Retired Dubrovnik attorney Ivica Ban explains the legal framework for cutting trees that endanger property during fire season, and the city administration reveals what the Communal Order Decree says.
Highly flammable trees such as pines and cypresses growing near residential buildings are increasingly hampering firefighting efforts and increasing the risk to lives and property. The problem becomes more complex when such a tree grows on a neighbor's plot and relations between neighbors are strained, or when the land is owned by the state, the city, or the municipality.
To answer the question of how to overcome property-legal obstacles and facilitate the cutting of dangerous trees, retired Dubrovnik attorney Ivica Ban spoke to Slobodna Dalmacija.
Ban explains that the situation is clear when a fire is already underway and approaching homes. "When a fire is in progress and approaching houses, the situation is clear: you have every right to cut down anything that could cause residential buildings to catch fire or endanger people in your vicinity," the attorney emphasizes.
For preventive clearing of terrain before the fire season, the procedure is different. "In the case of preventive clearing of trees from the terrain before the fire season, it is necessary to contact the owner of the land on which the tree grows and ask them to either remove it themselves or allow someone interested to cut down 'dangerous' greenery such as pines or cypresses," Ban states. If the owner refuses, you can sue them to enable the action necessary for the safety of people and property.
The attorney warns that it makes no sense to contact the city's communal inspection service for cutting a tree on a neighbor's plot, as they are not authorized to act on private land. "Unfortunately, they are not authorized to act on private land. The only exception is in cases of fire, when it is permitted to cut down trees that threaten safety and hinder firefighting operations," Ban explains.
The same rule applies to land owned by the state or the City of Dubrovnik if it is overgrown with pines and other vegetation that favors the spread of fire. "Every owner, whoever they may be, is responsible for their property and must not endanger the estates of other owners," adds the interviewee.
When it comes to trees of higher quality, Ban explains that assessing their value is a matter of property-legal relations. "That is a matter of property-legal relations, and Vrtlar can certainly assess the value, i.e., the quality of the tree before any potential removal, if someone requests it and pays for it," says the attorney.
Asked how long the process would take if the owner opposes the cutting and the neighbor takes them to court, Ban is not optimistic. "We know that court justice is not exactly fast; regular court proceedings in which you force the owner to resolve trees that threaten your property can take years," he warns.
However, there is also the instrument of self-help. "Nevertheless, in cases of urgency and immediate danger of fire, you have the instrument of self-help at your disposal-the possibility to cut down trees that threaten your home yourself without asking, or to hire someone to do it for you. And if the owner of the neighboring plot sues you for it, you will have to prove in court that it was necessary," Ban concluded.
From the Dubrovnik city administration, they emphasize that the manner of arranging and maintaining courtyards, gardens, green areas, and fences around buildings is prescribed by the Communal Order Decree of the City of Dubrovnik. According to Article 16 of that Decree, owners are obliged to keep their areas tidy and clean.
"Thus, Article 16 of the said Decree stipulates that owners, i.e., users of buildings and undeveloped construction land, are obliged to keep courtyards, gardens, green and other areas of buildings, fences around buildings (homesteads), undeveloped construction land, and other areas, in the part visible from public areas, tidy and clean," the City states.
If the areas are not maintained, the communal inspector issues a decision ordering the deficiencies to be remedied, and if the owner fails to act within the deadline, a third party remedies the deficiencies at the owner's expense. It is also forbidden to dispose of waste and burn waste materials on these areas.
Article 19 of the Decree prescribes procedures in case of danger from a tree falling. "According to Article 19 of the Decree, if there is a danger of a tree falling onto a public area or injuring people and/or damaging property, the communal inspector will issue a decision ordering the owner, i.e., the user of the land, to carry out the necessary interventions on the tree," the city administration explains.
When the communal inspection service requests an assessment of the tree's quality value, Vrtlar engineers provide an expert opinion based on a field inspection. "If it is assessed that the tree is valued with a quality grade of I or II, it is considered a highly valuable tree that is not allowed to be removed," conclude from the City of Dubrovnik.
In the context of fire safety, Đani Banovac from Zlatni potok says: "Do you love your home? Then clean around the buildings!"
