A renter in Australia took to Reddit to get advice on the legality of adding a garden bed to a rental property.
Posting in the r/GardeningAustralia subreddit, the poster said they were renting a property in Victoria and were curious about the laws governing garden beds on a rental.
"I was thinking of getting/building raised beds for the rental but I wasn't sure if I needed permission for it and if so should I just get pots to grow veggies in?" they said.
Gardening can be a great way to reduce your food bill each month by growing some of your own produce. It also directly helps the environment and can reduce the amount of waste you're producing. Food waste accounts for 58 percent of methane pollution from landfills, as well as 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year in the United States alone. By growing what you need, you're throwing out less food, which helps to reduce those massive emissions numbers.
But the benefits of gardening don't stop with carbon footprint reduction data. According to the University of Texas at Austin, regular gardening can have substantial health benefits, from an improved immune system to increased movement on a daily basis. It can also benefit your mental health, improving cognitive function and helping to improve your mood and overall mental well-being.
Commenters had plenty of advice for the poster.
"We installed some with permission from the property manager and on condition we removed them when we left," one commenter said. "The owner came round to do other repairs and liked them, but wasn't willing to pay for them so we took them to the next place when we moved. It's one of those things where you should get permission in writing, but in practice many property managers and owners won't care. But if you're wrong about them caring now you have a raised bed and no place to put it. So get permission. And all permission must be in writing or it didn't happen."
"Raised beds indicates minor structural works so you would be best placed to inform the owner first," said another.
"Just ask your landlord for permission," said a third. "There's no rules persay for garden beds other than ask permission. Your landlord has the last word."
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