Free Landscaping Contract Template — Fill & Sign Online
A landscaping contract covers either a one-off installation or recurring maintenance, and the two need different terms. Installations turn on plant warranties and weather; maintenance turns on visit frequency and what happens in winter.
One clause matters on every job regardless: utility marking. Cutting a buried cable or gas line is expensive, and the contract should say who is responsible for having services located before anyone digs.
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What a landscaping contract must cover
- Scope: a plan or plant list, quantities and sizes. "Landscaping the front" is not a specification.
- Plant warranty: commonly 90 days to one year, and conditional on the client watering as instructed. State the condition or the warranty becomes unlimited.
- Utility marking: who arranges for buried services to be located before excavation, and by when.
- Weather delays: that dates shift for ground conditions without penalty, since you cannot plant into frozen or waterlogged soil.
- Site access: gates, machinery access, water and power, and where materials may be stored.
- Maintenance schedule: for recurring work: visit frequency, what each visit includes, and the winter arrangement.
- Debris and disposal: who removes spoil and green waste, and whether tip fees are included.
Mistakes landscapers pay for
- An unconditional plant warranty. Plants die from under-watering, and without a care condition you replace them at your cost.
- Digging before utilities are marked. This is both a safety issue and, in many places, a legal duty with penalties attached.
- No weather clause. Fixed completion dates on outdoor work make normal delays into contractual breaches.
- Not pricing disposal separately. Tip fees on a large clearance can quietly consume the margin.
Common questions
How long should a plant warranty last?
Ninety days to a year is typical, and it should always be conditional on the client following the watering and care instructions you provide in writing. Trees are often warranted longer than perennials.
Who is responsible for marking utilities?
In most jurisdictions the party doing the digging has a legal duty to have services located first, and free national services exist for this. Say in the contract who makes the call and that work will not begin until marking is complete.
Should maintenance be a separate contract?
Yes. Installation and maintenance have different scopes, different payment rhythms and different warranties. Bundling them makes it unclear when the install obligation ended and the maintenance one began.
This page is general information for small businesses, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.