Street and Verge Trees in Cape Town: Who’s Responsible, and How to Get the City to Prune or Remove One

General information based on the City of Cape Town’s Urban Forest Policy (July 2025). The City decides each request case by case.

The short answer

A tree growing on the pavement or verge outside your property belongs to the City of Cape Town, not to you. The City’s Recreation and Parks Department maintains it. You shouldn’t prune or remove it yourself, or pay someone else to, without the City’s permission. To have a street tree pruned or removed, log a service request with the City on 0860 103 089 or online. The City removes street trees only for specific reasons, such as danger, death or damage, and it won’t remove a healthy tree on request.

Jump to:

• Who owns the tree outside my house?
• Can I prune a street tree myself?
• When the City will prune or remove a street tree
• Reasons the City can refuse
• How to ask the City (phone, online, email)
• A street tree has fallen
• If a City tree damages your property
• Your tree overhangs the street
• Help for indigent households
• Getting a street tree planted
• Trees on your side of the boundary

Who owns the tree outside my house?

The City of Cape Town owns trees on the verge, pavement and road reserve, even when the tree is right outside your gate. The Urban Forest Policy defines a public road as including “the verge of any such road”, and trees planted on municipal land become City property, including trees residents planted themselves. Grass and garden on the verge are a different matter: ratepayers’ associations such as the PRRA note that homeowners are expected to mow and tend the verge in front of their property. The tree itself stays the City’s.

If you’re not sure where your boundary is, your property’s surveyor-general diagram shows it. A tree whose trunk stands on your side of the boundary is yours, even if its branches overhang the street.

Looking for the City’s tree by-law? The City’s rules for street and park trees are set out in its Urban Forest Policy (PDF, approved July 2025).

Can I prune or cut down a street tree myself?

No, not without the City’s permission. The Urban Forest Policy states that “no one may break or damage a tree” in a public park or public road, and contractors working on City land need permission from the Recreation and Parks Department. That includes tree fellers you hire. If a street tree is causing a problem, ask the City to deal with it (below). Don’t cut it back yourself.

When will the City prune or remove a street tree?

The City treats every tree as an asset and decides each request case by case. Under the Urban Forest Policy, it will only consider removing a tree on a public road or open space if the tree:

• presents an unmanageable threat to people or property,
• has died, or
• has to make way for road or underground services work.

It may consider pruning or removal where trees:

• damage structures, or underground or above-ground services,
• block pedestrians, vehicles or traffic sight lines,
• block solar panels or solar water heaters,
• cause long-term repeated problems, such as aggressive roots or allergies confirmed by a specialist, or
• affect security, for example camera sight lines, electric fences or razor wire.

For trees in an avenue, or in a Heritage Protection Overlay Zone or other heritage area, the City consults its Environment and Heritage Management branch before any removal.

The City’s service-request page adds two practical rules. The City won’t remove a healthy tree on request. If you say a tree is damaging your property, you’ll need to provide a quote for the damage before your request is considered, and for health reasons, a doctor’s report.

Reasons the City can refuse a request

The Urban Forest Policy lists reasons the City may refuse a request to prune or remove a street tree:

• interference with TV, radio or internet reception
• shedding leaves, fruit, seeds or other plant material
• allergies without a specialist medical opinion
• excessive shade
• obstructing pedestrians (unless traffic sight lines are affected)
• blocking private advertising boards or signs
• being a nuisance to swimming pools
• hampering the growth of other plants
• attracting insects, birds or bats

So “it drops leaves in my pool” or “it shades my garden” is unlikely to succeed on its own. A cracked wall with a builder’s quote attached is a stronger request.

How to ask the City to prune or remove a street tree

1. Log a service request with the City’s call centre on 0860 103 089, or online at capetown.gov.za/servicerequests (the “C3” system). Tree requests fall under Recreation and Parks. Keep the reference number.
2. Describe the problem precisely: the street address, where the tree stands, and what it’s affecting (a lifted driveway, branches on the roof, a blocked sight line at an exit).
3. Attach evidence: photos, and for damage claims, a contractor’s quote for the repair. The City asks for this before it considers a damage-based request.
4. Follow up with Recreation and Parks by email at RP.enquiries@capetown.gov.za, quoting your reference number.
5. If you’re refused and disagree, the policy lets you escalate the dispute to the Director: Recreation and Parks. After that, you can lodge an appeal under section 62 of the Municipal Systems Act.

Need a driveway or new vehicle access where a street tree stands? The City considers removal for vehicle access only with pre-approval from Recreation and Parks, before building plans are submitted, and the applicant pays for the removal.

A street tree has fallen or is about to fall

A fallen or falling tree on a road or pavement is an emergency. Report it to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline. Keep people and cars away. If the tree is on or near power lines, stay well clear and report that too. The City is responsible for fallen trees on its own land. If the fallen tree is on your property or came from your side of the boundary, see who to call when a tree falls in Cape Town.

If a City tree damages your property

Report the damage to Recreation and Parks through a service request. The Urban Forest Policy says any claim for damage caused by a tree on City land should be lodged with the City’s Insurance Section for investigation. Photograph the damage and the tree, keep repair quotes, and note the date. A claim is investigated, not automatically paid. Speak to your own insurer as well.

What if the tree is yours, but overhangs the street?

A tree on your property is your responsibility, even where it hangs over the pavement or road. The policy allows the City to instruct an owner to deal with a tree that causes an unmanageable risk to people, property or City infrastructure. If the owner refuses, the City may do the work itself and recover the cost. Keeping branches clear of the road, streetlights and sight lines avoids that. The same permit, protected-species and heritage rules apply as for any tree on private land; see when you need a permit to cut down a tree.

For trees that belong to your neighbour rather than the City, see your neighbour’s tree overhanging your property.

Help for registered indigent households

Under the Urban Forest Policy, owners or occupants registered as indigent under the City’s Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy can apply to Recreation and Parks to have a dangerous tree on their own property trimmed or removed at the City’s cost. The applicant must sign an indemnity in writing before work starts.

Want a street tree planted?

Residents can apply to have a tree planted on the sidewalk outside their property, or inside the property if the sidewalk has no space. The City’s application form is on its “Cape Town’s trees” page, and completed forms go to Arborist@capetown.gov.za. You’ll need to undertake to water the new tree, and once it’s planted on municipal land it becomes City property.

Trees on your side of the boundary

Many tree problems involve a tree on private land: your own, or a neighbour’s. Michael’s Tree Felling prunes and removes trees on private property across Cape Town, and has done since 2014. Work on a City street tree needs the City’s permission, whoever does it. For a free quote, see tree trimming in Cape Town or call +27 81 381 3804.

Sources: City of Cape Town, Urban Forest Policy (Policy 70102, approved 30 July 2025); City of Cape Town, Submit a service request (C3); City of Cape Town, Tree emergencies logged by the dozens (3 September 2023); City of Cape Town, Cape Town’s trees.

Last updated: 23 September 2026