Tenant Lawn Care Responsibility

[Kelsey Smith]

Hi everyone!

We recently had our tenants give us 30 day notice (August 31 is move-out day).

The tenants are responsible for mowing the grass and have not done so since giving us their notice. Today, we noticed they moved a lot of their belongings to their new home which included the lawn mower & weed whacker.

The grass/weeds are decently high and they clearly have no intention of doing any yard maintenance for the remainder of their lease.

My question is, how do we go about it when we confront them about it and they *inevitably* refuse to mow the grass? The lease states that we (the landlord) are able to charge the tenant for snow removal, but it does not give a specific number for lawn care.

Are we able to charge them for our time, or hire a lawn care service and deduct that from their security deposit and outline it in the disposition letter?

Thanks in advance!

[Kenny Dahill]

@Kelsey Smith, here's my take.  In priority order:

• Inform Tenants:  Communication is always key.  Tell them they have to return the yard to their move-in conditions.  Otherwise, you will need to hire a lawncare person.  It's important to give them a specific deadline: day and time.  Write it down for records.
• Hire Lawncare:  If they decline or miss the deadline, hire the lawncare and deduct from their security deposit.  Most states provide 10-14 days before security deposits need to be returned.

That simple.