According to the Portuguese Civil Code, when a neighbor's trees or shrubs advance into your property — whether through roots, trunks or branches that project over the property — the affected owner has the right to request the cutting of those parts. The law generally allows planting of trees up to the boundary line between properties, but establishes that the tree owner must be requested, judicially or extrajudicially, to proceed with the cutting of parts that invade the neighboring property.
Article 1366 of the Civil Code determines that, if the tree owner does not carry out the cutting within three days, the affected property owner may cut it on their own initiative. This request must be made in a way that allows proving its existence and date of receipt, and it is recommended that it be made in writing. The intervention must be limited to the parts that cross the boundary line, and entering the neighboring property or cutting parts of the tree that are entirely on the other side is not authorized.
When protected species are involved, such as cork oaks and holm oaks, additional rules apply. The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests clarifies that pruning these species depends on prior authorization and can only be carried out, as a rule, between November 1st and March 31st. The authorization is not automatic and ICNF cannot allow interventions that represent the mutilation, destruction or evident depreciation of these trees.
In summary, the law allows cutting the invasive parts after the three-day period has elapsed without a response from the neighbor, but does not authorize the felling of the entire tree or entry onto the neighboring property. If there is doubt about the exact location of the boundary line between the properties, its identification may be relevant to resolving the conflict.
