I have recently completed drafting a new form for landlords to use that is now being sold at Wisconsin Legal Blank Co., Inc.
Addendum To Residential Rental Agreement: Responsibility for Yard Care and Exterior Upkeep
Form #985 is entitled Addendum To Residential Rental Agreement. This document sets forth a tenant’s responsibility for yard care and exterior upkeep of the rental property. This form should only be used if the landlord is renting out a single-family home or a duplex and wishes the tenant to be responsible for yard care and exterior upkeep (such as snow and ice removal and the cutting the lawn). This form should not be used for multi-unit apartment buildings.
This document addresses the following tenant responsibilities:
1. Snow and ice removal
2. Cutting of grass
3. Disposal of garbage
4. Disposal of recyclables
5. Removal of litter/debris
6. Special pick-up of large items
7. Exterior lighting
8. Porches
9. Windows
10. Damage to exterior
11. Parking of vehicles
12. Washing of vehicles
13. Swimming/wading pools
14. Watering of grass, and
15. Yard tools
This form states that if the tenant fails to perform any of the listed duties that the landlord can choose to do the work himself or herself or hire someone to complete the work and that the tenant will be responsible for repayment of any and all associated costs. Additionally the form indicates that failure to complete the listed duties is a material breach of the rental agreement and may be grounds for eviction.
This addendum is a nonstandard rental provision document (refer to ATCP 134.06(3)(b)) and as such it allows a landlord to deduct the actual costs incurred by the landlord (should the tenant fail to complete the duties) from the tenant’s security deposit.
It is important to remember that form #985 is just that — a form. Some of the paragraphs may not be applicable to your specific situation. Some landlords may decide that they do not want the tenant to perform some of the listed work. In that case the landlord should cross out the provisions that are not applicable and then initial the change and have the tenant also initial the change.
There will be other situations where a landlord may want the tenant to be responsible for additional duties which are not listed in the form. In that case the landlord should attach a separate sheet which will list the additional duties. This attachment should clearly be labeled as page two of the Addendum To Residential Rental Agreement: Responsibility for Yard Care and Exterior Upkeep and should also be signed and dated by all adult tenants. As always, if you are unsure whether any additional provisions that you add to this form are allowed under Wisconsin landlord-tenant law, you should have those additions reviewed by an experienced landlord-tenant law attorney.
Since many landlords of duplexes and single-family rentals do require their tenants to perform yard care and other related duties, it is my hope that this form will assist landlords in specifying in writing what duties the tenant will be responsible for and what will happen if the tenant shirks those responsibilities.
I would like to thank Attorney Heiner Giese for his review and suggestions to this form.
#1 by NicholeT on May 10th, 2011
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Quick question- our new tenants expect us to leave the lawn mower – they were not told that nor was it in the lease or non-standard rental agreement. If they are required to mow the law are we required to supply them a mower?
#2 by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. on May 10th, 2011
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Ideally, who would be supplying the lawn mower would have been discussed and set forth in the rental agreement. I can see arguments on both sides of the coin, since this wasnt discussed and agreed to.
Landlord: The lease doesnt say that L is to supply mower. Lease does say tenant is to mow the lawn, so T must provide mower in order to comply with lease agreement.
Tenant: Lease doesn’t say that T needs to supply mower. Since L didnt supply it, I dont have to mow the lawn now.
I don’t know how a court would decide the issue — very fact intensive most likely to try and determine if their was a meeting of the minds. In hindsight it should have been dealt with prior to the lease signing.
Re: supplying lawn mowers to tenants – a landlord needs to be careful. If it is the L’s mower then s/he is responsible for its upkeep – should a tenant be injured due to faulty upkeep of mower the landlord could get sued and possibly held to be negligent.
If the tenant supplies the mower, then it is the tenant’s responsibility to perform upkeep on the mower. So if a tenant is injured due to faulty upkeep (i.e. protective guard fell off and wasnt replaced) then the landlord would more likely be off the hook.
Some landlords I know purchase the mower and then sell it to the tenant for $1 with an agreement that the tenant is to sell the mower back to the Landlord at the end of the tenancy for $1 – and off course this is all written up in a contract.
T
#3 by NicholeT on May 13th, 2011
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Thanks so much for your response- all very sound and valid points. The $1 mower sale concept is brilliant.
#4 by Angela on June 23rd, 2011
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Hi, I have a question involving a situation my sister is in. She is renting a new place and the landlords have written her a letter telling her that they believe that a bush in the front yard is sick and told her to take a clipping of it to the nursery to have it evaluated. This is one of many items that seem more of the landlords responsibility. Does anyone know who’s responsibility this matter is?
#5 by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. on June 23rd, 2011
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Angela — It all depends on what the rental agreement says. If the rental agreement states that the tenant is responsible for maintenance of the yard then that could be a responsibility of the tenant.
T