Tree Fell on My House — What Do I Do?

1. Get everyone out of the affected area immediately. If any part of the house has been struck, evacuate all occupants. Do not go back inside to collect belongings until a qualified professional has confirmed structural safety.
2. Check for injuries. Call 112 or 10177 if anyone is hurt. Do not attempt to move an injured person unless they are in immediate further danger.
3. Look for downed power lines. If the tree has touched or brought down any electrical cables, stay at least 10 metres away and call Eskom immediately on 0860 037 566.
4. Check for fire or gas hazards. If you smell gas, leave the structure immediately and call the gas emergency line. Do not use electrical switches inside a damaged structure.
5. Photograph and video everything before any clean-up begins. This is critical for your insurance claim — document the tree, all structural damage, and the full scene from multiple angles.
6. Contact your insurer immediately to report the event and get a claim reference number.
7. Call an emergency tree removal professional. Do not attempt to cut or move the tree yourself if it is resting on a structure.
8. Arrange temporary weatherproofing if the roof has been breached — your insurer typically covers reasonable emergency tarping costs.

If a fallen tree has come into contact with overhead power lines — or if there are power lines near where the tree has fallen — treat the situation as a live electrical emergency until officially confirmed otherwise. Electricity can travel through wet wood, through wet ground, and can arc across gaps, making the area around a downed line dangerous even at several metres' distance. The rules are absolute: never touch any part of a tree that is in contact with a power line, never approach a downed cable within 10 metres, and never allow tree removal workers to begin work until Eskom has officially confirmed that the relevant lines have been de-energised.

Call Eskom on 0860 037 566 to report the downed or tree-contacted line and request emergency power isolation. Keep your family, neighbours, and any bystanders well away from the affected area while you wait. If the line is across a road, contact your local JMPD or SAPS to alert them so they can manage the scene safely. A responsible, professional tree removal company will not begin work on a tree touching a live line — if any contractor tells you it is safe to proceed without confirmed Eskom isolation, do not engage them.

Before a single branch is moved or any clean-up work begins, you must document the full scene as thoroughly as possible. Your insurance claim depends on photographic and video evidence of the damage as it occurred — once clean-up has started, the ability to establish the extent and nature of the original damage is lost. Take photographs and video from multiple angles and distances, covering:

• The fallen tree in its full position, showing its point of origin and direction of fall
• All points of contact between the tree and the structure — roof, walls, windows, fences
• Close-up shots of all structural damage — cracked or broken roof tiles, damaged trusses, broken gutters, cracked or collapsed walls, broken windows
• The interior of any rooms directly below the impact area, if it is safe to enter
• Any vehicles, outbuildings, or other property affected
• The broader scene showing the property and the extent of the event

Include a timestamp or use your phone's camera with location data enabled so that images are automatically date and time-stamped. The more comprehensive your documentation before clean-up begins, the stronger your position in the claims process.

Managing the insurance process effectively after a tree falls on your house in South Africa requires prompt action and clear communication. Follow these steps:

1. Report the claim immediately — most policies require notification within 24–48 hours. Call your insurer's emergency line, report the incident, and get a claim reference number.
2. Request emergency authorisation for temporary protection — if your roof is open to the elements, ask for immediate authorisation to arrange emergency weatherproofing. Most policies cover this. Get written or email confirmation before spending money.
3. Ask about tree removal coverage — many policies cover the cost of removing a tree that has fallen onto a covered structure. They generally do not cover removal of a tree that fell into the garden without hitting an insured structure. Clarify this specifically with your insurer.
4. Keep all receipts and invoices — tree removal, temporary repairs, emergency accommodation if the house is uninhabitable. Every cost related to the event should be documented.
5. Do not begin permanent repairs without insurer authorisation — your insurer needs to assess or send an assessor before permanent repairs commence. Emergency temporary repairs are generally pre-authorised; permanent repairs are not.
6. Get repair quotes in writing from qualified contractors and submit them to your insurer as part of the claims process.

If a tree has breached your roof — cracking, displacing, or penetrating the roof covering — temporary weatherproofing is an immediate priority. An open roof exposed to Pretoria's summer rain can sustain water damage to ceilings, walls, electrical installations, and contents within minutes of a heavy downpour. The standard emergency solution is covering the affected area with heavy-duty polyethylene sheeting (tarps) secured firmly over the damaged section and extending well beyond the edges of the damage to prevent water ingress at the edges.

Emergency roofing companies in Pretoria can respond quickly to provide temporary covering and boarding up of breached areas. Keep receipts for all emergency weatherproofing costs — your insurer typically covers these as an emergency protective measure. Do not attempt to climb onto a damaged roof to apply tarps yourself — the structural integrity of the roof surface beneath the tree may be compromised, and roof access in this situation presents a serious fall risk. Use a qualified roofing or tree removal professional for any work on the structure until it has been assessed as safe. Temporary protection should be followed up as quickly as possible with a proper structural assessment and permanent repair quotation.

Removing a tree from a structure is specialist work that requires a different approach from standard tree felling. The primary challenge is that the tree or sections of it are under unpredictable load — resting against roof timbers, wall structures, or within the building itself — and any cutting must be planned to control the movement of each piece precisely to avoid causing additional structural damage during removal. This is not work for a general handyman or a basic tree felling operator without rigging experience.

A qualified emergency tree removal team will first assess the structural situation: how is the tree resting, what is it loading, and how will each section move when cut free? They will then work from the outside extremities of the fallen tree inward, removing smaller branches and debris progressively before addressing the heavier trunk sections. Rigging ropes are used to control the direction and speed of movement as each section is cut free. Close communication with a structural contractor or builder may be needed where the tree has compromised roof trusses or wall structures, as the tree may be providing some structural support to damaged elements until it is removed. The removal process may be slower and more methodical than a standard tree removal precisely because of this structural complexity.

If the tree that fell on your house originated from a neighbouring property, the immediate practical priority is still the same: ensure safety, document the damage, contact your insurer, and arrange removal. Do not wait to resolve the question of legal liability before addressing the immediate safety and damage situation.

For the liability question, the key factor under South African law is whether your neighbour was aware of the risk posed by the tree and failed to act. If you had previously notified your neighbour in writing that their tree was a hazard and they took no action, this significantly strengthens your position in seeking recovery from them or their insurer. If there was no prior notice and the tree fell as a result of storm conditions or a sudden structural failure that was not reasonably foreseeable, liability is harder to establish and your own insurer will typically cover your property damage and seek recovery from the neighbour's insurer if appropriate. In either case, document the origin of the tree clearly — photographs showing the tree's stump on the neighbouring property are important evidence. Your insurer will guide you on the recovery process; in the first instance, claim through your own policy and allow your insurer to pursue the liability question on your behalf.