Is the landlord or the tenant responsible for mowing the lawn?

Whoever the lease says. In apartment buildings the landlord almost always handles grounds as part of common-area upkeep. In single-family and duplex rentals it is commonly the tenant, sometimes with the landlord supplying a mower. If the lease is silent, the duty generally falls back to the landlord as the property owner, because a tenant cannot be held to an obligation they never agreed to.

Can a landlord require a tenant to shovel snow?

In most states yes, if the lease says so clearly and the tenant has exclusive control of the area. It is far more common and more defensible in single-family rentals than in multi-unit buildings, where shared walkways stay with the landlord. A few jurisdictions limit or prohibit shifting snow duties for certain rental types, so check local rules before writing it in.

Who gets fined if the grass gets too long or the walk is not cleared?

The property owner, in almost every city. Municipal code enforcement issues citations against the parcel and the owner of record, not the occupant, even when the lease made it the tenant's job. The landlord can then pursue the tenant for the cost under the lease, but the ticket and the deadline belong to the owner. Practically, that means landlords need to monitor the property rather than assume the clause handles it.

If the tenant was supposed to shovel and someone falls, who is liable?

Possibly both, and the lease does not settle it. Many states hold that a landlord's duty to keep premises reasonably safe cannot simply be handed to a tenant by contract, especially for areas the public uses. The lease clause may let the landlord recover from the tenant afterward, but the injured person can typically still sue the owner. Insurance on both sides matters more here than the wording of the clause.

What should the lease say about yard maintenance?

Name each task, who does it, and to what standard: mowing at a stated frequency during the growing season, leaves cleared by a date, snow and ice removed within a set number of hours after a storm ends, and who handles gutters, trees, and irrigation. Say who supplies and maintains the equipment, and state what happens if the work is not done, usually that the landlord may hire it out and bill the tenant.

Who handles lawn care, snow removal, and yard work in a rental

Nobody asks about the yard at the lease signing. Then the grass is a foot high in July, or four inches of snow sits on the front walk on a Tuesday morning, and two people who each assumed it was the other's job are texting about it. The yard is the most common maintenance argument in single-family renting, and it is the easiest one to prevent.

The lease decides, and silence has a default

There is no general rule that tenants mow. The lease assigns outdoor tasks the same way it assigns utilities, and when it says nothing, the obligation usually stays with the landlord as the owner of the property. That default surprises landlords who assumed a house rental came with an implied yard duty, and it surprises tenants who assumed the opposite. Either way, an unassigned task is an unperformed task.

Apartments and houses are different situations

In multi-unit buildings, grounds keeping is nearly always the landlord's, because the lawn and walkways are common areas that no single tenant controls. Splitting a shared walkway among four units produces exactly the finger-pointing you would expect, and in some places shifting common-area snow duty to tenants is restricted outright.

Single-family and duplex rentals flip the presumption. The tenant has exclusive use of the yard, so assigning mowing, leaves, and snow to them is normal and enforceable in most states. The practical question becomes equipment: a tenant who is expected to mow needs either a mower of their own or one the landlord supplies and maintains. Say which in the lease. For the fuller picture on a converted unit, see renting out a basement apartment.

The city does not read your lease

This is the part landlords learn the hard way. Municipal ordinances on grass height, weeds, and sidewalk clearing are enforced against the property owner and the parcel, not the occupant. When code enforcement issues a citation, it goes to the owner of record with a deadline, and an unpaid one can become a lien on the property. The lease clause may let the landlord recover the cost from the tenant afterward, but it does not move the ticket.

Sidewalk snow ordinances are the sharpest version, because many cities give property owners a short window after a snowfall ends, sometimes as little as a few hours, before fines start. A landlord who assigned that job to a tenant and then stopped paying attention is still the one the city bills.

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Liability after someone falls

Assigning snow removal in the lease and transferring liability for a slip-and-fall are two different things, and people conflate them constantly. In many states a landlord's duty to keep the premises reasonably safe is not something a contract with a tenant can simply hand off, particularly for areas the public walks on. The injured visitor, delivery driver, or neighbor generally sues the owner, and the lease clause becomes a question of who reimburses whom afterward.

What actually reduces the risk is boring: a written standard with a deadline, a landlord who checks after storms, and insurance on both sides. Requiring renters insurance is a reasonable lease term for this among other reasons. See whether renters insurance can be required and the implied warranty of habitability.

What the clause should say

The tasks, named. Mowing, trimming, weeding, leaves, gutters, snow and ice, trees and shrubs, irrigation or sprinkler systems.
The standard and the timing. Grass kept under a stated height during the growing season, leaves cleared by a date, snow and ice removed within a set number of hours after a storm ends.
Who supplies the equipment, and who maintains and repairs it.
Anything the tenant must not do. Removing trees, changing landscaping, or applying chemicals without permission.
The remedy. That the landlord may hire the work out after notice and bill the tenant, treated as additional rent.
Who pays for a landscaping service, if one is used, and whether that cost is bundled into rent.

Six lines at signing. Compare that to the July text exchange. For related terms that fall in the same gap, see who pays the utilities and repair and deduct.

At move-out

An overgrown yard, dead landscaping the tenant was supposed to water, or ruts across the lawn are chargeable against the deposit when the lease assigned that upkeep and the condition goes past normal wear. A lawn that simply looks like a lawn at the end of a two-year tenancy does not. Photograph the exterior at move-in the same way you photograph the interior, because a yard dispute with no before picture is a yard dispute you lose. See what to document at move-in and normal wear and tear versus damage.

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