Tenant Killed the Lawn - Options?
BP Friends,
I was hoping you all could provide some guidance. I drove by my property a week ago and the front and side yard grass is dead. We have had a couple very warm months in Southern California and my suspicion is that the tenant turned the irrigation off. I contacted him a week ago and let him know I saw the dead grass and that the situation needs to be remedied. A condition of the lease is for the tenant to maintain and irrigate the grass and plants on the property or I hirer a gardner at cost to the tenant. I contacted him after I saw the damage and he responded generally positive. He told me that he is hiring a gardener. I plan to meet him this weekend at the rental to go over the options. My Question: What are my options?
A gardener is nice but the grass needs to be replaced. Also, I am hesitant to let him contract with a gardener if he did not take care of the yard in the first place. He has been a fine tenant to date, and other than this issue, I would like him to keep renting to him. However, can I fix the grass and force him to pay? Should I give him the option to fix it first and in a month if its not fixed give notice for him to move out? I hesitate to take a portion of his security deposit now to fix the damage because then I'm chipping away at any leverage I have when he moves out. Thanks for any input. If you need any further information to assess, please let me know.