Tenant In Distress – Mowing The Lawn

Dear Mark,

I hope you don’t mind me contacting, but after doing some research on Google I came across a reply/advice you had given re: Garden Maintenance ” Check with a Landlords Association or a solicitor if you like. If you have a garden and you want the tenants to cut the grass you must provide a lawnmower, that’s the law, regardless of whether the property is furnished or not.” I would greatly appreciate your advice on my personal situation, which obviously relates to garden maintenance. I have been living in a privately rented property for 14 years, yes, it’s become my home, it is immaculate throughout and I’ve often been complimented on this. It was let unfurnished to me by a lovely elderly gentleman, where the property was his mother’s so no mortgage on it, but he wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons and find a good long term tenant who would care for it.

To do this he made the property, which is in a rural village an attractive and low maintenance prospect in an effort to keep a good tenant. I must emphasise I only took this property over another as it was guaranteed I would not have to tend to the garden, which being a bungalow, it is akin to the American style properties with very large front gardens and even larger back gardens. I suspect the garden itself is about 4 times the ground size of the building. The landlord and I got on terrifically well, he would even drop in for cup of tea. I’ve never missed one single months rent, always on time by DD so our working relationship was excellent. Sadly he died in 2014, however it was left to his son where he has taken over as my landlord. My original tenancy ended with the father in 2015. The son visited me and said he didn’t want anything to change, he would continue in the same vain as his father and appreciated I was a good tenant and asked me to stay. All was fine, so I thought. Once I signed the tenancy agreement and he realized he would be paying for the maintenance and upkeep, he changed his mind. He then toyed with doing the garden himself, but then realized the size of mower he would need and the fact he would have to travel a hour over to me, plus the 90 minutes to “just” mow the lawn (you can’t use a flymo on it) so he gave up on that idea and continued to pay the gardener.

This week I receive an invoice from him with his bank details to pay the gardener, no letter with it, just an expectance to pay it. I have refused, and quite frankly I’m shocked after 14 years as a long term tenant. I’m a Baby Boomer, 62, and did not rent this property on the basis of taking on garden maintenance – and two: I have a back problem of worn facet joints where I have twice monthly physio for the last ten years to keep pain free, I can provide proof of this. And now I’m expected to deal with a garden that is far from being made low maintenance to help with the problem. I feel I’m going to lose my home of 14 years which is dreadful, I’m not a new tenant, as a new tenant could at least choose before being in situ if they wanted such a large garden to tend to, the fact is, I don’t have that choice, I’m already in situ. Can you please advise me, I would really appreciate your time. Thank you.

Kind regards,

Jill

Share This Article