Do you provide a lawnmower for your single family rentals?

[Jack B.]

I've gone both ways. In one case the lawnmower broke (pull handle) with the first tenant and in another, they bought a push mower, that...get's the job done.

I'm debating on whether I want to have yet another appliance to maintain by providing a lawnmower, but at the same time, I feel it is unreasonable to expect tenants to buy a lawnmower as renters. 

Yet another reason to transition to multifamily...

[Kyle Blake]

Up here it's standard for the tenant to supply the mower and not the landlord. It may vary by area, but I think if anything it lessens some responsibility if they provide their own. Last thing you want is for them to lose a hand with a defective mower you provided. 

[Ned Carey]

I have never even considered offering a lawnmower.

[Randy E.]

Originally posted by @Jack B.:

I've gone both ways. In one case the lawnmower broke (pull handle) with the first tenant and in another, they bought a push mower, that...get's the job done.

I'm debating on whether I want to have yet another appliance to maintain by providing a lawnmower, but at the same time, I feel it is unreasonable to expect tenants to buy a lawnmower as renters. 

Yet another reason to transition to multifamily...

 I have never provided a mower for my SFRs.  Never even considered it for one second.

[Jack B.]

Right? I wouldn't supply a vaccum and mop either, so why a lawnmower?

[George Roxby]

In my lease that they are responsible for yard maintenance. Not my problem.

[Zana Blue]

I do not include a lawn mower...is there any way that you can include lawn service in the rent...I'm thinking of trying that but might have to raise rent too much to make that work...

[Jonathan G.]

I would not supply a mower under any condition.  

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Jack B.  I don't think you would want that liability.. missing diget or toe because of miss use and you provided the lawnmower I can see this being an issue. 

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Jack B.  I would and have just provided a lawn service.. in PDX you can get a basic cut and clean for 100 a month.. that's once a week.  if you have a nice landscaped single family I think its worth it to maintain that yard.. plus your house does not look like a rental.

But then again I am not really worried about if I make 100 a month more or less on a rental on a west coast asset the cash flow is insignificant to the appreciation I would expect over the years so I want that place looking great.. and in practice you could probably charge a little more...

[James DeRoest]

Tenants do the mowing.

Unless, they can't for whatever reason and then they call us and it'll be put in the rotation. If I have my handyman with me, between me and him, we can mow something like 10 yards a day easy. We probably spend more time driving to each house than actually mowing.

Heres the thing, I'm a very hands-on landlord, it gives me an excuse to go onto the property, wander round the yard and check on anything I can check from outside the house (like leaks under the house etc). Not to mention how tenants are keeping the house.

[Eugene Kemp]

I'm in the "never even considered it" camp. I rented in my younger days and would not have expected my landlord to do so either. But then I am from a different generation.....

[Pat L.]

we have a tenant couple from the middle east who asked if we would allow goats !!!

& we get 4 dozen brown (Organic) eggs every couple of weeks from their chickens & their BBQ dishes are just amazing  :)

[Gail K.]

I did this with three tenants...

1. When the first one moved out I found they lost the screws to the gas tank so it was just hanging on the side of the mower.

2.  The second one disappeared with the tenant.

3.   The third one had all the rubber parts chewed off by the tenants dog and the pull cord pulled out.

Now I tell tenants in this area that many times guys come around on Saturdays pushing mowers and will mow their grass for $10 or a six pack of beer (it's that kind of neighborhood).

Gail

[Bob Collett]

On this subject I would love to hear an attorney chime in as to liability. Even though we all cut the grass as kids, I know that the lawnmower is one of the most dangerous tools in the garage; and I know of at least one friend missing a finger as a result of a bad experience with a lawn mower as an adult.

Does my exposure change if I provide a lawn mower, or if the tenant buys their own? What would happen in the case of a serious tenant injury?

[James DeRoest]

Originally posted by @Bob Collett:

On this subject I would love to hear an attorney chime in as to liability. Even though we all cut the grass as kids, I know that the lawnmower is one of the most dangerous tools in the garage; and I know of at least one friend missing a finger as a result of a bad experience with a lawn mower as an adult.

Does my exposure change if I provide a lawn mower, or if the tenant buys their own? What would happen in the case of a serious tenant injury?

 I'm not a lawyer but I can pass on one piece advice told to me by my lawyer 20 years ago: you can be sued by anyone for anything. So yes, a mower is a liability.

Anyway, how do you mow your finger?

[Bob Collett]

@james deroest

James, Thanks for the input. I know one can sue over anything.  I was hoping someone could cite specific case law. I know many leases (including my own) require the tenant to cut the lawn and provide their own lawn mower.

How? Its more common than you would imagine. The mower gets clogged, and you reach down to pull out the clumps of grass without shutting off the mower. Oops. Complacency... like experienced pilots trying to land an airplane and forgetting to put down the landing gears.  Or commercial printers rigging the paper cutter safety switch to free up one hand so they can work a bit faster.

[Phil Teague]

I have it in the lease that the tenants maintain the yard for my single family homes.