HOW TO HIRE · GARDEN & OUTDOOR · CHECKED OCTOBER 2026
How to hire a garden maintenance contractor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.
No register covers garden maintenance. Put the visit list in writing, and check the waste carrier number and any spray certificate.
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TWO WAYS TO BUY THIS
Which do you need?
An individual by the hour
One person on a round, booked for a few hours a visit, who does what you ask that day. You pay per hour and choose the jobs; a sole trader under the threshold adds no VAT.
A company for the job
A garden maintenance contractor with a crew, working to a written schedule for the season at a price per visit, with seasonal extras priced and someone supervising.
What changes
Rate per hour against a price per visit; one person against a crew; your instructions against a written schedule; and VAT at 20% from a registered contractor.
THE 60-SECOND VERSION
Hiring a garden maintenance contractor in five steps
- Agree a seasonal listMowing from spring, hedges in late summer, leaves in autumn — a written list per visit, by season.
- Fix the frequency and the length of visitWeekly, fortnightly or monthly, and roughly how long each visit is.
- Settle the green wasteComposted on site, bagged for your council bin, or taken away by a registered waste carrier.
- Ask about sprays and feedsAny professional weedkiller or lawn treatment needs a specified certificate.
- Agree notice and price changesHow either side ends the arrangement, and when the price can go up.
BEFORE YOU BOOK
Check before you book
No register applies
Garden maintenance contractors are not licensed or registered anywhere in Great Britain or Northern Ireland. For a regular arrangement the protection is the agreement: frequency, visit list, price, notice period, and the two legal rules on waste and sprays.
Get the arrangement in writing before the first visit, and look at their reviews from booked jobs.
Waste carrier registration
A garden maintenance contractor who drives away your clippings, prunings and leaves is transporting waste as a business, which needs registration: with the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA in Scotland or the NIEA in Northern Ireland.
Ask for the carrier number and search it on the public register before anything leaves. environment.data.gov.uk →
Specified certificate for pesticides
Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012: anyone applying a product authorised for professional use, such as a weedkiller on the paths or a lawn weed-and-feed, must hold a specified certificate or be directly supervised by a holder. Products sold for amateur use need none.
Ask which product will be used and see the certificate of the person applying it. hse.gov.uk →
Public liability insurance
No law makes a garden maintenance contractor carry insurance, but a mower or strimmer throws stones at windows and cars every season. Public liability insurance is what pays for damage to your property or a neighbour's.
Ask for the insurer's name and the cover limit.
VAT
Garden maintenance is standard-rated at 20%. A maintenance contractor turning over more than £90,000 must be registered, charge it and show it on its own line; a gardener on their own under £90,000 does not charge VAT and has no VAT number to give.
Ask the contractor for the VAT number and check each visit invoice shows the 20% apart; ask a sole gardener whether they are registered. gov.uk →
A good answer: A list — mow, edge, weed beds, sweep — and what is seasonal on top, such as hedges or leaf clearing.
A good answer: A time range that matches the garden. Ten minutes with a mower is not a maintenance visit.
A good answer: Composted or bagged for your bin, or taken away under a number you can check on the public register.
A good answer: If so, the product named and the specified certificate for a professional one; many contractors hand-weed instead.
A good answer: Ideally yes. A crew that changes every visit loses track of which plants are yours.
A good answer: A clear rule: rebooked within the week, or the visit skipped and not charged.
A good answer: A short notice period in writing, and no charge for visits not made.
Getting the quote right
- From a contractor: visit frequency, the season it covers and the price per visit, in a written schedule
- The jobs in a standard visit, and the seasonal extras with their price
- Who actually attends each visit, and whether they are employed or subcontracted
- The contractor's VAT number, and 20% VAT shown as its own line
- How green waste is dealt with, and any treatment or spray named
- Booked by the hour instead, the gardener settles the rate per hour, the minimum visit and the jobs for the day, and an unregistered one adds no VAT
Walk away if
- A contract that runs for a year with no way out
- Payment for months of visits in advance
- Green waste taken away with no carrier number
- No list of what a visit includes
- Sprays applied without asking you first
What a garden maintenance contractor costs: £30–£90 per visit
Garden maintenance is priced per visit for a regular slot; the size and state of the garden, the frequency and whether waste is removed set the figure. Garden Maintenance price guide →
Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.
KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE
Garden maintenance contractors near you, with the badges that matter shown
ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.
Or post the job free and let them come to you.
- Arrive and check inThe contractor checks with you, or follows the note you left, about anything new this visit.
- LawnsMown at the right height for the season, edges cut, clippings collected.
- Beds and shrubsWeeds out, dead flowers off, shrubs kept to size; hedges checked for nests before cutting in spring and summer.
- Hard surfacesPaths and patio swept or blown, weeds in cracks removed.
- Waste and noteWaste composted, bagged or loaded; a short note of what was done and what is due next.
- Maintenance visit
- A regular visit covering an agreed list of upkeep jobs.
- Seasonal extra
- A job outside the standard visit, such as a hedge cut or leaf clear.
- Green waste
- Grass, leaves, prunings and weeds.
- Weed and feed
- A lawn product that kills broadleaf weeds and feeds the grass.
- Edging
- Cutting a clean line where the lawn meets beds or paths.
- Notice period
- How long either side must give to end the arrangement.
AFTER
When the job is done
Hiring a garden maintenance contractor: questions people ask
No. Garden maintenance contractors need no licence and appear on no official register. The legal rules are a waste carrier registration if they take waste away, and a specified certificate for professional sprays.
A written agreement is worth having; a long one you cannot leave is not. Look for the visit list, price, notice period and how rises are agreed.
Between £30 and £90 a visit; about £50 is typical. Read the garden maintenance price guide for the detail, and search your area above for local prices.
Possibly. In England and Wales section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 means you must take reasonable steps to give household waste only to an authorised person, and Scotland has its own duty. Keep the garden maintenance contractor's carrier number and receipt.
Usually tree work, big hedge reductions, clearances and new planting — each priced separately.
Many contractors visit less often in winter, so the monthly cost falls; the per-visit price may not.
MORE GUIDES
More hiring guides in garden & outdoor
Garden maintenance contractors near you
Sources — checked October 2026
- gov.uk — register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer (England)
- Environment Agency — public register of waste carriers
- SEPA — waste carriers and brokers
- DAERA — registration of carriers and brokers
- HSE — FAQ: agricultural, horticultural and amenity use of pesticides
- Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34 — duty of care
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
- Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track (England and Wales)
- mygov.scot — make a court claim for money (simple procedure)
- nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
- VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
- GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register