Professional Landscaping

[Jon S.]

I installed landscaping, privacy fences, and pavers, to create private back yards with patios and native plants for a newly renovated upscale triplex. It just went in last week and it really looks great. The native plants also save water consumption, so I don't want residents to plant other invasive species, as that would negate the water consumption savings, and the design. In other words, I would prefer that the residents not change the landscaping. However, this is a bit restrictive for tenants who like to Garden, and it just happens that I have a fantastic tenant who likes to garden. It's a blessing to have such a tenant who takes pride in their apartment and wants to plant and garden. However, they unwittingly planted invasive species after the native plant landscaping was done. The question is, now that I have professional landscaping, have I created an unexpected problem that will be hard to deal with? Do I need to write a clause into the lease about this? By the way, since putting in the landscaping, the apartment showings have gone 100% better, and I rented one of the units about 2 days after the landscaping went in, so I do think it was a good investment. I just wasn't prepared to worry about what residents plant afterwards. In fact, I wouldn't worry about it, except doing so would negate the entire low maintenance plan, low water, etc, and it will change the design, which actually cost money to have done. Invasive species need a lot of water and more maintenance.  In the case of this tenant, we had a chat with the landscape designer and now they are on board with restricting to native plants. So in this case with this tenant, the issue is solved. However, future tenants in other units want to have dogs. Do dogs destroy landscaping? Do I need a separate clause regarding landscaping, or is that just plain overboard and over the top? I didn't mean to create a problem, I was just trying to create peaceful serene private back yard spaces to make the units more attractive, and have foliage while avoiding the water and maintainance costs of sod. This is a sod free property! :) Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Thanks 

[Steve Babiak]

As much as I like nice landscaping, in rentals tenants do not usually want to maintain it - so my rentals have minimal landscaping, basically whatever was already there when I acquired the property ;)

But you now have become aware of a possible issue, so you should try to address that with your lease, or with an addendum. I would suggest having a basic "no gardening" clause since that would cover the majority of tenants IMO, and then have an addendum for those who wish to garden, laying out rules to be followed should they choose to garden.  I do something similar for pets; a basic "no pets" clause, and addendum used to allow pets on a case by case basis. In either situation, you should have something in the lease to the effect that the landscaping should be in as good a condition at move out as it was at move in, so that it doesn't end up a wreck (well, eventually I think it will become a wreck because it is at a rental after all).