Garden/Tenant reinstating...?

Hopejack

Our tenant is currently serving out their notice - we served notice as we want to sell early next year - well, at least put on the market!!

The thing is, tenant has a dog and while I've been told they've been doing all they can to ensure floorings are kept fairly clean etc, the garden is a bit of a mare!

Last year sometime I 'walked' past the property and noticed a tarpaulin type thing down on top of the grass - I couldn't see properly as the garden is built up from the path so you can't see too much. I got on the phone to the agent (yes, an agent 'looks after it' for us!) and said they would need to remove due to probably killing the lawn - they said they had it down due to dog in garden. They did remove but I noticed just last week that they have covered the whole garden in those wood chippings which I hate tbh! So, I'm wondering what has happened to our lawn and dread to think what lies in the chippings! :eek: I've mentioned to the agent that it will need reinstating to lawn but now I'm wondering if we are doing the right thing!! I don't like the chippings - looks messy imo but thinking maybe we should deck an area near the house and then leave the rest chipped or grass just a smaller area? House is a 3 bed townhouse and could be a small family place but more likely to be a couple tbh - so what do you think would be best? Would couples want decking and maybe chippings instead of grass do you think? I'll go this weekend and have a sneaking look at the others but it is hard to see due to height etc.

Also, I'm thinking tenant will not get the garden done but will instead ask us to take reinstatement out of the deposit. How do we go about that? We aren't accessing the property at the mo due to her privacy so would need to get quotes but probably once she's moved out?

Agent is doing an inspection in the next week or so, so hope to know more then! I hope my agent is good - trotting along month on month is easy but it's now that it gets sticky!

I have a headache just thiking about it all :rolleyes: My bank balance is scared too :eek:

Nosht

Surely this is what you pay the agent for ?.

Regards,

N.

BexInLondon

Oh gosh please don't replace it with chippings - they look so hideous and depressing. Our last house had them, and it gave us zero incentive to look after the garden - the weeds that eventually grew being much prettier to look at than the brown mush!

Decking and grass sounds nice.

asharon

Have to agree with BEx, I just bought a new house with half the garden covered in them and it has taken a lot of work to clear them but even thoght the garden is now nothing but a mud pit it looks better than with them.

elfen

Also put a little area in that they can use for flowers or veggies or a dog loo area if they have an animal, to let them personalise it if they want a longer let

Hopejack

Sorry, probably wasn't clear - their tenancy is coming to an end and they've put chippings down (after taking up the tarpaulin which was down!) which no doubt has killed the lawn :mad: As a result, they/we are going to have to reinstate or we take appropriate funds out of their deposit to put right. I think decking and lawn sounds the best option.... Just been quoted £400 as a ballpark for turf laying arrrghhhh!

Yes, I will speak to the agent as I said in my post but just wondering what would be the best way to go really - never taken repossession of the house - it's been rented a longish time.

olly300

The best way to go is to ask the tenant to return the garden to the state it was in, or take as much as the tenant's deposit as required to put the garden back to it's former state.

I hope you have proof of what the garden was like. And don't forget to get written quotes of the work required.

The only houses I rented with gardens the landlords took care of the gardens. In 2 cases the landlord fully took care of the entire maintenance of the garden, whilst in another about 2 times a year he or someone else would check the state of the garden to see if any major maintenance work needed to be done on it like pruning the trees.

Therefore I suggest if you don't want your tenants to change the garden or put things in you don't like you:
1. Inform them before they rent the property via your agent that they cannot change the garden around but must maintain it.
2. That someone will be coming twice a year to check that the decking, fences, paths etc in the garden are in good order and do appropriate maintenance. This means if they have changed things to a state you don't like you can act on it immediately.

BexInLondon

Hi Hopejack - yes you were clear, don't worry. I was just responding to your query as to whether it would be best to leave the woodchips down for the next lot, or restore to turf.

In terms of getting the garden restored - you could do what we got our last landlord to do and arrange to go in a week before the tenancy ends to give them an idea of what needs to be done for full deposit reimbursement. If you put it in friendly terms they might be quite open to the idea, and at that point you can raise the issue that the lawn needs to be reinstated. Don't rely on what you've seen over the garden wall as if I was your tenant I'd feel spied on!

Jowo_2

What does the tenancy agreement say about who is responsible for the garden or seeking permission from the landlord before making any changes? Did you provide tools to the tenant? What did your agreement say about having pets - did you give permission to the tenant to have a dog.

