What to do if in the lease that our tenants signed there is a provision for them to perform yard maintenance but are saying that they won't trim the trees?
Question Details: They maintain that tree trimming does not fall under yard maintenance. Also, the tenants are telling us that we should instruct our yard guy how to maintain the bushes and the lawn. Is it our duty to do so?
Under the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act a landlord may delegate to the tenant maintenance duties if the landlord and the tenant bargained for that in the contract and if it is a single family home and if it is not for the purposes of evading the landlord's duties regarding health and safety codes. It sounds like an agreement for the tenant to perform yard maintenance would meet these requirements. There is some question about the meaning of yard maintenance, but logically mowing the lawn and trimming trees and bushes would be considered yard maintenance to the average person. Under the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act you can deliver to the tenant a ten day notice in writing that they must comply with their contractual obligation to perform the yard maintenance or face eviction.
