It started with a simple text about overgrown grass, but quickly spiralled into a full-blown rental war that has ignited social media and exposed the raw nerves of the housing market.
A recent UK landlord-tenant dispute over a neglected lawn, shared widely online, serves as a stark reminder of the often-fraught relationship between renters and property owners, a dynamic all too familiar on Australian shores where woman recently revealed how she lost her entire rental bond after being told her lawn hadn’t grown well enough.
Meanwhile, the UK dispute, brought to light via a TikTok post by property strategist Jack Rooke, began with a simple message from a landlord to his tenant, Steph.
“Hi Steph, just been past the house. The grass is over a foot (31cm) high. When are you planning to cut it?,” the landlord wrote.
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Steph’s response was blunt and set the stage for the ensuing battle: “Why would I? I rent the house, not the garden. That’s your job anyway.”
From there, the conversation spiralled.
The landlord insisted the tenancy agreement stipulated the garden be kept “in reasonable order,” describing the yard as a “jungle” and citing neighbour complaints about the property’s appearance.
A fiery showdown between a landlord and tenant over an overgrown lawn has ignited a fierce debate online, exposing how quickly a seemingly minor disagreement can escalate into a full-blown rental feud.
However, Steph remained unyielding.
“It’s just grass Liam. What harm’s it doing. I don’t even go out there half the time,’ she replied.
“Tell them to stop looking over the fence, then. The rent I pay should cover the garden too.”
As tensions escalated, the landlord warned of the lawn “going to seed and ruining the grass,” claiming weeds were “halfway up the fence” and “attracting rats.”
Steph’s final jab, “You’re being dramatic. It’s grass not gold,” pushed the standoff to a boiling point, culminating in the landlord threatening to deduct mowing costs from her bond if the issue wasn’t resolved within seven days.
UK property strategist Jack Rooke brought the dispute to light via TikTok. Source: Thejackrooke/TikTok
“You won’t dare do that,” she replied, met with a defiant “Try me.”
Rooke highlighted the situation as a classic breakdown in communication, suggesting clearer terms from the outset could have prevented the explosion.
“The landlord should have had a proper conversation with the tenant and made it abundantly clear she had to keep the garden in good order,” he advised.
“But secondly, this sounds like a total communication failure over the terms of the tenancy.
“If that communication had been ongoing, I don’t think this would have blown up in the same way.”
The Australian context: Who’s responsible for the greenery?
This UK saga strikes a familiar chord for many Australians.
Here, garden maintenance responsibilities are primarily dictated by the lease agreement. Generally, tenants are expected to maintain gardens and lawns in a “reasonable condition,” which typically includes regular mowing, weeding, and watering.
Steph’s responses was blunt and set the stage for the ensuing battle. Source: Thejackrooke/TikTok
Landlords, conversely, usually remain responsible for major issues such as structural problems, significant tree pruning, or professional landscaping, unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in the lease.
For an Aussie woman, the issue of lawn maintenance came to a head earlier this month when she lost her entire rental bond after being told her lawn hadn’t grown well enough and would need to be replaced by a professional landscaper.
She alleged the agency managing her rental property kept her $2000 bond and was asking for $1000 more to pay for the lawn’s replacement after giving her a month to grow it.
She reached out for help on the Lawn Tips Australia Facebook group after receiving the ultimatum.
“My real estate gave us a month to get this lawn to grow (in winter) or we would be liable for the cost when we move,” she posted recently.
“Well we did but they still weren’t happy, said it’s only winter grass and would die in summer so they are hiring a landscaper to rip it all out and replace with turf, at our expense.
“Am I crazy or if it was winter grass it would have grown … when the sun finally arrive?”
The woman has since sought legal advice on the matter.
The lawn could have been patchy due to soil quality or shade… for which the woman was not responsible. Picture: Facebook
Unfortunately, lawn crackdowns are not an unusual focus for rental properties or councils.
Just weeks ago, it was reported how thousands of dollars worth of artificial turf could be ripped up and never replaced, as councils across Australia move to ban synthetic lawns.
Principal solicitor Ben Bartl from the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania/Lutruwita told the ABC in March many Australians spent hundreds of dollars on their lawns in fear they would not get their bonds back.
“A tenant does not have to live in a property that looks like some sort of display home,” he said.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
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