It’s grass, not gold': Renter’s defiant response to landlord’s garden demand

A landlord in the UK has issued his tenant an ultimatum over the state of the garden of her rental property.

The landlord, known only as Liam, claims his tenant, known only as Steph, is shirking her responsibilities by not maintaining the property’s yard.

When he addressed concerns with her, a war of words broke out. The heated exchange was aired in a TikTok video by Jack Rooke, a UK property strategist.

“Hi Steph, just been past the house. The grass is over a foot high. When are you planning to cut it?” Rooke quoted Liam as writing.

Rooke then shared Steph’s reply:  “Why would I? I rent the house, not the garden. That’s your job anyway.”

Liam reminded Steph of her responsibilities in her tenancy, stating the garden must be kept in “reasonable order”. He then likened the state of the garden to “a jungle”.

Steph’s response indicated a level of disinterest in Liam’s request.

“It’s just grass, Liam. What harm is it doing? I don’t even go out there half the time,” Rooke quoted her message as saying.

Liam tried a new tact. 

“Well the neighbours do. They’ve complained. It looks abandoned,” he wrote.

Steph suggested Liam tell the neighbours to “stop looking over the fence”.

She then held her ground.

“The rent I pay should cover the garden too,” she wrote.

Liam said it did not. The rent covered the property, not the garden.

“You’re paying to live in a home, not let it rot. If the grass keeps growing like that it’ll go to seed and ruin the lawn,” Liam wrote. 

“Once that happens, it’ll never come back the same.”

Steph replied with this: “You’re being dramatic. It’s grass, not gold.”

After noting the weeds were halfway up the fence, Liam offered Steph an ultimatum.

“You have seven days to sort it out or I’ll deduct the cost from your deposit,” he wrote.

Steph called his bluff.

“You won’t dare do that,” she wrote.

Liam refused to back down: “Try me”.

Steph then shared a single word that gave Liam the last word.

“Unbelievable,” she wrote.

To which he replied: “Exactly what I thought when I saw the garden.”

Rooke shared the exchange with his 50,000 followers and asked them out of Steph and Liam, who was in the wrong?

It was a clear answer for many.

“Have to actually side with the landlord on this one,” one TikTok user wrote.

“100% this is why people need to read contracts,” a second person shared.

READ MORE: Renting guide: What rights do tenants and landlords have?