The Four Things Every Contract Needs (Even the Simple Ones)

Hiring a landscaping company should not mean signing a contract without a careful review. A simple checklist can help your condo board avoid the mistakes that often lead to disputes later.

You do not need a lawyer for every landscaping or cleaning contract. But every contract, no matter how small, should clearly answer four basic questions. If it does not, your board is taking unnecessary risks.

This sounds obvious, but vague start dates cause real confusion. Is it the date the contract is signed, the date work actually begins, or the date of the first invoice? Get a specific date in writing. If the vendor needs time to schedule staff or order equipment, agree on that lead time up front and put it in the contract, not in a follow-up email that might get lost.

When does it end

Every service contract needs a clear end date or a clearly defined term, whether that is one year, two years, or month to month. Without it, you have no clean point to walk away, renegotiate the price, or bring in a competing quote.

This is also where the auto-renewal trap lives. Many service contracts include a clause that automatically renews the agreement for another full term unless the board gives written notice within a specific window before the end date, often somewhere between 30 and 90 days out. If your board misses that window, you can be locked into another full year at whatever rate the vendor decides to charge. According to a legal overview from Lexology, businesses in general need to actively track these notice windows and diarize them well in advance, because once a contract auto-renews, getting out of it mid-term can be both difficult and costly.

For a volunteer board without a property manager keeping track of renewal dates, this is exactly the kind of thing that quietly costs your condo money year after year. Before you sign anything, know your notice period, write it on a calendar the board actually checks, and set a reminder well before the deadline, not the week before.

What exactly is included in the scope of work

"Lawn care" and "landscaping services" mean different things to different vendors. Does the price include snow removal in winter, or is that a separate line item? Does window cleaning include the inside of the units, or just common areas? Get the scope written out in specific, plain language, not just a general category.

This matters just as much for one-off jobs as it does for annual service contracts. If you are hiring a contractor for a repair, get the specific materials, quantities, and tasks written down, not just a general description of the problem. A vague scope is where disputes start, because both sides remember the conversation differently once a bill comes in higher than expected.

What happens when the relationship ends

Every contract should spell out what happens at termination, on both a planned and an unplanned basis. If the board decides not to renew, does the vendor owe any transition support, like handing back keys, fobs, or equipment? If either side wants to end the contract early, what notice is required, and are there any penalties for doing so?

This is especially important for services tied to building access or security, where an abrupt end without a clear handover process can leave your building exposed. A short paragraph covering this at signing saves a lot of confusion later.

Why this matters more for self-managed boards

Boards with a management company or in-house legal support usually have someone flagging these four items before a signature goes on anything. Self-managed boards do not have that safety net, which means the directors themselves need to build the habit of checking for these four things every time.

None of this requires legal training. It requires a checklist and the discipline to use it before every signature, not after a problem shows up. Print these four questions out, keep them next to your contract file, and run through them before your board approves the next vendor agreement. It is the cheapest insurance policy your condo will ever have.

Related Reads

●     When to Hire an Expert: Protecting Your Board and Your Condo

●     Why Reserve Funds Are Vital for the Health of Self-Managed Condos