A lawn care contract facilitates a working arrangement between a client and a landscaper on a residential or commercial property in exchange for monetary compensation. Generally, this includes services like cropping, lawn mowing, maintenance, hedging, and any other personalized request the client may have. The agreement may be a one-time agreement, or a recurring one, which is typically the case with commercial properties. In such agreements, clients are billed at regular time intervals.
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What are a Landscaper’s Duties?
A landscaper is typically in charge of maintaining the grounds on residential and commercial properties. As a result, they are generally tasked with the following:
- Pruning of shrubs, thorns, and flowers
- Mowing the lawn to make it even and easy-to-maintain
- Spreading fertilizer as necessary
- Maintenance, i.e., use of pesticides and keeping the grounds clean.
- Raking, sweeping, mopping, and removing any unwanted dust, leaves, plants, etc.
- Adding aesthetic value to the flora in the premises, i.e., keeping everything manageable, organized, and aesthetically pleasing.
While landscapers are very in-demand in upscale localities, they don’t typically require licenses either. As a result, a landscaper can be anyone who is capable and wishes to perform the aforementioned tasks. Their pay largely varies depending on the property, season, and level of expertise they possess. They may choose to charge in two ways – per hour, or per square foot. The average rate in the United States for landscapers is $45/hr, while they charge $4-$12/square foot on average. Typically, larger properties get better rates, while smaller properties are likely to cost relatively more.
Can You Hold on to a Landscaper on Retainer?
Technically speaking, yes, you may. That being said, this might not be the most financially viable option. Many commercial and residential properties simply hire landscapers for extended periods of time, with sessions scheduled at regular intervals. As a result, there is no need to hold on to them on a retainer basis. The only reason to hold on to a landscaper on a retainer basis is the priority and/or emergency service, which may be of value to large-scale commercial properties.
In such cases, holding onto their services on retainer is an entirely plausible outcome. Keep in mind that established lawn care service providers may choose to decline an offer to keep them on retainer, as they are likely to receive a ton of business. As a result, it may be a more efficient option to simply hire them either on a project-to-project basis or on a recurring monthly basis.
Lawn Care Service Contract Templates
Drafting a lawn care service contract is fairly straightforward and simple. Unlike many other contracts that are filled to the brim with legal jargon, a lawn care service contract becomes legally valid when it has the bare essentials listed down. To help you out, we’ve drafted a template that you can use and modify to best suit your needs, and can be found below;
LAWN CARE SERVICE CONTRACT TEMPLATE
This Lawn Care Service agreement is hereby enforceable upon signature and is active on the date __ (Date.)
I. THE PARTIES
For the purposes of this agreement, the “Client” (Client name) located at ____________________________________________________
(Client address) agrees to enlist the services of the “Landscaper” _ (Landscaper name) located at ________________________________________________________
(Landscaper address) from the date of _ (Commencement date) to the date of _ (End date.)
II. SERVICES
The Landscaper hereby agrees to provide the following services upon request/at the following schedule; (Pick one.)
_ Y _ N Mowing _Y _N Landscaping _Y _N Trimming and Hedging _Y _N Maintenance _Y _N Mulching _Y _N Debris management _Y _N Other (Please Describe Below)
(If a schedule is drawn up, it should be attached here.)
III. PAYMENT AND COMPENSATION
The client hereby agrees to pay the landscaper in one of the following ways;
(a) A rate of $__/hr
(b) A total fee of $__ for the entirety of the contract agreement
(c) Other (Please describe.) ____________________________
Payment will hereby be made out on upon receipt of an invoice by the client in one of the following ways;
(a) Check, issued to the mailing address of the landscaper
(b) Bank Transfer
(c) Wire Transfer
(d) PayPal
(e) Cash
(f) Other (Please explain.)
IV. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
The landscaper, for the purposes of this agreement, will be considered an independent contractor and not an employee. Any liability that includes, but is not limited to, taxation, insurance, damages and breach of contract falls upon the landscaper and not the client.
V. SECURITY MEASURES
The landscaper agrees to take all reasonable security and safety measures so as to the best of his/her ability, prevent any damages to the existing property located at ___________________________________________________
(Address of the residence that needs landscaping done.)
VI. THE AGREEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY
The agreement explicitly detailed above hereby represents the entirety of the arrangement between the parties and hereby overrides any previous or existing agreement, contractual or not, that may have been in place prior to the signing of this contract. No additional clauses will be binding unless agreed upon by both parties. The parties, which collectively includes the client and the landscaper, hereby agree to the aforementioned terms and conditions.
CLIENT NAME _
CLIENT SIGNATURE DATE
LANDSCAPER NAME __
LANDSCAPER SIGNATURE _ DATE
(or)
LANDSCAPING COMPANY NAME ______
REPRESENTATIVE NAME _________
REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURE _______
DATE _______
Frequently Asked Questions
A service maintenance contract is one that enlists the expertise of a specialist on a recurring basis, rather than on a one-time project. Generally, it helps clients hire workers on a particular schedule that works for them.
A lawn care service contract can be written in a number of ways. We’ve listed out how you should go about approaching and drafting one above, so take a look at the article to find out exactly how a lawn care contract works!
As we mentioned earlier, writing a lawn care contract is a fairly simple process. We’ve developed a template that you can use as-is or modify to your needs and write your own lawn care contract! The template can be found above.
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