Lawns: Who's responsible for upkeep in rental property

Whats in the lease?


I would have thought the norm is for the tenant to do so.

mf
 
The only place I had a lawn was when I was renting as a student. The landlord used to come around to mow them - but I think that was more because he wanted to keep an eye on us!
 
I cut ours when renting. The landlord supplied a brand new lawnmower when we arrived, but we had our own and used that for the year we were there.
 
General rule of thumb is, if you want tenant to do it you provide the tools to do so. Otherwise send someone round. It should be something you sort out when doing initial contracts.
In my experience, families tend to do all their own garden maintenance, shared houses are done by the landlord but that's not a hard and fast rule.
 
I arrange this for my tenants, and hedges trimming, weeding, maintenance etc.
 
Throughout the years I have been a tenant in 5 or 6 houses - landlord/lady has always taken care of grass cutting and any other garden maintenance.
 
I would have thought the upkeep of the property was the landlords responsiblity. I am neither a tenant nor a landlord but I know people who are landlords and they usually come to some arrangement re grass cutting etc. They certainly believe its their responsibility. I know one of them has had the same tenants for years and the tenant agreed to do it as long as he provided them with a proper mower etc. Now and again he drops in the odd bottle of wine and is fair about rent increases etc. His attitude is it is a small price to pay to have good tenants who look after his property and they are obviously happy as they are there for years.
 
Bubbly Scot said:
General rule of thumb is, if you want tenant to do it you provide the tools to do so. Otherwise send someone round. It should be something you sort out when doing initial contracts.
In my experience, families tend to do all their own garden maintenance, shared houses are done by the landlord but that's not a hard and fast rule.
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head there Bubbly. I provide a lawn mower (and petrol) for tenants to cut lawn; they are happy to do it - and last year I gave them 2 bottles of wine! All happy.
 
I see the garden as an outside room....it would be rude to go & clean their kitchen, so surely it must be rude to mow the lawn:D

I normally expect the tenant to do it and so far it has normally worked out - one exception, but I was more concerned about getting rent off her than having a row about the grass, so I cut it. It's not fair on the neighbours to have a meadow beside them. ButI do arrange a big tidy up of hedges & weeds each Spring.
 
What if a tennant had an accident using your powerful petrol mower?

I cut the grass for my tenants for a number of reasons:

1. safety / avoid potential serious liability
2. I get a chance to have a look about the property -
3. I like to keep the house clean as many rented houses turn streets into unattractive places to live and diminish values because nobody bothers to lift litter and cut the grass

S
 
Sidzer,

agree with your view / opinion but surely you have public liability cover to cover tenant accident scenario ?

Westgolf.
 
We have always cut grass, hedges etc. for our tenants. It's just a verbal agreement at a time suitable to both parties. They usually seem happy and we get to know them and can keep an eye on the property on those visits and deal with any repairs before they become major ones.
 
I have rented about 6 properties and of all of those the landlord has cut the grass. If the landlord provided a mower we would have sone it but as tenants I wouldn't expect to have to buy a mower any more than I would expect to have to buy a washing machine.
 
Its a good idea for the landlord to cut grass at the start of a rental, helps to keep an eye on whats going on. If after an initial period you feel happy with your tenants I would make an agreement with the tenants to cut the grass and provide a lawn mower for them. if I had good tenants in a property, I would try to avoid calling to them and give them their privacy, as constant visits by you may put them off a new term. Call only when you are notified of any problems. I emphasize good tenants for this advise.
 
I rented for over 10 years & I was always happy to cut the grass in the house where I stayed , the landlord normally had a lawnmower & in a few cases I asked him to get one & they did. You may be renting but keeping the place in order gives you pride in where you are living. It also gave me a bit of fresh air & excercise in the summer evenings
 
If you've more than one or two properties including here you live yourself, , it wouldn't be that practical to cut the grass yourself.
 
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