# Chicago: Who Pays for Street Tree & Root Damage? | Who Pays the Repair?

> Chicago's Bureau of Forestry maintains all parkway trees; owners only water required trees and tend the parkway lawn.

**Who pays:** city

Chicago's Bureau of Forestry maintains all 500,000+ parkway trees; the abutting owner's only duty is watering required trees and routine parkway-lawn care, not general street-tree maintenance.

**Boundary:** Chicago's Bureau of Forestry plants, prunes, maintains, and removes the City's 500,000+ parkway trees under Municipal Code Ch. 10-32; the abutting owner's only mandated duty is watering/fertilizing zoning-required trees and routine parkway-lawn care.

## Sources
- [City of Chicago :: Forestry](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/streets/provdrs/forestry.html) — "Chicago has more than 500,000 parkway trees and each is maintained by the DSS Bureau of Forestry." (accessed 2026-09-13)
- [Municipal Code of Chicago § 10-32-030 (Authority of deputy commissioner) and § 10-32-050 (Care of parkway)](https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2652795) — "[T]he deputy commissioner shall have the authority: (a) To plant, prune, cultivate, maintain and remove any tree, shrub or other plant material now or hereafter located on a parkway, median or other public property under his jurisdiction...The owner or person in control of property contiguous to the parkway shall be responsible for watering and fertilizing parkway trees required to be installed pursuant to Title 17, Section 5.13A* of the city's zoning code and for routine care of the parkway lawn." (accessed 2026-09-13)

_Last verified 2026-09-24. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/chicago-il-street-tree-responsibility/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._