Every week, Melbourne/Naarm-based handyman Brent Aitken tidies up about half a dozen rental gardens and lawns as tenants prepare to vacate.
He's been doing this sort of work for two decades and says he often gets calls from tenants or property managers to attend to specific things.
"They don't want to see a weed in the garden beds, in pathways," he says.
"Generally, on a house block, they want to see the lawns edged and mowed, all the pruning up to date."
Mr Aitken says people are spending hundreds of dollars on professionals to tidy rental gardens, worried they're not going to get their bond back.
So how tidy does your garden or courtyard need to be when you hand the keys back?
It's a question tenants' unions around Australia would get asked most days, according to principal solicitor Ben Bartl from the Tenants' Union of Tasmania/Lutruwita.
"A tenant does not have to live in a property that looks like some sort of display home," he says.
"It's definitely not the case that the lawn, the garden, the courtyard needs to be perfect with everything immaculate, that standard is too high."
What is reasonable?
Mr Bartl says the law in Australian jurisdictions is that properties should be returned in "a reasonable state of cleanliness".
That is the condition that an average person would be able to achieve, not the standard of a professional cleaner or a professional gardener, he says.
"At the end of the tenancy, you need to return the property, including the garden or backyard or courtyard, in a similar condition to how the garden courtyard or backyard was when you moved in."
He recommends tenants take photos and videos of the garden and courtyard when they move into a property so when the time comes to vacate, they can see what condition it was in.
"For a lot of renters who are in properties for years, it's often hard to remember the condition of the garden or courtyard when you moved in."
"By having evidence of the condition of the garden or courtyard … it makes it a lot easier for you to argue that the bond should be returned to you at the end of the tenancy."
He says another piece of evidence that's useful is the real estate entry or condition report, which will often have notes as well as photos.
Do you need to hire professionals?
Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) president Leanne Pilkington says tenants are under no legal obligation to hire professional gardeners during, or at the end of a lease.
"Some tenants choose to but it's really up to the tenants," she says.
If you're not used to looking after a garden and a lawn, Ms Pilkington says it can be a little bit more work than you realise.
"My husband's in the garden every weekend, whether it's mowing, or raking leaves."
"It's just one of those things that people need to stay on top of, that way it's not onerous when you're moving out."
Rental tenancy legislation varies in different states and territories, so check the specific laws in your jurisdiction.
Mr Bartl says the general rule is a tenant is responsible for weeding and lawn mowing, but a landlord is responsible for pruning large trees and shrubs.
"If you do have overgrown shrubs, trees or hedges, talk to your landlord, because they need to organise to have them trimmed back."
When it comes to cleaning a courtyard, he says tenants should also look back at photos or the real estate entry report.
"If there's moss, for example, on the paving stones and there wasn't when the tenant moved in, then yes, it's arguable that the tenant does need to ensure that they remove the moss either through a pressure hose or some other means.
"So again, that's why it's really important to have some evidence of the condition of the property when you moved in."
If you need something more heavy duty than a garden hose, hardware stores have pressure-washing machines available for hire for anywhere between $40 for four hours, or $70 for 24 hours.
When it comes to mowing, Mr Aitken says people can expect to pay about $80 for a small house block.
"A regular mow should include whipper-snipping, mowing and maybe weed control," he says.
He recommends people get a few quotes before hiring a contractor.
Fair wear and tear on a garden
Mr Bartl says agencies and landlords also need to consider seasonal changes and wear and tear.
"In the same way that carpets are going to get a bit thinner during the 12 months you live in a property … with the garden, you need to take into account reasonable wear and tear.
"Say, the length of a tree, a shrub or a plant's life, and in some cases, it may well mean that those plants die.
"If the tenant is able to establish that they are regularly watering the garden, that can just be a statement to say, 'once or twice a week, I was watering the garden'."
Ms Pilkington says in some circumstances, seasonal impacts and water restrictions may need to be factored in.
"Obviously if it's winter and the tenant's moving out, but they moved in in spring, we're going to realise that the shrubs and the trees are going to look very different."
Mr Bartl says a tenant will sometimes be able to say, "it was a particularly hot summer, and so more plants have died because of the heat".
"Similarly, if the soil is not of a good standard, that might be another reason why the garden has died away."
"In both of those examples, it's not the tenant that needs to return the property in the same condition.
"It was because there were factors outside the tenant's control as to why the garden has deteriorated."
He says if you and the landlord, lessors or agents cannot agree on a matter you may need to lodge a dispute application with your local tenant's tribunal or residential tenancy commissioner.
This article contains general information only. You should consider obtaining independent professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances.
