Trees overhanging driveway

[cube]

The tenant complained that some trees were over-hanging the driveway and interfering with the power line.

So me, a step ladder and my trusty handsaw head on out to see what the problem is and, sure enough, some branches are leaning on the power line between the road and the house.

While I'm sawing through the offending branches, tenant arrives home, dons his trusty wellies and he and a mate proceed to be extremely helpful in assisting with chop of said branches, mentioning how it will be better driving down the drive without the branches rubbing against the car.

Which all raises the question, given that he has proved himself capable of such arduous physical labour and it will make his life easier, why didn't just get on with the pruning himself?

smh

[PC]

What? Next you'll be wanting him to clean the house, pull the curtains & open windows on occasion.
Probably expect the rent paid on time as well.
B*#!dy Alt-Right LLs. ;-)

[John the builder]

because he wasn't entitled to do so, and his work would have been criticized?

[Perry]

While I'm sawing through the offending branches, tenant arrives home, dons his trusty wellies and he and a mate proceed to be extremely helpful in assisting with chop of said branches, mentioning how it will be better driving down the drive without the branches rubbing against the car.

Sounds like a good tenant, to me. Notifies you and then pitches in to help when you respond appropriately.

Any refreshments offered, while you were there?

[Nice]

Because it is your job and responsibility as Landlord ?

I hope you offered him a beer or two (or whatever was appropriate) for giving you a hand with the job ?

[cube]

Because it is your job and responsibility as Landlord ?

I hope you offered him a beer or two (or whatever was appropriate) for giving you a hand with the job ?

Interesting point - where does gardening end and the LL's responsibility start?

No beers were harmed in the chopping of these trees.

[FJW]

Hi SMH,

Its great that you have a tenant that is willing to volunteer his services for general maintenance, however although you might be saving money on repairs my advice is don't let them do that as he / she will always have the expectation that you 'owe' them either subsidised rent or a favour which will benefit them monetary.

As per the act tenants aren't obligated to do maintenance......

Hope that helps,

F

[SimonW]

Hi SMH,

Its great that you have a tenant that is willing to volunteer his services for general maintenance, however although you might be saving money on repairs my advice is don't let them do that as he / she will always have the expectation that you 'owe' them either subsidised rent or a favour which will benefit them monetary.

As per the act tenants aren't obligated to do maintenance......

Hope that helps,

F

I'd imagine there are many health & safety issues here too, particularly with the relatively new H&S laws that have come in. If the tenant gets hurt carrying out maintenance then I can imagine Worksafe or whoever having an absolute field day - especially if the relevant safety equipment was not supplied. Even the original context of this thread - laymen working with trees near powerlines - gives me the heebie jeebies....

[John the builder]

can someone clarify.................?

does the H and S act apply to a occupan/homeownert doing maintenance not for payment?

[Monsterbishi]

It's stories like this that are one step away from being a stuff headline, the insulation on LV service cable is there more to protect the cable than what touches it.

[SimonW]

can someone clarify.................?

does the H and S act apply to a occupan/homeownert doing maintenance not for payment?

I am not familiar with all the ins and outs of health & safety laws, but I do know they are starting to get a bit much.

When we were selling my parents' house, the listing agent had to deploy additional agents to assist with the open days. This was because the house had a pool, and even though the pool was fenced in accordance with the relevant legislation, there was no guarantee that prospective buyers or their children would be safe from drowning. One agent stood by the pool gate to ensure that any errant children were not inadvertently let into the pool area without supervision by adults leaving the pool area, whilst another agent supervised a deck area on the other side of the house - the deck had a drop to the ground of less than one metre so did not legally need a guard rail, but nevertheless the real estate agency said they had a duty of care to ensure that anyone attending the open home was made aware of the fall risk before stepping onto the deck.

Seriously, I am not joking....

I recently had double glazing installed at one of my rentals. The windows cost around $8000 including installation labour, however the cost for scaffolding, and an approved safety barrier between the workers and the overhead power wires at the front of the building, added another $3500 to the cost of the job. I am clearly in the wrong industry!

[Perry]

But, but, SimonW, this is all going to make housing more affordable, dontcha know?

[Nice]

But, but, SimonW, this is all going to make housing more affordable, dontcha know?

Unfortunately, these rules were put in place by the previous government who had no aim to make them any more affordable !

[Castlerose]

The thread on this is interesting reading... First, it is not the tenants' responsibility to do your maintenance and what a good guy to pitch in and help. He did the RIGHT thing by contacting you first - it's YOUR property, not his. Had he gone ahead and pruned without your knowledge, the fact you've complained he didn't just do it himself shows you may have a 'skewed' view on how things should be approached. There's always the risk you may have ended up annoyed he did work on your property without telling you, or in your view, chopped too much off or whatever... Its SAFER for tenants to always contact LL's first, that way they cannot be held responsible if their LL has a different opinion on how it should have been done or if anything goes wrong etc - I'm at a loss as to why you don't seem to understand that? And FJW - you are assuming all tenants will want something back? Some MAY do but certainly not all; simply because some people are in a position to have to rent their home it does not automatically make them not nice people!? I agree some MAY want something back but as in this case with the tenant helping, they may just be good, reasonable and/or helpful people and why some LL's always assume the worst and lump ALL tenants in to the s*** tenant bag is sad - they are not all like that and I am speaking from my own experience of having two sets of wonderful tenants - for which I am very grateful.

[cube]

Don't get me wrong - I was quite prepared to go there and sort out the problem myself - it was just the conversation was strange at the time.

I'd still like to know where gardening ends and maintenance begins.