State Specific Question About: FLORIDA (FL)

Hi all,

I am first-time landlord with less than 2 years experience under my belt. Originally rented out my home and in contract the tenant was supposed to maintain lawn care.

My new contract will be different.

Anyway, we are getting ready to show the house and the yard is a mess. It has been mowed but nothing else. It wasn't a fabulous yard o begin with but the weeds are overgrowing in the flower beds, onto the driveway and sidewalk, my bushes haven't been watered and have died, and he let the large bushes overgrow which I ended up paying a tree guy who was there to fix a neighbors tree limb which had fallen on my property to go ahead and trim the bushes. Probably looking back that was his responsibility and not mine.

Anyway, I am hiring a landscaper for $35/session for 2X a month, and I was wondering if it's unreasonable for me to take this out of his security deposit before he leaves since he's not maintaining the yard?

Also, just to mention, I did receive pictures of my yard and messaged my tenant asking for a time and date to talk over the phone about the yard (planning to explain to him what yard maintenance means and what we are expecting) but he's not answering my texts (though he communicates with me via text when he needs something).

Is this OK to do or am I asking for legal trouble?

When I turned 18 I purchased my first rental. By 20 I owned 5 homes. At first once a week I would take care of the lawns myself. Then I had the tenants take care of things. They never did a reasonable job.

So after awhile I learned that I had to employ a lawn care specialist, a person who cut lawns for a living, and then pass the cost on to my tenants in the way of higher rents.

The rents at that time were only $600 a month and gardeners wanted around $30 per month.

Now these homes rent out for $2500 a month and gardeners charge around $100 a month. So my costs are fixed in with the rent.

If that charge is not in your lease, I don't think you can charge it against his deposit.

Here is what I would do: Give the tenant 5 days to cure this lease violation (or whatever your lease says about curing violations.) Tell him that if he does not, you will be hiring someone to come in and get it back in working order, and he can either pay for it or will have to move - it's a lease violation after all.

Then OFFER the tenant yard service at $70 per month.

Be non-confrontational. Yard work sucks, it's hard work and the Tenant may not have the tools to do more than mow. This should have been discussed at lease signing, but now you know going forward.

I am in North Fla.

This is one of those issues where I say "Choose your battles"

Make sure the "Grounds" section of your lease is VERY clear of your expectations concerning yard maintenance and who is responsible for what. Do periodic drives by(s) to make sure

the yard is being maintain. If not send out a reminder.

Or, Look for a local reasonable price lawn service.

I have my properties (SFH) done 12 times a year, March through December, the main growing season. I make it very clear in the lease and at lease signing, that the yard maintenance, raking, trimming bushes, weed removal, fallen limbs, extra mowing, etc... is THEIR responsibility. I even give Residents of a yearly calendar of the week to expect Lawn service and remind them that they need to pick up/ clean up the yard.

In your lease with the tenant did the lease contain a detailed description of what "maintain the yard" entails? Some people are very focused on having a great looking yard. Most tenants are not, in my experience. Many problems are created when the two different types meet. What's needed is a realistic expectation of what "maintain" means. In writing.

A good idea, imho, is to do the visit to the tenants home where they live BEFORE they move to your home. Look at their yatd. Ask if they maintain it or if a service does it. If they do it, this is what they will do to your yard.

If your expectations are at a higher level than the tenant demonstrates they are willing to meet, hire a service and increase the rent before you sign.

As to how to handle it after the fact: review your lease. Does it have a realistic clause regarding this? Does the clause address what will be done if your expectations are not met? Are your expectations reasonable? It should.

Some landlords create a document that goes with the lease agreement. Call it rules, policy, do's and dont's, whatever. It outlines expectations, defines what things mean (for example, what does lawn maintenance include and not include), and addresses consequences for failure to comply. It's in writing. Have tenant sign every page and entire document. Scan it and post to a place where tenant can call it up on their computer because they will soon lose any paper copy.

I believe that, to many tenants, the term "yard maintenance" simply means mowing the lawn once in a while. It is fairly rare to find tenants who enjoy maintaining YOUR property.

As others have pointed out, you must have specifics (and better yet dollar amounts associated) with what is expected and what happens if not.

For someone such as yourself, for the future I would hire out the maintenance and charge extra as part of the rent. Then say, "Yard Maintenance Included."

Everyone has a different idea of what a nice yard looks like, everyone has a different idea of how to trim a bush. Even two professionals will trim a bush differently. I really don't think you can expect a tenant to trim bushes and trees. You may end up with a bush 2 feet tall because the tenant thought it should be trimmed that much, other tenants might not think it needs trimming.

There are many stories here about tenants that wanted to put in a garden and how they failed. I don't even think you can expect a tenant to weed flowers either. Do they really know a "flower" from a weed? Of course what you expect should be specified in your contract with the tenant as you would in a contract with a landscaping company.

I don't see how you can charge him for something he had no idea you expected well after the fact. I would suggest if you want the yard to be perfect (to your specifications) you hire someone to do it and raise the rent appropriately. Don't even put it as a separate charge. Tenants like the phrase "includes..."

I now include gardening when I rent. The gardener is also my “mole” to keep me informed of any tenant misbehavior. Taking care of the landscape is a low priority of most tenants.

Mrs Greenthunbs here, (well, I did not right the book by that name, but it’s funny if you like garden humor,) so I have decided to include yard care with rent. When I’m too old to push the old mower up the ramps to the truck, grandkids will be big enough to help.

None of my tenants owned mowers, well, one did, but it broke. So, they borrow from a friend, set the blades to ‘scalp’ and mow once a month. Yuck. Poor ugly lawn.

I mow once a week now, simple text to tenants the night before , text when I get there, text done when I leave. Sometimes tenants pop out for a chat, mostly they are at work when I’m there. I raised rents a bit more than usual this year to cover, no one balked.

I’ve gotten many compliments from tenants, neighbors, relatives and friends of tenants that the yards look so nice. Gets me in the property one day a week, though not inside the house. Twice a year I also do gutters.

The twice a month ‘mow and blow’ landscaper for $35 a session is a steal. Kids pushing a mower around my neighborhood want $40 at least, and they are sometimes wearing flip flops ! Yikes!

My thought is, let it go this tenancy, increase rent to cover landscaper costs it with the next tenant, and rent on!

If you don't specify in writing the level of yard care expected, and the penalties involved for not maintaining it to that specified criteria, it's not worth a fight. Chalk it up as a learning experience.

In general, a tenant is going to think of maintenance as, "Keep the grass sufficiently cut so that Code Enforcement doesn't send a letter to the ll." He's not going to think, "Gosh, those bushes need to be trimmed" unless they're scraping his car, and he's not going to think, "Gotta water the shrubs."

If you want anything beyond "keep the grass short", your own yard guy needs to take care of it the way you tell him to. Advertise it as "professionally landscaped"-- and make the rental price reflect it.

It’s tough because you lived in that house, took great care of that house, loved that house. I feel ya. I would never be able to rent out my own home. I’d pr’olly choke someone who trashed my yard.

For your own sake, separate your love for the (once) beautiful yard from the business. Tenants will never care for a yard the way a homeowner that loves to garden does.