Do you have tenants perform lawn maintenance/care?

[Konrad R.]

I'm about to close on a duplex next week. There is currently one vacant side. The previous landlord had the tenants do the lawn care and it shows. I spoke to the existing tenant, and she said her roommate used to do some of it. The yard is in really bad shape, so I planning to resod it. 

What are your thoughts on having the tenant do the lawn maintenance? The duplex is just in a left and right configuration, so they could take care of their own side. I'm guessing I would also need to provide some type of shed to store lawn equipment. The backyard is pretty small, so I don't really want to put two small sheds back there. 

Do you normally just take care of lawn maintenance on multi-family units? I life in Florida, so the lawn would need to be mowed at least bi-monthly in the summer.