How to Choose a Grounds Maintenance Contractor

It may take more than a quick search to find the perfect grounds maintenance contractor. Invest a little time upfront and you’ll save a lot of hassle in the long run.

Table of Contents

Check Insurance and Accreditation

Verify that the grounds maintenance contractor has a valid Certificate of Public Liability Insurance, with minimum cover of £5 million and valid to a date not earlier than the date of contract award. In addition, look for contractors that are authorized by a recognised client authorization scheme (what contractor health and safety accreditation involves) such as CHAS or SafeContractor, which verifies that they have satisfactory health and safety policies and procedures in place.

Match the Scope to Your Site

A service specification should detail all features of your grounds including car parks, hedges, wildflower areas and seasonal plants and describe the work to be carried out on each feature. Ensure that the service specification is clear and you obtain a written copy before agreeing to a contractor’s services.

Agree a Written Visit Schedule

Confirm with your selected grounds maintenance contractor the frequency of their visits to your grounds and detail of their standard round. Also clarify what circumstances would result in additional visits being required and what costs these would incur. As noted above, searching for ‘grounds maintenance near me’ will provide local contractors who are best placed to attend your grounds at short notice with little travel expense incurred.

Clarify Machinery and Waste Disposal

Grounds Maintenance Near Me is covered in more detail at https://jemaintenance.co.uk/services/grounds-maintenance-near-me/. A sample specification for services and an example of how a specification can be set out is also provided.

Take Up References From Similar Sites

Ask for two or three referees from similar sized/similar type sites to your own. When you contact them to ask for a reference, ask specifically about the frequency of visits and how they dealt with any problems that occurred.

By putting in this groundwork you can save yourself a lot of trouble further down the line.