My landlord comps me for work I do all the time. He always takes the full rent and then gives me cash for any receipts I provide him (after getting his approval for the work). I guess rent and repairs are too different accounts.
One thing to watch out for-if you do any work without approval (no matter how important it may be), the land lord can get out of paying by saying its unauthorized repairs.
Dude NEVER pay out of pocket for repairs to your rent house.
You already know he's not going to pay up, if you had the lawn thing in writing.
So you're up a creek.
Your only hope is that you can play the hey your house looks better now than when I showed up. And I'm fixin to leave, if you keep playing these games.
This all depends how your lease is written. Is there a section about repairs/improvements? Does the lease have anything about her responding in a timely manner?
But yah, I think you might have to eat the money spent on the fence.
Sounds like it might be time to find a new place with a better landlord.
I have family who have worked in the rental management business. In Texas, all three of the options you outline absolutely scream "Evict Me!" to any property manager who knows what they're doing.
You can ask for the money. However, if you've spent money repairing a rental, you have no right to expect to be reimbursed if your rental contract looks anything like 99.9% of all of them I've ever seen...and I've seen and read hundreds.
I want to thank everyone for their input both here and in PM's.
I have to say I jumped the gun, my landlord was out of town and just called me back to get it set straight. All taken care of as far as the fence goes.
Again, thank you everyone for your input, as well as suggestions. All were well received.