To think we shouldn't have to trim the hedges

[tulippa]

We've been renting a property that has front and back gardens bordered by high hedges with some further tall standalone hedges/shrubs on the lawn.

We have paid twice to get the hedges trimmed during our 18 months in the property. The landlord has not supplied any equipment to cut hedges or ladders which would be needed as they're quite tall and we had to buy our own lawnmower when we moved in. Recently, DH has found advice online which suggests that cutting hedges is not a tenant's responsibility in the same way that mowing the lawn is. The landlord messaged us at the weekend asking us to cut the hedges (they're not actually looking too bad at the moment) saying now would be a good time as they don't have any leaves on.

DH explained the advice he had found, that we did not want to cause any confrontation but it's not our responsibility to do this. It's surely a bit like getting the gutters cleaned or the boiler serviced. Regular maintenance rather than general frequent upkeep. The landlord has replied saying that it is our responsibility and if we don't want to do it ourselves, we should pay someone. So we are at a stalemate. The landlord has form for digging his heels in about certain things.

Does anyone know what we should do? Is there any organisation who can mediate with this sort of thing? Or do we have to fork out for the hedges?

I often wonder whether people who make these kinds of comments genuinely believe they’re true or if they’re trying to see how gullible OP’s are.

Obviously you do not need working at height insurance to work domestically on your own home. What absolute insanity that would be. What would the insurance cover? Your legal fees if you fall and decide to sue yourself?

The fact your landlord decided it was easier to pay a contractor than deal with you being intentionally difficult doesn’t mean that you were right. It means that they decided that it made more sense for them to keep you from kicking off than to risk you trashing their property or not paying your rent.

Yes I don't believe this at all. What a risk I've taken over the years going up ladders! If I'd fallen and broken my wrist who would I have sued? Me??

I'm from the construction industry and can assure you, if a contractor did this they need training and insurance as falls from heights are a specific risk. And that's fine on your own house, but a rented one needs the landlord to sort.

That's a business, not a private owner/renter?!

Being a landlord is a business.

@AlisonDonut as always on threads like this the absolutely dimest brigade are out to comment.🙄

Doing a maintenance job on a house YOU own and have an accident is of course your OWN responsibility.

Doing a maintenance job on the property of another persons through paid work or a Landlord insisting you do skilled maintenance with tools, climb a height, when you might have an accident, leaves the landlord open to a third party claim.

That is why 3rd party liability insurance is a thing.

That is why if a builder/contractor comes to my house I ensure he and his team are insured with their own professional liability insurance should anyone have an accident while doing a job on my house.

Roof work.
Gutterings.
Cutting hedges and trees etc.

Going up ladders can be prone to accidents as is cutting hedges with heavy equipment.

It is vastly different to a landlord wanting the grass cut and including it in the agreement.🙄

OP you have paid for this twice.
What was the cost to you?

It is very physical work and there is the disposal of all the cuttings too.

@AlisonDonut as always on threads like this the absolutely dimest brigade are out to comment.🙄

Doing a maintenance job on a house YOU own and have an accident is of course your OWN responsibility.

Doing a maintenance job on the property of another persons through paid work or a Landlord insisting you do skilled maintenance with tools, climb a height, when you might have an accident, leaves the landlord open to a third party claim.

That is why 3rd party liability insurance is a thing.

That is why if a builder/contractor comes to my house I ensure he and his team are insured with their own professional liability insurance should anyone have an accident while doing a job on my house.

Roof work.
Gutterings.
Cutting hedges and trees etc.

Going up ladders can be prone to accidents as is cutting hedges with heavy equipment.

It is vastly different to a landlord wanting the grass cut and including it in the agreement.🙄

OP you have paid for this twice.
What was the cost to you?

It is very physical work and there is the disposal of all the cuttings too.

Then I guess the renter employs a contractor to do it 🤷‍♀️

It was about £150 both times. Really difficult to find someone to do it too. Most quotes were about £300 and booked up way in advance.

The range of replies on this thread just shows what a grey area it all is. We've dug out the photos of the garden on the inventory and the hedges are in a bit of a state on those. They're tidier at the moment. So we're going to tell the landlord we'll maintain the hedges in line with the photos. Which means there's no hurry to get them cut now.

