Help with your garden
Tenants are responsible for keeping their gardens tidy, as part of the Tenancy Agreement (PDF, 12 MB).
If you would like some help with your garden, we offer a Garden Tidy Service. It is not a full gardening service, but it helps keep gardens tidy.
The cost is £7.10 per week. This is added to your rent account.
Housing Benefit will pay for some, or all, of the service, if you can prove that nobody living in your home can look after the garden.
Universal Credit will not pay for the service. If you move from Housing Benefit to Universal Credit you can choose to pay the charge yourself or stop receiving the service.
What the service provides
Between April and October, you get a visit approximately every four weeks (weather dependent). You get two more visits between November and March.
Visits between April and October will include:
- Cutting the grass at each visit (in some smaller gardens, or those with an incline, they may have to use a strimmer not a mower).
- Trimming back hedges that are under 5ft between December and mid-February, unless there are nesting birds.
- Cutting back small lower branches from trees, from standing height only, when required.
- Removing large weeds from paved areas.
- Removing large weeds from borders.
- Herbicide treatment for weeds on hard standing areas once or twice a year.
Visits between November and March will include:
Pruning certain types of shrubs and plants when required.
A general winter tidy-up which includes edging, raking up leaves and other garden debris, removing weeds and hoeing borders.
Please note
- Potted plants will not be maintained.
- Garden ornaments, solar lights etc. will not be moved - the gardeners will work around them as best they can, at a safe enough distance to attempt to avoid damaging them. Any ornaments, lights, furniture etc. in your garden are left there at your own risk.
- If you have subscribed to the council's garden waste collection service and your garden bin sticker indicates this, branches and weeds will be disposed of in your own bin. If you do not have a garden bin or have chosen not to pay the annual charge, garden waste will be piled in one area of your garden; it will then be your responsibility to dispose of it. Grass cuttings will be left, though pathways will be cleared.
Apply to join the Garden Tidy Service
Terms and conditions
The service is only available to tenants of Gateshead Council.
We only start new memberships between April and October. If you apply during the winter we will contact you from March to confirm.