Did your inventory/schedule of condition cover the garden and have photos of it at the outset? You seem to think that the tenant would be amenable to having the costs deducted from their deposit but you might want to rethink that assumption - what if the tenant challenges it in court or through DPS. yes, you would be required to justify any deductions from the deposit with quotes/invoice

As far as I'm aware maintenance costs are tax deductible (improvements aren't) so you could check whether any of the work required to return it to its original state is a valid expense for your tax return or whether it can't be shown to be a 'repair', for example.

Perhaps some kind of written audit trail, keeping a copy, in the event of a future dispute is a good idea - along the lines of sending a letter saying 'At the outset of your tenancy, the AST said [x relating to the garden/requesting permission from the landlord for any changes to the property]. I note that the original lawn at the commencement of your tenancy has been replaced with X. You are required to either reinstate it back to its original condition before your tenancy ends or I shall seek quotes from landscape gardeners to remove the bark chippings and replace the damaged turf and make the necessary deductions from your deposit.' Thoughts please from other posters on this - whether its just going to provoke the tenant or not be advantageous to the landlord.

princeofpounds

Don't think about it too much. Don't bother to 'walk' by or 'pop around to look over walls'. You sound like a control freak who still thinks like an owner-ocupier than a professional landlord.

You can do very little until the inspection and the end of the tenancy, and frankly a poorly maintained garden isn't the end of the world compared to what you could get.

Firstly, get the agents to arrange, in advance, an inspection. Ask them to take the inventory and check things against it (not line-by-line, just the overall condition and important stuff). When they notice that the condition of the garden is different to the inventory (as you will ask them to notice) then they should make a note of how, and ask the tenants in a non-confrontational way why this happened.

Then, you should get their feedback, and if you can't handle it and want to take it further ask them to write a polite letter stating that the condition of the garden had been changed and that you would like them to restore it to a proper condition by the next inspection.

If you are worried, make the next inspection a few weeks later, if you are not then be more reasonable and make it 3 months or so. Then get the agents to go and see if it has been fixed.

If not, and this is a line in the sand for you, write a letter saying that you are disappointed that they did not fix the problem and give them notice to leave (PROPERLY, use the correct Section 21 forms).

Eventually they will leave, and then you will be left with a damaged garden and a deposit (in a protection scheme yes?). Conduct a proper check-out and gather evidence. Get three quotes in writing for fixing the damage. Apply to deduct it from the deposit. If the tenants do not like this, you will have to appear at an arbitration with their scheme and justify why (which is why you need the clear record of condition on way in and way out, and the quotes). If they agree, then you apply to the scheme to send them the remainder of the deposit and retain the rest yourself. Then you employ your contractor and fix it.

Hopejack

Thanks for the replies - at the end of the day the house is on a public footway (a very nice one as it has lovely waterfront views) as a result any joe bloggs can walk past - I was in no way peeking over garden walls, I couldn't really see if I wanted to! In addition, I have lived away from the property for the last 8 years and still see it as my home - as I said earlier, we never rented out with intention of being a 'landlord' to make money per se, it happened by accident as we moved with my DH's work and had to live in his work accomodation - we wanted to keep our foot on the property ladder and had hoped to return to this house but couldn't afford for it just to be empty. As it happens it is too small for us as we have a family now so aren't going back

Everything (should be!) is covered by the tenancy agreement as it stated in there that things like garden should not be changed etc and yes, tools were provided i.e. a lawnmower for every tenant. Correct inventories etc have been taken, the agent did state 'some wood chippings' had been put down last year in his report but tbh I didn't think he meant the whole garden - I should have checked really. Where the communication seems to have fallen is with the agent really but that is something I need to bring up with them - they were the ones inspecting the property and allowed the changes to stay as they were! But like I say, at the end of the day, the contract does state reinstatement where necessary.

As for spying on the tenant as I said earlier, it is on a public walkway (one which is quite popular due to views) and tbh at the end of the day it is my property when all is said and done and I've not been in it for the last 3 years while they've been in it so hardly spying! We've been quite fair in that we've said (to ourselves) that we'll serve them notice (all been done properly on S21 and correct dates) and not infringe on their privacy by asking for everyone and his dog to go in for appts etc. Rather than try and market with them in etc etc. I think the idea of asking for an inspection a few weeks before they leave though is a v good idea - will speak to the agent about that - thanks!

princeofpounds - I think if I were a control freak then I would have requested access by now! It is coming to the end of the tenancy and like anyone, I am just working out what I need to do to get the property to a decent state. I know a garden seems nothing compared to what could happen - I've been there with that one before as well!!!! Won't go into that one though!