Yard Up Keep - Grass Overgrown

[Katie Willcox]

Hello everyone! One of our tenants in a SFH has not been up keeping the yard. The grass is pretty overgrown and we're not sure how to go about this issue. In our lease it is clearly set out that the tenant is responsible for all yard care. The tenant messaged us a few weeks ago that she doesn't have a lawn mower. We suggested she contact a business in town to do it or borrow a mower from family or a friend… it's been three and a half weeks since we had that conversation. The house is located on a corner lot on a busy street, it's starting to become an eyesore. How should we proceed??

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Katie Willcox:

Hello everyone! One of our tenants in a SFH has not been up keeping the yard. The grass is pretty overgrown and we're not sure how to go about this issue. In our lease it is clearly set out that the tenant is responsible for all yard care. The tenant messaged us a few weeks ago that she doesn't have a lawn mower. We suggested she contact a business in town to do it or borrow a mower from family or a friend… it's been three and a half weeks since we had that conversation. The house is located on a corner lot on a busy street, it's starting to become an eyesore. How should we proceed??

Your lease should state that they are responsible and that if they fail to do it themselves, someone will do it for them and they will be charged.

Give her a written warning with a deadline. If it's not completed by [DATE] and maintained thereafter, you will hire a company to handle it and pass the charge on to her. Failure to pay the charge may result in termination.