All Forum Posts by: Irma Duran

Include it!

I usually would include the lawn maintenance in the rent, but my tenant insisted in maintaining the yard work since "he enjoyed working in the yard". He received a deduction on his rent for maintaining the yards (front and back). He did a decent job on the front lawn and bushes. I drove by and checked every 6 to 8 weeks.  I checked the back yard every 6 months. In the last 6 months of his 2 year lease he turned off the sprinklers to the back yard and allowed his dog to dig holes. With hardly any living grass and uneven ground I requested leveling and reseeding of the back yard at the time of the move out inspection. He attempted to level but not reseed. I hired a landscaping company for the work. I kept $450 from the security deposit. The tenant expected his full deposit back even after many letters explaining our lease agreement. He sued. The judge awarded me the case since I had before and after pictures and the lease explaining in detail our agreement. But the time spent arguing with the tenant and the stress and worry of preparing for the court date (I've never been to court before) was meant for a lesson well learned!  I will never again allow a tenant to maintain the yards. They don't have a choice now. 

thank you for all the great advice. I am definitely hiring a lawn service for my next tenant.

my tenant of two years  received a $70 monthly rent credit in exchange of maintaining the front and back yard. This agreement was written into the lease. The front yard was maintained but the back yard was over grown with weeds and uneven from their dogs digging holes and most of the grass dead. The sprinklers were no longer working. They were buried in dirt or broken off. The cheapest quote I received from a gardener was $400. I deducted $300 from the deposit. The house was not cleaned at all, there was no attempt to clean anything, it was filthy. Their children scribbled with permanent marker/crayons/nail polish/paint on a 2 year old carpet, walls, ceilings, doors, cabinets and backyard stucco. Pet damage to side door to garage (had to be replace$60) and scratched windows on french doors. I received a quote from Merry Maids for $400. I deducted $200 for more than the ordinary wear and tear cleaning cost. We are in California and it is legal to withhold a security deposit for cleaning. We did all the work ourselves so wanting to be fair I didn't charge the quoted amounts. My ex tenant is upset and is requesting their $560 back. They feel that they were over charged and would like the receipts for the work done. I do have all the home depot receipts but not labor receipts. I had sent them an itemized list of the deductions along with pictures of the damage and their cashiers check of their remaining security deposit. I would appreciate any advice.