Does anyone have advice about how to ensure tenants care for their lawns? My recent discussion with the RTA (QLD) uncovered that, in the absence of any special provision to the contrary, tenants are required to return the lawn in the same condition as at the start of the lease. However, they are not required to water or fertilise or mow with any particular frequency, so technically they can mow just before they leave, kill all the grass because its been cut too low, and the owner has no recourse. I was considering putting a special term in my lease, and found the following on the internet: Tenant agrees to mow, water, and keep the grass, lawn, flowers and shrubbery thereon in good order and condition, applying fertilizers and weed ******ant as needed. If there is a failure of Tenant to keep the landscaping in good order and to follow these guidelines, Landlord reserves the right to hire a landscaping service at Tenant’s expense (after a 10-day notice to perform covenant). Landlord reserves the right to restore the landscaping to its initial condition, as it was at the time Tenant began occupancy, or if improved during Tenant’s occupancy, to the level of such improvement. Restoration will be at Tenant’s expense. Any advice would be most appreciated - thanks in advance!
All those terms are probably unenforceable. You probably either need to accept that lawns won't necessarily be perfect, or pay for lawn maintenance yourself and factor it into the rental price (which probably won't be popular with tenants mind you).
That'll never get up. You might get away with the rent amount inclusive of lawn maintenance and having your own lawn care guy come every week in summer and every month in winter.
Yep, best way is to build it into the rent. Personally I would prefer this as a renter cause then it is not my responsibility.
Thanks for the feedback thus far. I can see how the second and third clauses might be difficult to enforce due to the potential additional expenses on the tenant, but what about the first item, which clarifies the specific tasks required of the tenant?
Our PMs have warned our tenants about overgrown yards. In one of them, we offered to get a professional in to cut a tree in the front yard down - but the tenants protested saying they liked the tree .... The Y-man
Number 3 above is hilarious - we aren't all green-thumbs. Do you wash your rental car before returning it ?
Adequate lawn care is a matter of opinion, and will vary from person to person. What is the legal definition of “good order and condition”? Your clauses are most probably unenforceable. If you are particular about your garden, your best bet is to include lawn and garden maintenance in the rent. You can then ensure it is maintained to your satisfaction. Friend’s son had a show garden, moved for work. He knew a tenant would not maintain the immaculate lawn and expensive plants, so included yard care in the rent. It took an extra few weeks to find a tenant, but ironically the tenant chose the property because of the garden, and the fact it was maintained for them. Marg
Hello Matt E, I had a rented house with a huge back yard... I pulled up the carpet in the house, dragged it into the 'area I wanted landscaped ' poured tons of wood chip on top, ( local council had a sale on) and planted 'spreading spike free cactus things and voila, soft play area... I reduced the movable area by more than half! I hope this helps!
Though hard to enforce for lawns and garden area's They should be defined in the lease the same way a pool is More often than not, if you want it maintained just factor a portion of the cost into the rent and have the maintenance included
I would strongly reconsider renting a property with these types of terms so my guess is you would seriously restrict the type of tenant you would attract.
