Forum spotlight: Can I charge for a gardener?

Many of us have been enjoying the recent warm weather, and this month’s forum spotlight takes a look at a question related to gardening.

The situation

A landlord posted a question on our forum on behalf of a friend, about maintaining a small garden at a rental property.

The rental property in question includes a small garden, currently maintained by the tenants.

However, on renewal of their contract the landlord has also stated they want the garden to be maintained by a professional gardener, and that the tenants should pay £100 a month for this.

Our landlord said they were unsure on their friend’s legal position, as they understood this would be classed as a banned fee, and they wanted to know whether the landlord could impose this on their tenants, two years after the initial tenancy began.

The advice

The first forum user said that the £100 would be classed as a prohibited fee under the Tenant Fees Act, and therefore the landlord in question could not do this.

A second user then posted and said that in their view, even if the extra £100 was ‘baked in’ to the rent charged £100 for a gardener still seemed quite excessive.

They said since the tenants were reported to enjoy the gardening, they wouldn’t alter the arrangement, unless of course there were real issues with the way the garden was being maintained – though they too stressed the fee is still banned.

A third user reiterated what previous landlords had said, that it is unlawful to charge a fee for gardening services under the Tenant Fees Act. Also, in their view if the preset tenancy includes the garden and required the tenant to maintain the garden, the landlord is unable unilaterally to alter that agreement.

• Read the NRLA’s guidance around the Tenant Fees Act in England and prohibited fees here.
• Read the original post here.
• Don’t forget, if you have a friend who could benefit from our sector-leading advice, support and guidance, refer them to us using our Refer a Friend scheme, an you both can save money. Get started and see your unique referral code here.