Tree Trimming Responsibilities

[Michael L.]

Evening Everyone,

Did anyone ever run into conflict with tenant or landlord about who is responsible of trimming trees in SFR setting?

In this case I'm a renter and my landlord is outright refusing to trim big palm trees (not those smaller ones, these are about 15-18ft tall) that have overgrown to partially block the driveway with its branches. More importantly, other palm is completely covering the mailbox now and hangs over the road. USPS vehicle is unable to stop at the mailbox anymore, so mailman has to come out to deliver the mail. I've submitted an inquiry twice and both times the response came that it's tenant's responsibility to maintain the yard and thus trim all trees on the property.

I would never think to try putting trimming big trees on my tenants for a number of common sense reasons, but this landlord is of a different opinion. Every discussion I have read on similar topic comes down to what is actually in the lease. We have a standard Texas Association of Realtors lease that I believe is used in majority of Houston leases, at least by RE agents. Here is what it has:

B. Yard Maintenance:
(1) "Yard" means all lawns, shrubbery, bushes, flowers, gardens, trees, rock or other landscaping, and other foliage on or encroaching on the Property or on any easement appurtenant to the Property, and does not include common areas maintained by an owners' association.
(2) "Maintain the yard" means to perform activities such as, but not limited to: (a) mowing, fertilizing, and trimming the yard; (b) controlling pests and weeds in the yard; and (c) removing debris from the yard.

Does this outright mean that tenant is responsible for everything or one could still interpret that tree trimming is not a routine task of landscaping? Especially, if it prevents property to function as intended (restricted access to mailbox, unable to use part of the driveway) it's more of a repair than the maintenance?

Would love to hear some your opinion or previous experience on the matter.