I live in Mesa AZ in the high desert. My tenants refuse to water

[Lynn Harper]

How should I handle the fact that my trees, plants and grass are dying and I haven't been able to get my tenants to water them. One large tree is half dead and my tenant wants me to pay to have a cactus removed that she killed by not watering it. Landscaping is very expensive. It would cost $500 to take out that tree and another $500 to replant it. My contract says the tenant is responsible for maintaining the yards and she pays her own water. With 110 + temps in the summer everything dies if it doesn't get watered. 

[Doug McVinua]

@Lynn Harper   The tenant is very likely in Breach of the Lease terms if you are using the standard Arizona lease and it is written in a common manner.

I would first service written notice via certified mail that the issue be cured.

The tenant is damaging your property outside the normal wear and tear and it could result in eviction if the tenant continues the practice.

TIme to get tough on this one!

[Bob Okenwa]

I agree with Doug. Also, you should consider desert-scaping the property to prevent future issues such as this. Rocks, cacti, mesquite etc last forever with barely any water. No water necessary with the rocks of course.

[Thomas S.]

Never rely on tenants, generally speaking they are useless when it comes to responsibility.

Get rid of all the plants and switch to desert scape as suggested.

[James Wise]

Gotta get rid of the plants. Tenants are never going to take care of them. This is a loosing battle.

[Justin Owens]

I have a rehab project going now and one of the deciding factors to flip vs buy and hold was the fact that it had so many great shade trees. They have value and no tenant would care for them.

[Dan Schwartz]

@Lynn Harper if she killed a cactus - sure hope it wasn't a saguaro! - there might be more to investigate here than simply "lack of water." Certain types of trees do very poorly here in the desert, as well. Not saying to back off of your tenant, who is clearly in breach, but to prevent further damage, you might need to do some more investigating. "Killing the cactus by not watering it" is a bit suspect given the rains we've had this season.

[JD Martin]

Well, you have two potential issues:

1. Breach of contract - if the tenant is supposed to keep things watered, and is not, then they are breaking the lease. Notice to correct and/or evict.

2. I can't imagine grass and trees do very well in Mesa, Arizona. Tenants do a crappy job of doing anything beyond the bare minimum. Getting them to change heating system filters is like pulling teeth. I can't see your replacement tenant doing any better. So if you are going to keep it as a rental, you should have some xeriscaping in place. 

[Chase Reynolds]

Why not contract the lawn care out to a professional and charge the tenant a fee? The tenant may be happy with this outcome.