Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)
  • Landlords – do you employ a gardener for your rental property(ies)?
  • IHN
    Full Member

    Just wondering, like.

    We’re currently renting a house that has front and rear gardens. It’s a ‘nice’ house, not an uncared-for rental. A combination of the fact that we’re not great gardeners, the house was empty for a while before we took it amd the amount of rain we’ve had recently means that it’s looking a bit wild. Plus, if I’m honest, I don’t think it’s ever really been looked after brilliantly as there’s a lot of old, thick weeds. We realise this and are going to have a tidy up of it at the weekend.

    Thing is, the landlord (who lives abroad) has just been round for an inspection and is happy with the state of the house, but has had a bit of a whinge about the state of the garden.

    Now, if I were a landlord with a similar property, especially if I was abroad, I think I’d employ a gardener to go around say once a month to keep things tidy. Nothing major, just a couple of hours tidying borders, pruning etc. That way I’d know it was being done and wouldn’t get out of hand. It would of course be factored into the rent, but I actually think it would be a selling point.

    What does the wisdom of STW think?

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    My lease says I’ve got to keep the garden tidy. Having said that, the landlord employs a gardener.

    qwerty
    Free Member

    When we rented the lease stated we had to maintain the garden and keep the gutters clear.

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    cynic-al
    Free Member

    I think the lease determines who does what, and if silent, up to you I’d have thought.

    plodtv
    Free Member

    Every time I’ve rented I’ve taken on the responsibility myself, and usually bought in from one of them leaflets through the door just before an inspection.

    richc
    Free Member

    depends on the lease, but everyone I’ve seen says its the responsiblity of the tennant.

    So when you leave it should be in the same state as when you started or else you have to pay to sort it out.

    toys19
    Free Member

    In all my houses I expect the tenants to look after the garden. It’s not a hotel is it? It’s your house, not only do you have rights of tenancy and quiet private enjoyment, you also have responsibilities.

    There is downward pressure on rent, most landlords are looking for ways to keep the rent low.

    whatnobeer
    Free Member

    Our landlord has a gardener come in, but we’re students, in a block of students, so I figure they wouldnt trust us to do it, so its easier for them in the long run to sort it themselves.

    FWIW I would expect to look after the garden in most situations.

    Keva
    Free Member

    My landlord employs a gardner come around and keep ours tidy. 🙂

    Kev

    cupra
    Free Member

    In the lease we give our tenants it is their responsibility to look after it, just the same as the house itself.

    thekingisdead
    Free Member

    In one of mine (big garden) the normal stuff (lawn, weeds)is the responsibility of the tenants, however bigger things (tree/shrub prooning) is my responsibility.

    My other house (small terrace, small garden) everything is the tenants responsibility, I did buy him a mower though as he didnt have one (post grad student).

    oopnorth
    Free Member

    We gave our tenants the option of a gardener, but they wanted to do it themselves.

    d45yth
    Free Member

    I bloke I work with had to move out of his rented property due to not cutting the grass. He’d been given plenty of warning to get it done too…nugget!

    unklehomered
    Free Member

    I’ve always opted to have the garden under my own care when renting, but usually its something you can discuss when signing up. Check your lease. If it was a wild mess when you moved in then the soil will be full of weed seeds and getting it back will be very hard work. Maybe if the landlord has someone come in and get it manageable, you could then take stewardship from then on. Shove some herbs/shrubs in if you want low maintenence. Sage and Oregano smother quite effectively.

    IHN
    Full Member

    So when you leave it should be in the same state as when you started or else you have to pay to sort it out.

    In our case that would mean overgrown patches of weed (not the fun kind), many bushes and trees that need pruning, a tree that could do with coming down and a lawn that hadn’t been cut for months.

    I’m not saying I’m not happy to keep on top of the weeding and mowing the lawn and so-on. But it was a bit of a state when we moved in anyway.

    However, if I’m responsible for the upkeep of the garden, does that mean that I can choose what gets planted in it, and therefore what might get dug-up if I think it’s causing a problem, or is in the wrong place, or is blocking light from a window?

    unklehomered
    Free Member

    Probably should ask before removing things, say why and they might go for it. Other wise drastic pruning ftw.

    oopnorth
    Free Member

    However, if I’m responsible for the upkeep of the garden, does that mean that I can choose what gets planted in it, and therefore what might get dug-up if I think it’s causing a problem, or is in the wrong place, or is blocking light from a window?

