Get your buy to let garden basics right
Tips to bear in mind, which could reduce the risks of disputes involving garden maintenance during or at the end of the tenancy
Before your tenants move in there are a few garden basics to bear in mind, which could reduce the risks of disputes involving garden maintenance during or at the end of the tenancy.
If your property has a garden, you might be better focusing on long term tenants, who are more likely to take care of the garden, than short term ones who aren’t going to stay long enough to justify maintaining the garden.
Go for slow growing, drought tolerant flowering shrubs and perennials combined with hard landscaping. Aim for a garden that will attract tenants without breaking the bank or needing too much effort to maintain.
If you have several properties with gardens, it may be cost effective to take on responsibility for the gardening yourself by employing a specialist gardener to take care of the upkeep and including a gardening charge in the rent.
If you decide to provide your tenant with gardening equipment, particularly power tools, make sure it’s in good condition and compliant with current health and safety standards. If you don’t have a Residual Current Device (RCD) built into your fuse box, you should use a plug-in RCD – any socket that may be used to plug in a lawnmower, hedge trimmer or other power tool should have RCD protection.
