What Lawyers Say About Shoveling Snow onto a Neighbor’s Property

Your home might look beautiful when the snowy season hits, but all that snow can cause significant problems on roads, walkways, and driveways. To ensure your car doesn’t get stuck and that you can walk down the walkway from your home to the driveway without slipping on ice or getting your feet soaked in knee-deep snow, you need to clear the walkway and driveway with a shovel or a snow blower.

Carelessly tossing snow wherever you want could cause problems later, so it’s important to consider where to pile it. Most homeowners opt to pile excess snow on their own lawn, but some might find that their neighbor’s curb or yard is much closer and easier to reach. However, before deciding to pile snow on your neighbor’s lawn, find out whether you can shovel it onto a neighbor’s property, and whether there are potential problems with that. To help you find out, we spoke with legal experts to discover what they had to say about this issue.

Can You Shovel Snow onto a Neighbor’s Property?

Shoveling snow onto a neighbor’s curb, yard, or driveway might remove it from your property, but it can cause problems for your neighbor and strain community relationships.

Thomas Fighter, board-certified criminal trial lawyer, says, “You will not typically be able to shovel snow into your neighbor’s yard or curb because it can be a violation of both local codes and basic property law. In most communities, this is considered a nuisance (or even trespass), since it infringes on someone’s right to enjoy their property or presents safety hazards.”

It is far better to find a more suitable location to pile snow than risk social and legal problems with your neighbor. Ultimately, if you don’t want them to pile snow on your curbs, yard, or driveway, then you can hardly expect that your neighbor would be happy to have you using their property as a dumping ground for snow.

Legal Risks

Common decency and a low level of etiquette would indicate that shoveling your snow off onto your neighbor’s lawn or yard is a poor decision that is sure to cause problems. Even if you don’t get along with your neighbor and therefore have no issue with antagonizing them, there are legal concerns that you should be aware of before making this choice.

“The repercussions depend on the jurisdiction, but at the very least could result in local fines, citations, and/or damage claims. If any of these results in a car wreck, blocked access, or injury, you could see negligence claims for creating a foreseeable hazard,” says Fighter.

Any natural accumulation of snow is not your responsibility. However, Danny Karon, law professor, and class action and consumer protection attorney, says “Something that might not be considered a ‘natural accumulation’ of snow and ice and could subject a homeowner to liability could be something the homeowner created—for example, shoveling snow into a giant, unstable pile or creating a pile that creates a concentration of melting runoff, which creates a hazardous area where a large accumulation of that runoff refreezes into ice.”

Safety Concerns

Haphazardly piling snow on your neighbor’s yard, driveway, or curb can cause safety problems: unstable snow piles may fall, snow can melt and create dangerously slippery runoff, or the snow may even affect your neighbor’s vehicle, leading to a car accident. For these reasons, find a safe location with good drainage where you can pile snow, and keep snow piles to a reasonable height to help avoid the risk of collapse.

“What you move snow on your land, it becomes your responsibility. Snow that melts and then refreezes in your neighbor’s yard can lead to injury, property damage, or drainage problems that may open you up to a lawsuit. And even without anyone getting hurt, these kinds of disputes can escalate quickly and take a toll on community relationships. So it’s also both a legal issue and a social problem,” says Fighter.

Best Practices for Snow Removal

When the snow begins to pile up outside, head out immediately to start clearing the walk and driveway so the snow doesn’t get too heavy for you to shovel safely.

“Stack up snow on your own property, such as on the edge of lawns, landscaped areas, or in a designated snow zone. And don’t interfere with visibility for anyone who wants to exit a driveway or access a mailbox,” suggests Fighter.

It’s a good idea to apply salt or a de-icer before and after shoveling to help melt any ice that may otherwise form. You can also add some sand to the salt mix to improve traction on the driveway. If the snow seems too heavy due to the amount that has accumulated, it is better to use a snow blower or shovel only the top few inches at a time to avoid lifting too much weight.

“When it gets too heavy, hire licensed snow removal services that can take it off-site. Removing small amounts frequently and applying de-icing substances promptly are effective preventive measures. Ultimately, good stewardship involves both safety and mutual consideration,” advises Fighter.