Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: My shade is gone

In some cases, lease of a residential unit would include trees and the like growing on the property, and the landlord's cutting of them would be a breach of the lease and therefore, perhaps, a reason to terminate the lease. An example would be if I leased a farm and the landlord cut down the apple orchard that was one of the main reasons for my interest in the property in the first place.

On the other hand, in an urban apartment-building situation, unless the lease reads otherwise, the tenant would be deemed to be leasing, and thus have a legal interest in, only the space within the walls of the apartment, plus shared use of the corridors, elevators, etc. and maybe an assigned parking space.

Since the tree probably was not part of the property leased to you, your lease is probably not breached by its removal.

This is not to say that extremely major changes in the appearance or landscaping of an apartment complex could not be a breach of the tenants' leases. If, for example, the landlord stopped watering, pruning and mowing the lanscaping entirely, so that the general appearance of the building(s) were substantially worse, this could very well be a breach of an implied term of each lease.

In sum, I think your legal position is pretty weak and I would not advise trying to 'break' your lease based on the tree cutting. Indeed, if the tree were diseased or its roots invading pipes or breaking concrete, the landlord might have been negligent in not removing it.