Legal Considerations for Starting a Landscaping Business

If you have a green thumb and a collection of gardening tools, starting a landscaping business should be a snap. Most large cities and suburbs have no shortage of homeowners who would rather not mow, weed-eat or rake themselves, so you'll always have someone in need of your services. Of course, before starting a landscaping business, you should devote time to the following legal considerations.

1- Property Damage Liability

If you're starting a landscaping business, you know that most of your days will be spent running a lawnmower over carefully manicured grass, but most landscapers also provide additional services. Any time you are working on someone else's property, the possibility for property damage exists, and therefore you are placing yourself in a position where you might incur liability.

If you mow over a client's two-hundred-dollar roses, for example, or cause a tree to fall on the roof of a house, your landscaping business needs to be covered for those legal issues. In most cases, a standard liability insurance policy should be sufficient to cover any potential dangers, but make sure you talk with a reputable insurance agency to determine your options and necessities.

2- Bonding

A surety bond is something that is necessary for starting a landscaping business, especially since many clients will require that you are bonded before you begin work. Essentially, bonding means that a third-party entity has guaranteed that you will perform services as required. Performance bonds or indemnity bonds will give your customers peace of mind when they hire you for your services. This is a serious legal consideration because if you aren't bonded and you fail to complete a project, you might wind up on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

3- Employees

Many people who start a landscaping business find that they can no longer cope with their work load alone after several months of successful marketing. In this case, you will need to hire employees, but this brings with it its own set of legal considerations. A landscaping business is no different from others in that you must follow the laws concerning employees. One of the major legal considerations for starting a landscaping business is whether or not your employees are legal in this country.

In states such as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, many landscaping businesses hire illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America. This might seem like an easy way to handle your business, but you could face serious legal consequences if your employees' status is discovered. Therefore, make sure you get the proper documentation for all employees, including proof that they are legally eligible to work in the United States.