‘Crazy’: Aussie must cut the lawn or lose the band – realestate.com.au

An Australian woman has revealed how she lost her entire rental bond after being told her lawn had not grown well enough and would need to be replaced by a professional landscaper.

Chelsea Solman said the agency managing her rental kept her $2,000 deposit and asked for another $1,000 to pay for the lawn’s replacement after giving her a month to let it grow.

She sought help through the Facebook group Lawn Tips Australia after receiving the ultimatum.

“My real estate gave us a month to grow this lawn (in the winter) or we would be liable for the costs when we move,” she recently wrote.

‘We did that, but they still weren’t happy about it. They said it’s just winter grass and would die in the summer, so they’re hiring a landscaper to rip it all out and replace it with grass, at our expense.

“Am I crazy, or if it was winter grass it would have grown… when the sun finally breaks?

“They only pull out the big bottom part, which is pretty much filled.

“I am so frustrated that we have lost our entire bond over this and want to know if I should contact someone to escalate this further.”

MORE:‘An idiot has complained’: the municipality has ordered the woman to demolish a fake lawn

The lawn could be patchy due to soil quality or shade… for which Mrs. Solman was not responsible. Image: Facebook

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MORE:The Australian man’s lawn is so perfect that people think it is AI

Commenters on Ms Solman’s post were quick to urge her to seek legal advice on the matter and challenge the decision.

One commenter, Barb Arnott, said she was a former property manager for 20 years and said Ms. Solman’s bond could not be legally enforced over the condition of the lawn.

“I would apply to NCAT or alternatively, if you leave, as soon as you give the keys back, immediately make a claim on your deposit and they will have to apply to the tribunal to prevent you from getting it,” Ms Arnott said.

“I have been to the tribunal many times over the years where officers have tried to collect tenant bonds for lawns and have only seen one successful and that was malicious damage where the tenants had literally caused burnouts on the front lawn.”

Ms Solman has since sought legal advice on the matter.

“They’ve already taken all this away and put in a new lawn and kept my 2k bond and asked for another 1k from me. It’s crazy,” Ms Solman said.

Ms. Solman said the agency managing her rental property kept her $2,000 deposit and asked for another $1,000 to pay for the lawn’s replacement after giving her a month to let it grow. Image: Facebook

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Unfortunately, lawn crackdowns are not an unusual focus for rental properties or municipalities.

Just weeks ago it was reported how thousands of dollars’ worth of artificial grass could be torn up and never replaced, as councils across Australia move to ban artificial pitches.

It came after concerns about plastic pollution, microplastics in waterways and the environmental impact of artificial grass – which was shown to heat up to extreme temperatures of up to 56 degrees Celsius on hot summer days, while normal grass was around 30 degrees.

The city of Gold Coast is already among the councils taking a tough stance. The city had already fined homeowners and warned that charges could amount to $834 if they were prosecuted.

In NSW, the state government’s housing and building regulations indicate that a tenant can lose their deposit due to damage, although ‘reasonable wear and tear’ was acceptable. But there is a gray area.

Most regulations in NSW relate to the actual structure of the house and the website did not provide examples of lawns or gardens.

“At the end of a rental agreement, the tenant is responsible for leaving the property as nearly as possible in the same condition as when he started living in it,” the website says.

A Gold Coast homeowner has been told by the council to tear it up.

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“The tenant is responsible for negligent, irresponsible or intentional actions that cause damage to the property. He will have to organize repairs and pay for damage he has caused or allowed (for example, by other residents or guests).

“However, the tenant is not responsible for ‘fair wear and tear’.”

Tenants Union of Tasmania/Lutruwita lead lawyer Ben Bartl told the ABC in March, many Australians spent hundreds of dollars on their lawns, fearing they wouldn’t get their bonds back.

“A tenant doesn’t have to live in a building that looks like some sort of display home,” he said.

“It is certainly not the case that the lawn, the garden, the courtyard have to be perfect and everything has to be immaculate, that standard is too high.

“At the end of the lease, you must return the property, including the garden or backyard or courtyard, in a condition comparable to the condition in which the garden, courtyard or backyard was in when you came to live there.

“Having evidence of the condition of the garden or courtyard… makes it a lot easier for you to argue that the deposit should be returned to you at the end of the rental period.”