What are the landlord’s responsibilities for maintaining the garden?
The landlord is responsible for ensuring that the garden is in a safe and habitable condition
Landlords are responsible for maintaining any areas of the garden which it would be unreasonable to expect the tenant to look after – this usually includes maintaining trees, large shrubs and climbing plants - to make sure that they’re safe.
Reasonableness must be applied when it comes to larger maintenance jobs that may require a professional and would fall under the landlord’s responsibility.
It’s a good idea for landlords to carry out these tasks annually, before winter, to make sure the garden doesn’t get out of hand.
Some climbers, such as wisteria and ivy, grow very quickly from springtime onwards so need to be kept under control.
From the landlord insurance point of view, keeping large shrubs and trees under control has two benefits. Firstly, since trees and shrubs send their roots out in search of moisture, keeping them to a neat and sensible size prevents them from sucking up larger amounts of extra moisture in warmer weather, which could reduce the risk of subsidence related issues as the soil is less likely to dry out.
Secondly, keeping garden hedges, bushes and trees under control can deter potential intruders looking for a place to hide or getting close enough to the property to see if it’s worth breaking-in.
It’s also the landlord’s responsibility to make sure that action is taken if the tenant reports an issue which isn’t their fault.
It’s not uncommon for portfolio landlords to hire a full-time gardener to maintain all their properties. This cost can be applied to a tenant’s monthly rent if they have previously agreed to this. But if it states in the tenancy agreement that the landlord will provide a gardener, they are then obliged to do so for the length of the tenancy.
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