Is a tenant liable for dead grass if they were unable to do anything about it due to soil, weather andrelated conditions?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is a tenant liable for dead grass if they were unable to do anything about it due to soil, weather andrelated conditions?
House I am leaving has patchy grass areas both front and back due to poor soil that won’t hold sustained grass growth; I’ve watered 2 – 6 times weekly depending on rainfall with a timed sprinkler system; I even re-seeded certain areas twice but grass won’t grow there (only weeds). Factor in spotty sprinkler flow (although I also tried hand watering). Care history is obvious in good soil spots. Lease specifies maintaining yard and plants, which I’ve done successfully, with this exception (even though there were 2 killing frosts this winter that torched several neighbors’ shrubs). How liable am I for this type of scenario?
Asked on July 25, 2011 Arizona
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You need to read your lease about whose obligation if any there is to maintain the vegetation and lawn of the home you are renting. Its written terms on the subject would control on the subject you are asking about.
If you are making a diligent effort in watering the lawn regardless of whose obligation it is to maintain it, you should not be responsible for the dead grass that results through your own best efforts.
As a precaution, you should should contact your landlord about the grass problem despite your best efforts in keeping it watered and have a copy of a letter to your landlord on the subject for future reference.
Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.