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I am very upset about the amount of unkept lawns in the area. Several home owners are allowing their grass and weeds to grow to very unsightly lengths. This is a beautiful new area of Oakville and pride of ownership is an integral part of keeping the area at its best. Please let’s all work together as neighbours and home owners to keep our properties kept in their top condition, cutting our lawns and getting rid of unsightly weeds will go a long way to keep our property values at their peak and our community beautiful.
I was driving and noticed the same thing! There are so many properties in the area with unmaintained lawns, it looks awful. Does anyone know if the Town of Oakville would hold homeowners responsible and make them clean up their lawns?
In response to the inquiry on whether the town will enforce people to cut their lawns, the answer is yes. There is a specific bylaw that addresses property maintenance and the fine for the infraction is $200 plus if you do not cut your lawn or deweed within the time frame they advise, the town will cut the lawn and charge the homeowner.
If you think your neighbour or someone close by is neglecting the property, you can find out how to report the home on the town of Oakville website.
If a few of these guys get busted, it may wake up the others and get them taking care of their properties properly. It’s disgraceful how it is right now!
You would think with the value of the homes in the neighbourhood, people who are unable to maintain their lawns themselves would have the resources to hire a service. These properties are not large and the cost would be minimal. Based on the equity we have all built up, there would be value in maintaining your property…
I wholeheartedly agree, Jamie. Plus, the cost for the town to come in and mow your lawn is in excess of $1500, plus the fine, so if these people are willing to risk paying that, you think that hiring a landscaper twice a month would be well worth the cost.
It still boggles my mind. But with the amount of vacant homes in our area and rentals, people just don’t care. It’s sad, and I usually don’t complain for the first month because hey let’s give everyone time to adjust, buy mowers, etc, but if my lawn got to be 6 inches high I would start panicking, let alone 3-4 feet high!
It’s time to advise the town. I grew up in Oakville and have NEVER seen this kind of neglect throughout an entire neighbourhood.
I agree Michelle. Oakville has always been viewed as an upscale, beautiful community so it should stay that way, it really doesn’t take much…… However, I have noticed in the last few days with the nicer weather there have been more people out there taking care of their lawns so hopefully we will see more effort!
Hi! Sorry for sounding like an ignoramous (😳) but a neighbour of mine is looking for someone to take care of her lawn for her and is wondering how to go about finding someone… we help out sometimes, but she wants to hire someone to do it regularly. Where can she find someone? Kijiji?
Thanks!!http://www.oakville.ca/townhall/enforcement-services.html
“The town’s property standards by-law requires all property owners to maintain their properties so they are kept neat and tidy, free of garbage and not allow grass to become overgrown and unsightly. Grass and weeds cannot exceed 20.33 centimetres (8 inches) in height. These rules apply to both owned and rented dwellings”
Perhaps those with un-kept lawn simply do not know how to maintain it, or don’t have the time if they have a young family. Maybe we can be more friendlier neighbours and offer to help cut our direct neighbours lawn if we think they need the help?
As the saying goes… Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat forever.
This is going to sounds like a rant, but…
@Roadrunnr, while I agree that there may be a select few families who may not have “time” to take care of their lawn, but let’s be honest here – if you don’t have the time to maintain a home, get a condo townhouse or condo unit in a building. They purchased a property knowing that there would be a lawn, and to use the “I don’t have time” or “I’m too busy” excuse just doesn’t cut it with me – hire a landscaper then. My parents have had a 100×150′ lot in Oakville for 30 years with a backyard as big as about 5 of these properties’ backyards, and somehow with 2 kids they were able to cut the lawn every Saturday morning, or ask one of our great neighbours to help out when we were away. Not hard.
As for those who don’t know how to maintain it but have the good intention of doing so – it’s easy to walk into a place like Sheridan Nurseries or Terra and ask for advice. Heck, my first time cutting my parents lawn was when I was 10 and I had to figure out how to get that gas motor started! In addition, make friends with your neighbours and talk to them or ask for advice – being a friendly neighbour can go a long way.
Unfortunately, what I’ve noticed is some of the people who are in these homes just don’t care about upkeep, don’t talk to anyone (I’ve said Hi to a few folks on my walk and got blank stares back), or think for some reason they don’t need to take care of the property because they’re renting. There are definitely well-meaning neighbours in our community who would love to help out and teach some folks a thing or two about how to use a mower and trimmer, but if some people are just going to be anti-social then what other option do we have?
Honestly – I’ve never seen a neighbourhood that bad with lawn maintenance, and I lived in a semi in central Mississauga for 3 years. I only had a problem with one lawn in the whole neighbourhood, the rest were fine. This neighbourhood seems to have several issues, and even with warnings people don’t care.
@michellesmicks,
“if you don’t have the time to maintain a home, get a condo townhouse or condo unit in a building”. That seems kind of harsh don’t you think? People buy houses for other reasons too – good schooling, good neighbourhood, property size, etc. Anyhow, although I’m not totally disagreeing with you, I’m just saying people have their reasons why they don’t maintain their lawns.As neighbours we can only try to be friendly and understanding. If talking to them and offering advices on lawn care doesn’t help, then you can just call the Town of Oakville and have the Town deal with them.
If you’re referring to the one property that I think you’re referring to, the one with multiple warnings and fines, and that doesn’t look like anyone is living there for months, then I’m pretty sure the owner just don’t care and sees the property as investment (flippers, or what not). Here’s a situation where even the Town of Oakville can’t get the owner to do lawn maintenance!
Perhaps a neighbourhood intervention is in order? “Hi neighbour, you chose a great area to settle down with your family, and looking around, you can see how our lawns are beautifully kept. Is there any reason why your lawn isn’t as beautiful as the rest?”
Don’t let one unkept lawn person, who could just be an introvert (or is just shy, or perhaps English isn’t their first language), get you down. Oakville is still an awesome place, and our neighbourhood is awesome too.
On a related note, i just woke up today to find that someone came overnight and cut out a piece of our grass.
I guess someone needed to fix a dry patch and didnt have the $6 bucks to buy it.
Wondering if someone has had a similar experience.
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