    I would hope my tenants would seek permission before digging any shrubs etc up as it is our family home, we are abroad with work for a couple of years, so I would like it back in a similarish state to how we left it.
    The veg patch, patio pots etc, they can do what they like with them.

    saleem
    Free Member

    My mum has been in rented houses for a while now, she just has her plants in pots and takes them with her, in the last couple of years they’ve been from Inverness to Camebridge via Chester, if you don’t want to do the garden why not get a gardener yourself if the rent you’re paying didn’t factor in gardening. Depending on how long you are going to be in the house, it might not be worth buying all the tools.

    IHN
    Full Member

    I would hope my tenants would seek permission before digging any shrubs etc up as it is our family home, we are abroad with work for a couple of years, so I would like it back in a similarish state to how we left it.

    This is the situation we’re in, from the other side. The couple who own the property are working abroad, and I would imagine they had the garden ‘done’ about a year or two ago. Since then, stuff has obviously bedded in and come on quite a lot and it’s obvious that some of it has been planted in the wrong place, or now needs further staking/support or thinning out. This is the kind of stuff that I think goes over and above the ‘maintaining the garden’, i.e. mowing, weeding and pruning, that we should be expected to do. Plus that ‘light’ maintanence hadn’t been done for a couple of months after they moved and had the property up for rental, so there’s a solid amount of low-level weeding and undergrowth that need sorting out.

    If it were my home that was being rented temporarily, and consequently I wanted a higher standard of care for the property, I’d hire a gardener to make sure that all this kind of stuff was kept on top of.

    McHamish
    Free Member

    You’re a tenant not a live-in gardener.

    You maintain the garden to your own standards unless it’s specifically stated in your contract what is expected.

    That’s what I think anyway.

    scaled
    Free Member

    in our last rented house I dug a tree out as it was on its last legs and listing badly (hadn’t been planted deep enough to begin with)

    Turns out it was a Rowan tree – the landladies name… you guessed it, Rowan :$

    It was wonky when we moved in and after a bit of a storm was at about a 45 degree angle and hanging over next door – should probably have asked before digging it out though 😀

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    unless otherwise stated – garden returned in same state it was recieved !

    I turned down a nice house rental in a nice location set in an acre of ground(read over grown grass and weeds) as when asked what the situation regarding the grass it was vague – in “we have a gardener who comes occasionally but ultimately its your responsibility”

    i asked what occassionally meant and was told once a month – and for how long – 2 hours …..

    in 2 hours cutting that much grass when its a months growth is not going to happen (previous summer job was gardening) and to cut that grass would be 2 hours a fortnight !

    both sides need to be realistic ! – house still isnt rented asfaik looking at rental adverts

    tarquin
    Free Member

    Place in the UK, expected to maintain it, provided with a mower, no probs.

    Place in Aus we have a sporadic gardener, I bought a mower so can do it myself between visits.

    portlyone
    Full Member

    Our landlord takes care of the mowing. He’s not fussed if we dig in and plant stuff though

    hels
    Free Member

    I wish.

    When I took my flat on the garden was a right state, so I assumed nobody cared, then eventually paid to get it cleared. Bit annoyed when the landlord hassled me (the neighbour hassled him, he just passed me the email, nice) and wish I had taken pics of the state of it when I move in !

    Anyway, generally tenants responsibility. I just pay somebody, life is too short to pull weeds yourself. All the neighbours put in to pay somebody to mow the shared green.

    The flat that I own, which as tenants, also has a shared garden and I get asked for money from time to time. Must do something about that !

    binners
    Full Member

    toys19
    Free Member

    However, if I’m responsible for the upkeep of the garden, does that mean that I can choose what gets planted in it, and therefore what might get dug-up if I think it’s causing a problem, or is in the wrong place, or is blocking light from a window?

    IHN, as a landlord I would be happy with whatever you did, as long as it was decent, sensible and tidy.

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    Our lease said we were responsible but she drafted in a gardener to do some major work (take out a small tree, do a really severe hedge chop of a gorse hedge).

    Gardener was really kind, he trampled our flowers that we put in and forgot half of the job (removing an ivy) so we did it instead.

Viewing 28 posts - 1 through 28 (of 28 total)

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