"Mow by Tuesday"

We have all seen the sign posted near the front entrances of our communities. "Mow by Tuesday." If that phrase has frustrated or confused you, it's ok. Because it means one thing, and manager Ana Lara-Carrillo has used it to confuse you and charge you money for cutting your grass.

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The irony is that as of October 14, 2024, community members were sent an email indicating the following:

"As you may have noticed we have updated our mowing signs. Nothing has changed. Please make sure your yard is mowed by the end of every Monday, so that you do not incur any mowing fees."

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Previously, the signs read "Mow by Tuesday" rather than reading as "Move before Tuesday." You see, they understood the confusion it caused and the anger residents had being charged unnecessary fees.

 

Yes, there is a difference in how the words should be worded on a sign. And these words ARE NOT part of the lease. In a back and forth email thread with Ms. Lara-Carrillo, the following details were shared with her to assist her in better understanding what this means. Clearly, she and community management used this as a tool to extort community members out of money by charging them for doing a poor job of having maintenance cut their grass:

 

If you want the job to be done on Tuesday, you would say or create a sign that reads, "Please do this before Tuesday."

If you need it to be done either before or during Tuesday, you would say, "Please do this by Tuesday." This is what Yes Communities signage previously indicated.

In other words, using the word "by" is inclusive; it means do this on any day up to and including the day specified. Using before is non-inclusive; it means that expectation is to be done prior to Tuesday morning.

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What that means is, if Ana charged you $75.00 to cut your grass and did so on a Tuesday, they owe you that money back! You had until the end of the day Tuesday to cut your grass. Send an email and join the claim to get these fees to be returned. Check your monthly portal statements for charges.

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The lease we sign does not dictate the length of grass nor does it mention that grass must be mowed by Monday or Tuesday for that matter. The rule should be intended to punish anyone failing to maintain a quality property. We have never done this. The lease also indicates they will perform maintenance AFTER GIVING YOU NOTICE. If you are like us, we never received notice.

“The lawn should be kept clean, with grass cut, trimmed, fertilized, watered, and weeded to maintain a well-cared for appearance. There shall be no trash or debris in the patio areas or under the deck or home. YES may, after notice, perform site maintenance on Resident’s space and bill Resident for this service, with payment due three days after billing.”