One quote says “fortnightly gardening”. Another offers a monthly fee with seasonal visits. A third includes mowing and hedging but leaves waste removal and irrigation out. The lowest monthly figure is easy to identify. The best fit for your building takes a closer look.

Your committee needs to know which areas will be maintained, how often, what condition they should be left in and what will trigger another invoice. Without that information, the proposals are not ready for a fair comparison.

You can do most of this review yourselves. Start with the questions below, ask each contractor to fill in the gaps, then compare the revised proposals. An affordable quote can be excellent value when it covers the work your property needs.

What should you compare before looking at the hourly rate?

Give every shortlisted contractor the same brief and an opportunity to inspect the site. Mark the front garden, side passages, lawns, courtyard beds, verges and any elevated planters separately. Identify areas outside the gardening contract too.

Record recurring complaints and existing problems: weeds returning in one bed, a hedge blocking access or an irrigation zone that does not run. Ask whether bringing those areas back into condition is included in routine maintenance or priced as initial remedial work.

• Areas: exactly which gardens and surfaces are covered?
• Tasks: what happens every visit, seasonally or only on approval?
• Finish: what result should the committee expect?
• Price: what is fixed, what is estimated and what is additional?
• Communication: who reports completed work and unresolved faults?

“Hedge maintenance” needs more detail. It could mean light trimming of accessible sides, or it could include tops, internal faces and waste removal. Ask for the actual scope before deciding that two prices cover the same job.

How do you calculate gardening labour hours?

Person-hours measure the combined time of the gardeners doing the work. A two-person crew on site for two hours provides four person-hours, not two.

The first two examples provide the same labour time. A solo gardener is not automatically unsuitable, and a larger crew is not automatically better. Equipment, skills, access and the way work is organised also affect what can be completed.

Ask whether the quoted hours are guaranteed, estimated or simply an indication of typical staffing. Clarify whether they include loading, setup, pack-down, travel, disposal trips and reporting. These are legitimate business activities; the important point is knowing what the quoted allowance covers.

Does an effective hourly rate tell you which quote is better?

Where both price and labour hours are defined, divide the comparable annual service price by annual person-hours. Use the same GST basis for every quote. For committee budgeting, also record the actual GST-inclusive amount payable where GST applies.

If materials, waste disposal or other services are separately itemised, you can remove those amounts to compare the remaining service charge. Do not guess a materials allowance just to produce a cleaner number. If costs are bundled, describe the result as contract cost per scheduled person-hour, not a pure labour rate.

This figure is not the gardener’s wage. It may also cover equipment, vehicles, administration, insurance and business overheads. Nor does the cheapest hourly figure prove best value: it must be read alongside the agreed work and evidence of delivery.

Is fortnightly gardening the same as twice a month?

No. Fortnightly means every 14 days; twice monthly means two visits each calendar month. Twice monthly gives 24 visits a year. Fortnightly is commonly budgeted as 26 visits, although the actual count depends on the start date and contract period. Obtain the dated schedule or an explicit annual visit commitment.

At four person-hours per visit, 24 visits provide 96 annual person-hours and 26 provide 104. That is an eight-hour difference before you compare any extras.

A monthly invoice does not mean monthly gardening. A contractor may spread the cost of an annual programme across 12 equal payments while visiting more frequently at certain times. Ask for both the payment schedule and the service schedule.

Seasonal changes can suit some gardens, but reducing winter visits is not automatically a saving. Leaf fall, weeds, irrigation inspections, pruning and presentation requirements can still justify regular attendance. The schedule should fit the site. See our guide to weekly, fortnightly and monthly strata maintenance.

What should happen if rain or a public holiday interrupts a visit?

Ask how the contractor communicates changes and makes up work. A wet-weather policy might involve rescheduling, completing suitable alternative tasks or arranging a catch-up visit. Find out what happens to the fee if a visit or task is not delivered.

Record public holiday arrangements, access failures and contractor leave as well. “We will sort it out” leaves the committee guessing. A useful agreement explains who will be notified, the expected rescheduling process and how unresolved missed work is handled.

Which extras should be checked in a strata gardening quote?

Separate charges are not inherently a problem. Seasonal materials and unpredictable repairs can sensibly sit outside routine maintenance. The problem is finding out about those exclusions after the work has started.

There is no single hedge-height allowance shared by all contractors. Access and safe working methods must suit the site. Likewise, using available green bins can reduce removal costs when agreed and compatible with the property’s waste arrangements.

What can a site inspection reveal that a cheap retainer misses?

The lesson for comparing quotes is straightforward: separate the starting condition from the ongoing maintenance standard. Ask each contractor to identify initial remedial work. Otherwise, one proposal may include restoring the garden while another prices only keeping it tidy.

Read the Vaucluse garden management plan example for the wider approach.

How should you compare the full annual cost?

Use this calculation: annual base fee + agreed seasonal works + expected separately charged items + initial remedial work = first-year comparison total. Show the ongoing annual total separately if the initial work will not recur.

Use contractor-supplied prices and quantities for extras. Where a cost is unknown, mark it “not yet quoted” rather than zero. Keep any committee contingency separate from the contractor’s price.

A small building with extensive hedges and difficult access can require more work than a larger building with a simple lawn. Use a site-specific proposal for approval, not a price range from a blog.

What should you check before accepting a quote?

Request current public liability documentation and check the cover against your scheme’s requirements and the proposed work. Ask about workers compensation where applicable; SIRA explains that some NSW employers qualify for exemptions. Verify the arrangement rather than judging insurance by the quoted price.

Confirm who attends the property, whether subcontractors are used, relevant qualifications for specialist tasks and the safety documentation appropriate to the work. Ask for a sample service report and a reference from a comparable property.

Read the term, renewal, price-review and cancellation clauses. The ACCC’s contract guidance is a useful starting point for understanding unfair terms. Your strata manager or legal adviser can help with a specific contract concern.

The owners corporation’s responsibility for common-property maintenance remains important when engaging a contractor. See the NSW Government repairs and maintenance guidance. A gardening report helps track work; it is not a blanket certificate of legal compliance.

What should you send contractors before the committee decides?

Use the same clarification request for everyone:

Please confirm your annual price and GST treatment, total scheduled visits, areas and tasks covered, and any seasonal changes. Where you quote labour hours, please identify crew size, hours per visit and whether these are guaranteed or estimated. For a fixed-scope service, please confirm the required outcomes and task frequencies.

Please also list waste arrangements, seasonal materials, irrigation checks, initial remedial work and additional-work rates. Confirm your reporting, wet-weather arrangements, missed-service process and contract term. Identify any work requiring separate approval before it proceeds.

Once the replies arrive, record why the preferred proposal meets the building’s needs. If the lower quote covers the agreed work, has suitable documentation and can demonstrate reliable delivery, it may be the right choice.