Lawn Care amendment - Landlord Forum thread 321714

Lawn Care amendment by Thomas on July 23, 2014 @18:30

Our City passed a Lawn Care ordinance and the owner of the property will have a lien posted against the property if the Tenant doesn't cut the grass.

I need to add Lawn Care to my contracts. I will only be able to give 72 hours notice once I am notified and if I have to hire it out the charges will be doubled. I hope to create a incentive to have the Tenants cut their own lawn.

Is there a Lawn Care notice on LLP? I searched but couldn't find one.

Thanks

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Re: Lawn Care amendment by Kim (WV) on July 23, 2014 @19:03	[ Reply ]

Our city has such an ordinance. Violations are $200 per property, per occurance. That's a major reason why we include lawn care in the rent (and charge higher rents to cover that). We do have one tenant we allow to do his own mowing and garden care; he happens to be the guy that mows all our other properties! Our tenants are primarily busy professionals and are happy not to have to do the mowing. This way our properties are maintained to the standard of the rest of the neighborhood and we don't have to worry about the city fining us or putting a lien on our properties. Here's the paragraph in our lease with our tenant who mows his lawn which covers lawn care. As you will see, it's pretty comprehensive and covers more than mowing. "GROUNDS. Tenant is responsible for mowing the lawn, and edging the walkways, and weeding any flowerbeds and borders. Tenant may not trim or prune the trees or shrubbery or remove any plants, shrubs or trees or any landscaping features of any kind, including such items as arbors, raised garden beds and edging block, unless given written permission. Tenant agrees that Owner does not have to provide any advance notice to the Tenant of times when the Owner and/or his or her agents will be present on the grounds to do lawn and garden maintenance. Tenant shall notify the Owner or his agent if the Tenant believes any landscape maintenance should be done. If Tenant wishes to add items to the grounds such as plants, swingsets, playsets, playhouses, sandboxes, pools, screen houses, firepits, and so on, the Tenant must obtain permission in writing from the Owner. Tenant is responsible for snow and ice removal from walks, driveways, steps and any areas where safety should be observed. It is agreed that Tenant shall not use any salt on stoops or walkways. Calcium chloride is recommended instead for de-icing, and is not harmful to the masonry. Tenants shall be responsible for picking up and disposing of any litter, including animal feces, which may be on the property, including trash which may blow onto the property from adjoining properties and litter which may be left by passersby." Hope this helps you. Personally, if a tenant didn't cut the grass and a citation was issued, I wouldn't give that tenant a chance to mow. I'd hire out the mowing immediately and the tenant would pay for the mowing...and if that tenant ever got a second citation they would lose the right to mow the lawn and get their rent raised to cover the cost of having it mowed. We need the detailed "grounds" paragraph because all our properties but one were formerly single family homes (not rental houses) and all of them have nicer than normal landscaping. They are generally in a neighborhood that's owner occupied, not tenant occupied, and we don't want the properties to look less well maintained than the rest of the neighborhood.

Re: Lawn Care amendment