The landlord isn’t telling THEM to do it, she’s telling them it’s THEIR responsibility, in the same way a chimney sweep might be - it’s for them to arrange at their cost.

Well, there is a hurry as you need to do it before Spring, otherwise you can't do it until next winter. But if you are happy to have towering hedges and to have to pay more next year then that's up to you I guess.

Ironic that you're calling others dim but ignoring the exact terminology in OP's rental agreement, that she signed, which agrees it's her responsibility @billy1966

The landlord chose to offer the house with huge hedges so the landlord needs to arrange it.

Much like any maintenance work on a house. It is basic landlord maintenance. I'm also a landlord and wouldn't ask my tenants to get up on a ladder, or pay for it themselves, they are renting a house with a hedge at X height and the landlord needs to provide it.

Could you not ask permission to have them chopped to a height you would then be happy to personally maintain? So then it’s just a one off cost.

Then everyone’s happy. Proving they agree.

It’s irrelevant who owns the house, “domestic” refers to who is in residential occupation. As you pointed out, being a landlord is a business so the landlord would be at their place of work in the rental property and it is the landlord who would require insurance if they conduct work there, not the tenant.

My landlord did it first year and we did it year three. They don't grow that fast here that they need doing yearly. We shared cost with ndn.

You’ve said yourself how hard it is was to find somewhere to rent and now you’re being labelled as a difficult tenant. It might not be fair or right but I’d have just sucked it up.

He sounds like an arsehole. I bet whatever height you chopped them to would be ‘too low’ as well. Years ago, when we used to rent, we had to buy a lawn mower as the one supplied kept cutting out after 2 seconds. When we mentioned it, the landlord asked to keep it!! We said no of course!

If it's not listed in your tenant agreement then I don't think the landlord can make you do it. It's a difficult, expensive job and I think it should be down to the landlord.

The NRLA website says: 'To avoid doubt, if a landlord needs the tenant to do any specific, basic garden maintenance tasks they should be listed in the tenancy agreement and discussed with the tenant' (www.nrla.org.uk/news/landlords-essential-guide-to-garden-maintenance)

And yours hasn't done this, so I think he'd find it hard legally to make you do it.

It’s a grey area in law. That means that, where the contract is silent, it’s difficult to know who is responsible. However, your contract isn’t silent. It’s crystal clear and uses standard form wording. Your contract says you are responsible for it. The only way a contractual term doesn’t apply is if the law actively disagrees (and therefore supersedes it). Grey area law does not (and cannot) supersede the contractual obligation.

You’ve also been poorly advised about when it needs to be done by. The contract says you must maintain the garden to the standard of when you arrived, not that it must be returned to that upon your departure. If the landlord determines (legally, by way of a booked property inspection) that you have not been maintaining the hedges as per the contract. Then that is breach of the contract on your part, regardless of whether you intended to return the hedges to that condition by the time you leave the property. Realistically though, until you leave the property, the landlord has limited enforcement options available to them.

I'd say given this is the case, the LL should pay for it. If it's just a matter of pruning (and most convenient to do with an electric/ petrol hedge clipper) then you should do it, but it sounds like a huge hedge and a burdensome dangerous job. That, to me, falls outside general garden maintenance. If the LL is fed up with it he can cut it down and replace with a fence.

It says in the OPs tenancy agreement that it’s her responsibility so in this case, you’re wrong. I’m a landlord too, my contracts require tenants to maintain certain aspects of our properties - it depends what’s in the tenancy agreement. I’m actually a solicitor specialising in rural property litigation, there is no grey area here, it’s written in the tenancy agreement.

We rented a house with high back hedges and the overbearing, overstepping landlady was OBSESSED. Badgering the letting agency to badger us to cut them in summer when they were going to keep growing till late autumn anyway. Tbh that was probably the least irritating thing she did and we were mugs to put up with her behaviour.

I'd say 13.1 applies to this, not 13.5. Sounds like he's got you in the agreement, no matter what other websites say.

No, it doesn't mention boundary hedges.