Tree crops
Tree crops that grow beyond land boundaries can create nuisance and even danger for pedestrians and drivers.
These items need to be in order:
The CoR urges garden owners to cut their trees so that they do not obstruct pedestrians, cover traffic signs or reduce street lighting. Accessibility due to snow clearing must also be envisaged, but a height of 2.8 metres under tree branches on walkways must be assumed in order to allow snow removal devices to pass on the days when the tree branches are slung away by snow.
Traffic signs must be visible.
Crops must not be bunkered by street lighting.
Pedestrians and cyclists are required to pay all the way through sidewalks. Where mechanical sweeps and snow deflectors are traversed, the minimum height of vegetation over paths must not be lower than 2.8 metres.
Where garbage collection trucks are required to access a pedestal or path, vegetation must not be below 4.2 metres, comparable to a track.
Garden owners are responsible for their crops.
Garden owners are reminded that under building regulations they are required to keep crops within the land boundaries. It says: “The landowner is obliged to keep the growth of trees or shrubs on the property within the boundaries of the land. Therefore, in the absence of growth of trees or shrubs beyond the boundaries of streets, sidewalks or open spaces, the road keeper or manager of the area is entitled to remove the disrupted or disadvantaged section at the expense of the landowner after being warned.”
Tree fellings
A permit is required to fell trees over 8 m or over 60 years of age. You can apply for a felling by email to usk@reykjavik.is or send an application to the Department of Environmental Protection and Planning, Borgartún 12-14, 105 Reykjavík.