How our contracts work
No surprises. A walk-round, a written schedule, a fixed price, and the same faces on site all year.
Four steps.
From the first phone call to a site that looks after itself.
Walk-round
We meet you on site, walk the grounds, and note what matters: the frontage people see first, the awkward bits, access times and anything residents or staff have complained about.
Schedule and price
You get a written schedule for the year listing every task and how often it happens, with one fixed price. Itemised, so it’s easy to compare quotes or take to a board.
Regular visits
We start on an agreed date and visit on the agreed days. The same team is on site every time, so the people doing the work are the people you spoke to.
Review
Once a year we walk the site with you again, look at what worked and what didn’t, and adjust the schedule for the next season.
What a schedule looks like
A typical commercial site has grass cut fortnightly from March to October, weekly through the May and June flush if it’s a frontage that needs to look sharp. Edges are done every visit. Hedges are cut once or twice a year, with the main cut in early autumn once nesting has finished. Shrub beds are weeded monthly through the growing season and pruned over winter. Leaves are cleared two to four times between October and December.
Every site is different though. A block of flats with a big communal lawn needs something quite different from an office with a strip of verge and a car park hedge. That’s why we price from a walk-round rather than a postcode.
Pricing and invoicing
Most of our contracts are a fixed price for the year, invoiced in equal monthly or quarterly amounts. It makes budgeting simple, especially for service charges, because the cost doesn’t jump around with the seasons. Some sites prefer to pay per visit, and that’s fine too.
Anything outside the schedule, like a one-off clearance or extra planting, is quoted separately and agreed in writing before we start.
Weather, wildlife and the law
We don’t cut wet or frozen grass. It tears the turf and compacts the soil, so a missed visit is moved to the next workable day rather than done badly.
It’s an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy an active bird’s nest, and March to August is the main nesting season. We check every hedge before cutting and plan the main hedge cuts for September to February. Light safety trims in summer happen only after a careful check.
If something’s not right
Ring us. You’ll get the people who do the work, not a call centre. If a visit has missed something, we come back and put it right. We’d rather hear about it straight away than find out at the end of the year.
The year at a glance.
A typical schedule for a commercial site in the South East. Yours is written for your grounds.
Hedge cutting is planned for September to February to avoid the main bird nesting season (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981). Summer work on hedges is limited to light safety trims after a nest check.
Questions people ask
Anything else, just ring. You’ll speak to the people who do the work.
How long are your contracts?
Usually twelve months, rolling on after that unless either side wants to change it. Managing agents often prefer a rolling twelve-month agreement, and we’re happy to work that way.
What notice do you need to end a contract?
We’ll agree the notice period with you up front and put it in writing. We’d rather keep customers because they’re happy than because they’re tied in.
Can you provide itemised quotes for leaseholder consultation?
Yes. Our quotes list each task, its frequency and its cost, which is the format managing agents need when they consult leaseholders or compare tenders.
Do we need to be on site for visits?
No. Once we’ve agreed access, gate codes and parking, we get on with it. Most clients only hear from us when there’s something worth mentioning.
Walk the site with us.
We’ll come out, look at the grounds with you and send a written schedule and a fixed price for the year.