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Help with gardening for council tenants

Some councils offer a garden maintenance service to their council tenants.

Do you qualify for help?

To qualify you must be:

• over 60 years of age (some councils have a higher qualifying age) and/or disabled
  
• physically unable to do the work yourself
  
• have no other person living with you, or within a reasonable distance, who is able to help
  

Some councils charge for their garden maintenance service.

How to apply for help

Councils usually have a budget to carry out garden maintenance and it may not always be possible to include everyone who applies on the current list. A waiting list is therefore held in date order of registration.

If you feel that you meet the criteria for garden maintenance then contact your local council. The following link takes you to your local authority website where you can find out more.

• Find out about garden maintenance for elderly or disabled council tenants Opens new window

Who carries out the work and what it includes

Garden maintenance is either carried out by the council or by a contractor appointed by the council. It’s important you ask to see identification before allowing any workmen into your property.

The maintenance covers cutting grass and hedges. It sometimes, but not always, includes the maintenance of shrubs, bushes and trees.

If your garden is very overgrown, it might be necessary to carry out a one-off clearance first, to bring the garden up to a manageable standard.

Help with gardening if you’re not a council tenant

If you are not a council tenant, but need help with gardening, there are ways you can get support.

Gardening help from your council

Some local councils provide support to people in their area who are not council tenants but need help maintaining their gardens. You may be eligible if you are elderly or vulnerable, are disabled or are not physically capable of maintaining your garden yourself. You may have to pay for the service.

Contact your local council to ask for advice.

• Find your local council Opens new window

Gardening help from Age UK

Age UK is a charity that provides advice and services for older people. It has regional groups across many parts of the UK and some of these groups provide gardening services to older people. There may be a charge for the service.

To be put in touch with an Age UK group near you, call Age UK’s freephone advice line on 0800 169 6565.

• Get advice from Age UK Opens new window

Gardening help from local support groups

Local support groups may be able to give you advice on where to get help with garden maintenance.

More useful links

• Gardening for pensioners Opens new window

• Greener gardening (environment and greener living section)

Useful contacts

• Home and community contacts