Landscaping, Snow Removal and Pest Control in NJ

[Tiago Ferreira]

Good evening and Happy New Year.

For a single family home, what is the common practice in NJ (if there is such a thing) for landscaping (maintenance), snow removal and pest control; who should be responsible for those, landlord or tenant?

Thank you,

Tiago Ferreira.

[Lindsay Op de Coul]

Hello Tiago!

I work for a property management company and we have found investors will do different things.

In most circumstances for single family homes, the investor/owner will require the tenant to handle landscaping and snow removal. However, the risk with that is tenants may not maintain it to your standards. So sometimes owners will hire a company directly to handle those things or have their property manager take care of it.

Pest control is a bit different and we usually handle these on a case by case basis. If a tenant contacts us about a pest problem, we let them know that we can send out the pest control company we use, but if the company determines that the source of the problem is either mother nature or the tenant, we will bill the tenant directly. This gives the tenant a choice and usually the tenant will choose to take care of it themselves. However, if the pest problem resulted from a defect of the property (crack in the foundation, a window needs to be sealed, etc.) then that is when the owner pays/handles. 

Hope that helps!