You come home from work one night and you find, in the mail, a ticket telling you that you are being cited by the Municipal Code Official because the grass is too long at your investment property. Unbeknownst to you, there is a Municipal Ordinance requiring the grass to be kept less than 8″ in height. You quickly drive down to the property that you have rented to that nice couple and you see what the Code Official saw: High grass!

When you call your tenant, he tells you that he was on vacation and then he got sick and yes, he did not have a chance to cut the lawn, as required by the Lease. You tell him about the ticket and he promises to get it cut. The issue remains – Who is responsible for the cost of the ticket? And how will it be defended?

The good news is that if the grass gets cut and you go into Court with the problem resolved, you may be able to convince the Prosecutor to recommend a dismissal of the ticket. In that case, you may walk away with a very minimal fine or maybe even just pay the court costs. Remember that just because you have a clause in your lease that requires the tenant to cut the grass, (or any other municipal requirement – eg., snow removal, trash cans being put out too early…), it is still your responsibility. You may want to consider a clause in your lease requiring the tenant to compensate you for any fines (and maybe even your time) if you are required to attend Court to resolve any issues created by the tenant.

*******************************************
The above general information has been provided by Robert A. Gleaner, Esquire, an attorney licensed to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. However, no one can rely on advice from an attorney who has not been retained. In order to be able to rely upon any advice, you need to meet with and retain an attorney, who will be able to give you advice after a full and comprehensive interview. Before you do anything, you should contact an attorney for a full consultation. Feel free to contact Rob at http://www.ragpc.com/.