A woman has accused her neighbor of violating her privacy by removing more than a hundred trees from her property.
Linz DeFranco said her neighbor approached her last year about extending his backyard farther out. His project, she explained, involved taking down trees that sat on both of their lots.
The neighbor had allegedly agreed to mark which trees would be removed before the renovation project began, saying it would only be “a couple” of trees and that he would wait for her approval.
A Georgia woman says her neighbor cut down more than a hundred trees that stood on her property without her approval
Image credits: LinzDefranco
However, a year later, she woke up to find that most of her trees had been cut down.
Linz, from Georgia, said she received a notice asking whether she gave her “approval” to start cutting— but only after the project had already begun. She stated that she never signed anything or gave her approval.
Image credits: LinzDefranco
Taking to TikTok, the furious woman showed what her yard used to look like, filled with tall trees surrounding her property, and contrasted it with its current state, saying her privacy was “all f***ing gone.”
Linz said she emailed her neighbor to demand answers and to tell him not to remove any more trees. According to her, the man responded that the city required the trees to be cut down for his renovation project.
“Those aren’t your trees to cut down,” Linz protested in her viral video. “I truly just feel so violated and taken advantage of.”
Her video has amassed more than 3 million views, with hundreds of commenters offering legal advice and suggesting she sue her neighbor for violating her property rights.
“As the wife of an attorney… Tree law is no joke. You need to go get yourself an arbor lawyer, and you need to go get yourself paid,” one woman wrote.
“I’m not going to lie… before I saw it I thought maybe you were being dramatic. No!!! It’s SO bad!! I’d get a lawyer,” shared someone else.
Linz DeFranco woke up to find that the majority of her trees had been cleared without her consent
Image credits: LinzDefranco
“Hey, so if those trees were on your property and they cut them down, contact an arborist. then you can sue for the cost of the trees,” another user chimed in.
Another commenter said the man appeared to be trying to use her land as his backyard. “Because you have that fence it looks like only that part is your land when it’s not the case.”
“Lawyer up ASAP. There is huge money in tree law fr,” added another netizen.
Image credits: LinzDefranco
The concept of tree law is tied to property rights. According to Georgia Tree Law, a tree belongs to whoever owns the land on which its trunk sits.
If the trunk is located on the property line between two lots, the tree is considered a boundary tree and is owned equally by both land owners. Neither owner may remove it without the other’s permission.
In such cases, people may only prune the branches of the tree that are on their side, as long as the pruning does not cause harm to the tree.
She said she received a notice asking for her approval only after her neighbor’s project had begun
Image credits: LinzDefranco
Linz explained that she has contacted her HOA (Homeowners Association) as well as a land surveyor. She has also told her neighbor not to set foot on her lot again until he has fixed the issue.
The mom shared that she liked the tall trees not only for their aesthetic value but also because they made her feel safe on her property. Their removal, she said, has left her family “completely exposed.”
Then, of course, there’s the environmental damage. “That was like decades, if not centuries, of tree growth,” she added. “I feel icky about it.”
Image credits: LinzDefranco
Linz doesn’t know exactly how many trees were cut down, but she estimates that it was “over 100.”
Responding to questions about how she didn’t notice the change as it was happening, she explained, “The forest was so dense I didn’t realize what they were doing on the other side until it was too late.”
The woman hired a land surveyor, who described the incident as the worst encroachment he’s ever seen
Image credits: LinzDefranco
Image credits: LinzDefranco
The Georgia resident gave her followers an update in a follow-up video. She explained that her HOA informed her that the permit that her neighbor received from the city did not include her property.
She expressed that she intends to hire an attorney and work with an arborist, a specialist in tree care, to determine the cost of the damage.
Linz explained that the trees made her feel safe inside her property
Image credits: LinzDefranco
@linzdefranco Any advice? I don’t know exactly how many trees were cut down because they’ve removed all the stumps, but I can tell you it is over 100. #treegate #treelaw ♬ original sound – LinzDefranco
@linzdefrancopart 2ish of tree gate. I don’t have the time or energy for this. This is going to be so much work on my end to make this right and it’s not fair. I hate this. I’ll keep yall posted when I can. Surveyor should be coming ina few days.♬ original sound – LinzDefranco
“Because of the holidays, the timeline isn’t going as fast as we’d like it to. But we had a surveyor come out, and he said it’s the worst case of encroachment he’s ever seen,” the woman shared in her most recent update on Thursday (November 27).
She concluded by thanking viewers for supporting her and advising her on how to proceed after the incident.