We have a tenant bringing in a pet and are charging a pet fee. We would like to include a clause in the addendum saying if the dog poo if not picked up from yard a service will be provided at the renters cost. How often is reasonable to expect the yard cleaned from pet waste?
Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
I would consider the minimum to be once a week..... preferably as often as possible.
Also depends on number of pets, size, how big the yard is, how close the neighbors are, type of landscaping in yard etc, so there are going to be some variables, but I would set the standard at once a week...... but how do you enforce that frequency? No clue other than checking all the time.
Weekly. Before you ice this deal, call a couple of poo pickers and get quotes. Include the highest one in your contract language and indicate that it will be enforced at your discretion upon inspection. There's no formula for how much is too much so it's all up to your 'measure'. You do not have to give notice to visit the yard, garage etc....only the residence itself to enter. Make it a point to do the inspection until you're ok with their performance. Because you used the high number quoted, and they may google the same list of poo pickers, they'll hire the cheaper one (I would) and your problem is solved.
Real Estate Agent · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2019 · 257 posts · 105 votes
6y
@Marysue Connelly are you paying for lawn care? If you are you can have your lawn service report to you whether or not they feel that the yard is clean enough for them to do their job in in as sanitary a manner as possible. If my lawn guy complains that he’s walking through dog Poo then I would charge them for that cleanup.
@Marysue Connelly are you paying for lawn care? If you are you can have your lawn service report to you whether or not they feel that the yard is clean enough for them to do their job in in as sanitary a manner as possible. If my lawn guy complains that he’s walking through dog Poo then I would charge them for that cleanup
You could find yourself in court with that approach. You are making a tenant responsible for pleasing someone they have no relationship with and with a condition of monetary penalty for not meeting their subjective evaluation of what is and isn't a standard. In tort law it's 'a contract to make a contract'. Not legal. If they don't pay up, and you subtract from their security deposit and they decide to sue you....be prepared for punitive damages awarded them. A contract, to be legal must be mutual, contain performance, compensation and the parties to the agreement must be credible. Your idea doesn't meet that standard.
Real Estate Agent · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2019 · 257 posts · 105 votes
6y
@Daryl Luc dude I’m sure nobody here talks in legal language. what I’m telling her is that she should write in her lease some kind of a way that either the tenant cleans up the dog poo and is responsible for the yard or she gets the tenant to pay for the lawn care which picks up the **** in the yard. Nobody on here speaks in legal language and I’m not giving her contract language
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
6y
You think because it’s in the lease that they will follow it and a judge will give two craps about your wording lol look most tenants or judges will not even read it ! An agreement is only as good as the two people signing it .
Catskill, NY · Member since 2018 · 636 posts · 668 votes
6y
Personally, I would say it should be picked up daily. Or at the very least, every two days. I clean up after my dogs every day, but I also have multiple dogs. I'm not sure how close you live to your rental, but driving over there every few days to check doesn't seem like the best use of time, so enforcing it might not be that easy anyway.
Jermaine....first, I'm not your dude. Legal language is the basis of the business you're in. That's why a contract is in place. Lawyers do two things for you...keep you from trouble and get you out of trouble.....getting you out of trouble costs a lot extra. Good contracts keep you out of trouble.
I do pet Friendly exclusively, if just one animal, 2x / week is target. For 2 dogs, every other day. Either add a flat rate fee upfront and book it for them or else add it to rent / budget for it. Book it at turnover always also.
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ and Rehoboth Beach DE · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
Our rental house has a yard that's 1/3 of an acre. We just require the tenant picks up the poo before the monthly landscaper comes. If they don't, the landscaper tells us, and we tell the tenant they need to do it.