My parents rented out their apartment in Virginia. They recently found out that the tenant cut down the beautiful bushes, and my parents are trying to figure out how to estimate the damages. The bushes used to be about 4 feet tall, and they’ve now been cut down to about 18 inches. It’s not possible to buy azaleas this size, and it takes years for them to grow this big. How would one estimate the financial loss in this case (so my parents can charge the tenant accordingly)? It’s lowered the property value of the house and is also just a real shame.
The picture is of the bushes in late April. (It’s a 12 year old photo, but my parents kept it trimmed to this height. The bushes were cut down about 2 years ago and maintained at the new shorter level of 18 inches.) I can ask for more pictures if that would be helpful.
If this isn’t the right place to ask, would appreciate tips on where might be a better place to ask.
by vortexofdeduction
10 Comments
I know this is frustrating, but they may not actually be dead. Azaleas can survive some pretty hard pruning. If you instruct the tenants to leave them alone, they may come back with a vengeance in the spring.
Just check.to see if they’re still alive or not before doing anything too drastic.
Also, check your lease and make sure you have a statement about the rules around landscaping & tenant involvement.
If the plants are still alive it’s pretty hard to prove monetary loss so not sure why they are trying? They will definitely grow back no matter what you do.
Unquantifiable and your parents are being over the top. Shorter shrubs are not “lowering the property value” in the way that lost mature trees matter for shade/heat management. The azaleas will grow back, but— should they?
People don’t generally shear flowering shrubs like this without a REASON to go to the effort— like the hedge is consistently encroaching on a walkway/driveway, blocking a view, or has become a hazard in some less obvious way. I know someone who had a massive juniper hedge pulled because it had become a legit rat’s nest. Possibly your parents wanted a hedge that gave them privacy through the windows and the tenant wanted to be able to see kids outside, etc.. There was a reason it started and a reason they continued to put in that work. Ask the useful question and you might learn that what your parents thought was magnificent was actually a city violation.
Well they should check their lease agreement, unless they’ve specified that tenants can’t cut them down then they don’t rlly have a viable reason to charge them for anything. As upsetting as it is that’s the truth, if it was a neighbour who did it then yeah u could take the to small claims court but u can’t punish a tenant for doing something they were never told they could not do
Unfortunate, but I’d just wait until they grow back
Loss…of property value? $10.
Established azaleas should not take years to grow back to 4 feet.
Also, if the initial hard prune happened 2 years ago, why is this question being asked now?
No after? Where are these destroyed azaleas?
3.50$ . In all honesty, if your parents are so worried about flowers being destroyed and lower value of the place. Maybe they should just sell and not have to deal with all that rental business
If that were arborvitaes or another needled evergreen species I would say you have a case, but azaleas are basal dominant and so long as you fertilize and water them they will sprout out and put out tons of growth, just don’t expect any blooms this spring as they flower on last year’s growth. Remember to keep some mulch on the roots for the mycorrhizae. They must be kept evenly moist.