Rented Property

[Dee-M-See]

Who is responsible for the upkeep of gardens
the owner or the occupier?

[Mamyalynne]

That should be stated in the Rental Agreement.

[Buenchico]

As Mamya indicates, a well-written rental agreement should make it clear who's responsible for looking after the garden of a property.

However (other than where there are shared garden areas or possibly where a local authority or housing association lets a property which is specifically intended for use by elderly or disabled people) I've never come across any agreement where the landlord has the responsibility. It's normally the tenant who has to maintain the garden.

For example, the tenancy agreement which applies to local authority housing in Sheffield states "You must keep any private garden or hedges to the property tidy":
https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/content/dam/sheffield/docs/housing/council-housing/DP19683%20You%20and%20Your%20Home.pdf
(Although that link apples to local authority housing, similar terms usually appear in private rental agreements).

If nothing is actually written into a rental agreement then it's possible that neither party has any responsibility for looking after the garden. (i.e. unless one or other party voluntarily keeps the garden in order it can simply be left to grow wild, with neither party having any right to complain about the situation).

[diddlydo]

My daughter rented out her house with a large garden when she moved because of her job. The rental agreement stated that the tenants should maintain the garden in the same state as it was left. They didn't. At the end of the tenancy the garden needed 20 man/woman hours to make it approximately similar to when it was left. When my daughter tried to with-hold some of the deposit for this reason, her submission was rejected.

[Peter Pedant]

the occupier - it should be in the rental agreement

If landlord and tenant are squabbling about garden upkeep I would think about a new tenant quite honestly.
if a tenant knocked at my door and said my garden is a mess can you do something about it - I would say - certainly - here is a s21 ending the tenancy