association may assess that expense exclusively against those units benefited or affected.”

I don’t think I would like to be on a board arguing what trees benefit what units. Common areas and the landscaping add value and benefit the community as a whole.

As far as reserves, our HOA has landscaping as a reserve item. Trees and shrubs die and have to be periodically replaced due to insects, disease, high winds, lightning, drought and age. Unlike structures, landscaping is not covered by insurance.

Likely