Is it the tenant’s or the owner’s responsibility to mow the lawns of your property? Hands down – it is the tenant’s responsibility. So, if your tenant is not mowing the lawn, what can you do? There are several options for addressing this issue, one example is the “needs by” approach:
1st stop – Call the tenant to discuss the matter with them.
2nd stop – Issue the tenant with a breach notice.
3rd stop – Increase the rent and engage a lawn maintenance contractor/maintain the lawn yourself or;
3rd stop – Provide an application to court for finalising the tenancy if the breach/breaches are not rectified.
Unfortunately, the reality is that it costs to either engage a lawn maintenance contractor and it costs you in time to mow the lawn yourself. From a marketing perspective though, it is difficult to achieve a higher rent by including lawn maintenance. If you are looking to provide lawn maintenance to the property yourself, one benefit that can be achieved by frequently visiting the property is seeing the tenants regularly. This allows you to stay on top of any required repairs or speak with the tenants about rent arrears or similar issues. In saying that, with the right systems in place, a tenancy should run smoothly with repairs reported and rent paid regularly, alongside the lawns being maintained properly.
