How should I manage yard maintenance on my SFH rental property

Question

Was hoping to get some advice based on experiences you guys might have had.  I am planning on renting out my SFH in a nice neighborhood.  I have a gardener that currently comes once a month to mow the lawn and trim the shrubs.  There is also an irrigation system with sprinklers and drip to water the lawn and plants.  The controls for the irrigation system are only accessible from within the garage.

My question is do you have any suggestions on how the maintenance of the yard should be done for my rental.  I was thinking of paying for the gardener so the tenant does not have to pay for that of their pocket.  But every once in awhile the irrigation would also need to be adjusted for the seasons (more water in the summer, less water in the winter).  Who should be responsible for that.  In general would all yard work be the responsibility of the tenant ultimately.  And how do you explain this in your rental contracts?

Thanks for your help.  I am thoroughly confused about how best to set up this part of a rental arrangement.

Judy Parker · Answer

When I first got into this business I used to put a clause in the Lease that the Tenant(s) were responsible for lawn maintenance (we even purchased a Sears lawnmower for the tenant to use).  Periodically I would drive by the property and the grass was 2 feet tall!  Or when the tenant finally decided to mow, the lawn mower died and then couldn't fix it.  It became so much of a headache that now I (the Landlord) hire a landscaper to maintain the lawn and I pay him.  I just charge a slightly higher rent to any potential tenants to cover the lawn maintenance.  Much less aggravation.

Matthew Paul · Answer

The sprinkler controller generally has 3 separate programs available , sometimes 4 .  There is a setting , A , B, C , D .   Program A  could be set for spring ,  Program B for summer and C for fall.   You would have to read the controllers instructions .  Minimal reprograming after that .

What does come into play is the water bill , My bill at the house more than doubles when I run the system , and I dont even water the rear yard.   And one part of my business is servicing and installing irrigation .

Heather Turner · Answer

Sounds like you have a pretty nice lawn so I wouldn't leave it solely to the tenants to keep it up for the same reason everyone else has mentioned...they probably won't and pretty soon your beautiful lawn will look like a jungle :)  I would adjust your rent to include the gardner and let that be one of the perks of your home.  That being said, I would still include in the lease that the lawn care is the tenant's responsibility.  You could say something along the lines of: "Tenant agrees to maintain the lawn and gardens in good condition, including weeding, watering, trimming, and mowing. In addition, the landlord will provide a gardner to perform the following monthly duties..."  "Tenant agrees to irrigate the lawn according to the following schedule....".

Just my thoughts!

Vinson Lee · Answer

Thanks for sharing your experiences.  Based on all the feedback, I'll definitely include the cost of having a gardener maintain the yard.  It is a bit inconvenient having the controls to the irrigation in the garage.  Besides having to adjust it each season, if there is a blackout, it needs to be reset sometimes and such.  I guess I can write some easy to follow directions for the tenant and send them reminders to adjust it once in awhile.  It may be hard to coordinate access to the garage for the gardener.  If you have have any other ideas for this it would be great to hear what you have done.  I wonder if it would be worth it for me to have the controls for the yard to be moved to the exterior of the house?

Thanks!

Timothy Riley · Answer

I only have SFH's at the moment, but I have the lawn serviced and the snow removal is the tenant's responsibility (on lease).

Fred Heller · Answer

The downside to having the tenant take care of the lawn maintenance is you don't know that it's actually being done, unless you drive by the property all the time. Plus, the tenant may have a completely different opinion of when the grass is in need of mowing than yours, or the neighbors.

In your case, it sounds like you have some pretty elaborate landscaping. If it were me, I would not trust the tenant to get it done.

Terri Pour-Rastegar · Answer

Usually, I make my tenants responsible for yard maintenance, and I think this is basically the norm in my area, for SFH properties.  I make sure the yard looks as nice as I expect the tenant to keep it up.  They sometimes need reminders of this, as I discover during my regular drive-bys.

In your case, with the sprinkler system and such, I think I would recommend that you include yard maintenance in the rent and pay to have it done yourself.  Adjusting the sprinkler control system is something you can perhaps walk your tenant through each time it needs to be done (or teach your gardener--just notify the tenant when the gardener will need garage access to do so).

Make sure you tack onto the rent the cost of your gardener.

Ryan Dossey · Answer

Include the cost of someone else doing it in the cost of the rent? If it's a guy who has all the tools and wants to do it himself let him do it but let him know if it gets long you'll bill him to have it done.

Kyle Boughton · Answer

In my experience I would always hire someone to upkeep the landscaping if I couldn't do it myself. I would not rely on a tenant to take care of it even if they say they will. I'm not sure how it would work if you put it in the agreement as I have never done that. What do you do if its in the agreement and they don't take care of it? Pull from there security deposit? Seems like more of a hassle then anything. Maybe someone else can chime in and give you some more feed back.

Good Luck!

How should I manage yard maintenance on my SFH rental property

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