POOL RETAINING WALL
March 26, 2015Landscaping Maintenance for Rental Properties
A beautiful landscape augments the curb appeal of your rental property. It attracts renters to your house and your tenants will appreciate that they are residing in a beautiful home. For that reason, they may want to rent the property for the long-term.
As a result, it improves tenant retention, reduces vacancy rate, and also lowers tenant turnover. All these improve your cash flow as you will earn more rental income. However, the problem always arises when it comes to landscape maintenance. Is it the responsibility of the landlord or the tenant?
Here are three different ways to handle this issue.
The landlord takes responsibility for landscape maintenance
Here, the landlord takes care of all the maintenance needs but charges the tenants for the services. It is appropriate to use this method for low-maintenance landscapes.
If you choose this method, do not bundle the maintenance fees with the rent because it will make the rent costly. Instead, charge the expense separately.
Hire a landscaping company for maintenance
Sometimes, landlords and tenants may be so busy that they do not have time to take care of the landscape. The best option in such situations is to hire a landscaping company. They have all the necessary tools, skills, and time to maintain your landscape.
Tenant takes responsibility
Tenants can also take responsibility for the landscape maintenance. But, you may not get the best out of this option. And it is not favorable for a multifamily unit. Also, your tenants may not have the necessary skill and time. However, we can recommend this option if your tenant will hire a landscape maintenance company to handle it.
Remember that for any option you choose, make sure to include it in the lease agreement. Clearly explain the landscaping maintenance responsibilities of each party. Doing this will prevent you from having issues with your tenants.
To reduce the landscape maintenance needs of your rental property, below are some tips:
- Limit grass to a minimum
Having grass in your landscape makes it beautiful, but it requires regular mowing to prevent it from looking untidy. And this takes effort and time. Failure to mow your lawn often will make patches appear on your yard.
For this reason, we recommend that you limit the area where you grow grass. That will make maintenance easy and lessen the cost.
- Replace grass with hardscapes
When you limit the area for grass, there will be more space left in your yard. You can use hardscaping features in these areas. Some hardscapes that you can install are decks, walkways, patios, paved sitting areas, and retaining walls. Hardscapes will help to improve the curb appeal of the property and also reduce your maintenance cost.
- Consider drip irrigation
There are many benefits of using drip irrigation. It reduces your water bill because you will use a lesser amount of water. You will also reduce the water that you lose from evaporation and runoff since drip irrigation supplies only the right amount of water at the exact location. As a result, it lowers water usage.
Since there is no water runoff with drip irrigation, it prevents leaching of the soil’s nutrients. All these benefits of drip irrigation reduce the efforts and cost of maintenance for your landscape.
- Go for low-maintenance plants
Be selective of the plants that you use to landscape your rental property. Choose plants that require little care and attention. Such plants include:
- Drought-resistant plants: These plants can survive for a long time without watering or rain. That is because they store enough water in their leaves, stems, and roots.
- Dwarf plants: These are plants that do not grow tall. As such, there will be no need for frequent pruning. In that way, it lessens maintenance needs.
- Native plants: Native plants are disease-resistant, and they require lesser attention. They have built an adaptation to the local soil and climatic conditions. Also, they will thrive well without watering, pesticides, or fertilizers.
- Perennials: Most perennial crops are drought or heat-resistant. They stay alive every year and do not die off like annual plants.
- Prevent weeds by using landscape fabrics
Landscape fabrics help to prevent weeds from growing in your lawn. If you make use of them, it will lessen the need for weeding. There are several varieties of landscape fabrics. Some of them are eco-friendly and require regular replacements.
- Mulch your lawn
Mulching is very beneficial to your lawn. It helps regulate the soil’s temperature, retain moisture, suppress weed growth, add nutrients to the ground, and reduce the need for pesticides. All these features will help you to reduce the maintenance needs of your landscape.
In a nutshell
Landscaping improves the curb appeal of your rental property, but it requires adequate care. However, you can minimize the maintenance needs of your landscape by making appropriate choices.