A Garden in Your Rental Property – Advice For Landlords

What is your responsibility as a landlord when it comes to maintaining a garden in your rental property?

A garden in you rental property can be a thorny issue as it’s not easy to define who has responsibility for what.

Tenants who love to garden often tend to them as they enjoy it, but what happens when there is no time or energy for to maintain an outside space?

Even those who do love to garden find it can drop further and further down the to-do list.

So where does the responsibility lie for landlords and what can you do to make sure your property stays in a good rentable condition?

Following on from our blog about tenant responsibilities we’ve gathered together answers to the top 3 questions landlords ask us about their gardens.

Top 3 Questions About Gardens in Your Rental Property

1: What is the landlord’s responsibility when it comes to maintaining a garden in your rental property?

There are 3 main areas where responsibility lies with the landlord:

Where there is a level of expertise required, this is when it becomes the landlord’s responsibility. For example, it would be the landlord’s responsibility to prune tall trees.
To maintain areas of a garden that would be unreasonable for a tenant to undertake.
That you take action where a tenant has reported an issue that isn’t their fault.

2: Should we hire a gardener to make sure the garden is looked after?

Whilst it isn’t an obligation, some landlords, especially those with more than one property, decide to hire a gardener. This is often also in place where there are communal garden areas.

Hiring a gardener ensures the garden is maintained and is often very appealing to tenants. As it isn’t an obligation, landlords who go down this route usually add an additional monthly cost, always making sure tenants know that this is the case.

One thing to remember is that when hiring a gardener, the garden must be accessible and for there to be an outside tap.

3: What should a landlord do to ensure the garden doesn’t become a problem?

The best thing you can do to maintain a garden in your rental property is to undertake regular inspections. You can do this yourself or ask your letting agent to take care of it as part of your agreement with them. This can highlight any issues or potential problems that might become issues.

To help manage issues, we recommended that you also

Ensure there are (dated) photographs taken at the start of a tenancy
Ensure the deposit is adequate enough to cover any costs due to damage or neglect
You have adequate buildings insurance that covers malicious and accidental damage cause by tenants or their guests