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Garden not cleaned up to standard by tenant.

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  • greatcrested
    greatcrested Posts: 5,925 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 26 November 2020 at 4:07PM
    To be fair, there is no need for a clause in the contract regarding moss.
    Nor indeed, any need for a clause regarding garden maintenance.
    There is an implied responsibility to return the property (both inside and out) in the condition it was in at the start of the tenancy (less fair wear and tear).
    So the tenants should maintain the garden.
    Now, whether killing/removing moss in a lawn is part of a tenant's obigation to maintain the property and act 'in a tenant-like manner' is a moot point. For all I know there may be a long history of courts cases ruling on such a matter, or similar ones.
    Compare it, perhaps, with a tenant's obligation not to allow dust to settle and not to leave the property with a layer of dust everywhere. Or in some places.
    Alternatively, it could be argued that moss is 'fair wear and tear' - a natural developement over time that is to be expected, akin to the paintwork colour fading with age.
    Again- there could well be case history in the courts (and I don't plan to go searching - sorry!).
    Plus, of course, as I suggested earlier, if the LL were to pursue this, it would be important to be able to show there was no moss there originally.....
  • getmore4less
    getmore4less Posts: 46,882 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've helped Parliament
    To be fair, there is no need for a clause in the contract regarding moss.
    Nor indeed, any need for a clause regarding garden maintenance.
    There is an implied responsibility to return the property (both inside and out) in the condition it was in at the start of the tenancy (less fair wear and tear).
    ..................
    Love to see them do that outside if they moved in during  the summer and moved out during  the winter(or any other combination of seasons)

    moss in the Autumn/winter is reasonable even on a patio, the roof probably has a bit more than when they moved in.
  • Sure, have a look say the detailed photos you took of the garden at the start of the tenancy, showing which bit of grass is which, and the detailed description of each part, and then make sure you have new pictures, at the same time of year. You can't claim new for old - how old is the garden? 
  • sapnavh said:
    My tenants have just vacated the house and house is in a decent condition but the garden is not quite there. The hedges are trimmed and grass in mowed but there is a patch moss in some are of the garden. Can I claim for getting that cleaned from them?

    And some landlords wonder why landlords get a bad name sometimes...  Suppose we should admire your optimism ....

    Well, assuming your move-in  ( & move-out) inventories & photos detailed the exact condition of that patch of garden , lack-of then appearance of moss, then yes, go ahead, make a claim through the deposit scheme.  I doubt, believe & pray that the deposit scheme would not support you.  Inventories done for me never go to that level of detail. 

    Artful: Landlord since 2000
  • I hope this is a 'joke' post.  I've just spent £100 getting my rented cottage garden tidied up, I've no idea if the moss was there when I moved in or not, it was described as 'seasonally untidy'.
    £216 saved 24 October 2014
  • SpiderLegs
    SpiderLegs Posts: 1,914 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    I believe the moved out and left the toilet seat up too so that’s another fifty quid they owe you.


  • Hasbeen
    Hasbeen Posts: 4,404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I hope this is a 'joke' post.  I've just spent £100 getting my rented cottage garden tidied up, I've no idea if the moss was there when I moved in or not, it was described as 'seasonally untidy'.
    As long as you did not rent from sapnavh  you should be ok.

    Did you take pictures of each blade of grass when you moved in? 
    >:) 
    The world is not ruined by the wickedness of the wicked, but by the weakness of the good. Napoleon
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