A common-area tree fell on an owner's house. What should our HOA board do?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 11, 2026

What an HOA board does when a common-area tree falls on a home: safety, saving the stump, whose insurance pays, notice to the carrier and the letter to the owner.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Deal with people and power lines first, then protect the evidence. Photograph the tree where it landed, have an arborist look at the break and the root plate before anyone grinds the stump, and pull every record the association has on that tree. Report the incident to the association's liability carrier within days. Tell the owner, in writing, to file with their own homeowner's insurer now and that the association has sent the matter to its carrier. Do not promise to pay for the house, and do not tell the owner the tree was the association's fault, even if you suspect it was. Whether the association owes anything usually comes down to two facts: whose tree it was under the plat and the declaration, and whether the board knew or should have known it was a hazard. Our guide on who is responsible when a tree falls in an HOA explains that rule from the owner's side. This guide covers the board's job in the days and months after. Rules vary by state and by your governing documents, and this is general education, not legal advice.

The first hours

If anyone is hurt or trapped, call 911 before anything else. If the tree is on or near a power line or the service drop to the house, keep everyone back and call the electric utility. The Texas Department of Insurance tells people to assume every overhead line is energized and to stay at least 10 feet away, and warns that a downed line can energize fences, trees and bushes around it. No director, owner or helpful neighbor with a chainsaw goes near the tree until the utility says the line is dead. Then help the owner make the house safe. TDI's storm guidance says temporary repairs, like a tarp over the hole in the roof, are generally fine, but permanent repairs should wait until the owner has talked to their insurer. Usually the owner's contractor takes the tree off the house and the association's tree service handles what remains on the common area. Agree on that split with the owner by phone the first day so two crews don't show up with two bills. If removal means crossing the owner's lot with equipment, our guide on getting access through an owner's lot to repair HOA property covers the entry side.

Save the evidence before the cleanup

The stump is the most important piece of evidence in the whole claim, and it is usually ground out within a week. Before it goes, have a certified arborist who does not do the association's regular pruning look at the break, the root plate and any cavity or decay, and write a short report with photos. If decay is visible, keep a cross-section of the trunk at the break. It costs almost nothing and settles arguments later. TDI's advice to homeowners is to photograph the damage before the tree is moved. The board should do the same from the common-area side: wide shots of where the tree stood, the lean of the trees beside it, the soil and the root plate, with the date on every file. Then pull the paper. Gather the last arborist survey or tree inventory, the trimming invoices for that area, any owner email or work request that mentioned the tree, and the minutes of any meeting where it came up. Put copies in one claim folder. Don't write new notes about what the board knew. If a director remembers a conversation, they can tell the association's insurer or lawyer directly.

Confirm whose tree it was

Don't assume. Trees near a lot line are often on the owner's side of it, and the plat or a survey settles that faster than anyone's memory. Then read the maintenance section of the declaration. Some declarations make the association maintain trees in certain easements or parkway strips even when they stand on a lot, and some make owners maintain trees the association planted on their lot. A tree an owner planted on common area with the board's approval can carry its own maintenance terms, so check the approval letter if one exists. If the tree turns out to be the owner's or a neighbor's, the association is usually out of the claim, though the board may still need to clear any part that fell onto common area. If it is the association's, the question becomes whether the board had reason to know it was failing. A healthy tree that snapped in a storm is a very different case from a dead one owners had reported. TDI puts it plainly for neighbors: the tree owner's policy probably won't pay unless the tree owner was at fault, because no one is responsible for acts of nature.

Who calls which insurer

The owner calls their own insurer. TDI notes that many homeowner policies pay for damage from falling objects like trees, and that when a neighbor's policy won't pay, the homeowner can file under their own. That is the fastest way for the owner to get the roof fixed, minus their deductible. If their insurer thinks the association was at fault, it can pursue the association afterward. Our guide on responding to a subrogation claim against the HOA covers that letter, which often arrives months later. The association notifies its commercial general liability carrier through its agent, in writing, within a few days. Colorado's CCIOA requires associations to carry liability coverage for claims arising from the ownership, existence, use or management of the common elements, to the extent reasonably available (CRS 38-33.3-313(1)(b)). Section 38-33.3-117 does not list section 313 among the provisions that reach communities created before July 1, 1992, so older Colorado communities, and Texas and Florida HOAs, should check what their declaration requires. Liability policies generally require prompt notice and bar the insured from admitting fault or paying without the carrier's consent, so send the notice even if the board thinks the claim will go nowhere. Ask the agent two questions in writing: does the association's property policy pay to remove the rest of the tree from common area, and what is the liability deductible?

Wording for the letter to the owner

Send a short letter within a week, even if the only news is that the carrier has it. Keep it kind and factual. 'Dear [Owner], we are sorry about the damage to your home on [date]. The board has reported the incident to the association's liability insurance carrier, [carrier], claim number [number], and an adjuster may contact you. We encourage you to file a claim with your own homeowner's insurer now if you have not, since that is usually the quickest way to start repairs. The association's tree service will remove the remaining tree and stump from the common area on [date], after an arborist has inspected it. This letter is not a decision about responsibility; the carrier will review the facts. Please send photos, estimates and your claim number to [contact].' If the owner asks the association to cover their deductible, the answer is the same: that request goes to the carrier, and the board will not decide it on its own.

The records request that usually follows

Expect the owner, their insurer or their lawyer to ask for the association's tree records. In Texas, Property Code 209.005(c) makes the books and records open to an owner or to an attorney the owner designates in writing. In Florida, the official records in section 720.303(4)(a) include the association's insurance policies, its contracts and bids, and all other written records related to its operation, kept for at least 7 years. In Colorado, CRS 38-33.3-317(1) lists the records owners can get, including detailed records of expenditures and the minutes of board meetings, and section 117 applies section 317 to older communities too. A trimming invoice and a board discussion of the tree land in those. Answer the request through your normal records process and on its normal timeline, and tell the carrier it came in. Never delete an email or thin out a file because a claim is pending. Missing records look worse than a bad record.

A sample timeline

Day 0: safety, utility called, owner's roof tarped, photos taken. Day 1: the board president calls the owner and agrees who removes what. Days 1 to 3: the arborist inspects the stump and the trees around it, and the records go into the claim folder. Days 2 to 5: written notice to the liability carrier. Day 7: letter to the owner. Week 2: stump ground and debris hauled away, once the carrier confirms it has what it needs. Next board meeting: the board reviews the arborist's report on nearby trees and votes on any removals. A motion that works: 'The board directs [arborist] to inspect every association tree within [distance] of a home on [street or section] and report risk ratings by [date], at a cost not to exceed $[amount].' Our guide on planning an HOA tree maintenance program covers turning that report into a pruning rotation and a tree budget.

Mistakes boards make

Telling the owner on the driveway that the association will make it right. The carrier may decide otherwise, and the board has now made a promise it can't keep. Grinding the stump the next morning because it looked bad. Paying the owner's deductible out of the operating account without telling the carrier. Treating the claim as finished once the house is fixed and ignoring the three trees next to it that the arborist flagged. Handling a director's house differently from anyone else's. Use the same steps, the same letter and the same carrier notice every time.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

More on home & property

Or browse all home projects & property rules guides.