Terms and conditions for an artificial grass installer

An artificial grass job goes wrong in the second summer rather than the first week: a join lifting, two rolls that no longer look the same shade, weeds through the membrane, and a customer who says the price always included taking the old lawn away. I draft customer terms that deal with all of it, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Artificial grass and synthetic turf installers in England and Wales, whether you trade as a sole trader or a limited company, including businesses that also sell supply-only rolls. Most of your customers are homeowners, who are consumers with rights they cannot sign away. Some are businesses: developers, letting agents, schools, nurseries and gyms. One set of terms can serve both if it is drafted to.

What matters in an artificial grass installer's terms

Measuring, wastage and what the square metre price covers

Almost every artificial grass quote is priced by the area, and almost every dispute starts with the area. The terms should say who measured, that the quoted area includes wastage for cutting, shaping and pile direction, and what happens if the site measures differently once the old surface is up. They should also spell out what is included and what is not: excavation depth, sub-base materials, edging, membrane, sand infill, adhesive and removal of spoil. Where a customer supplies their own measurements or their own grass, say plainly that the risk of a shortfall is theirs.

Ground conditions, sub-base and drainage

You cannot see what is under a lawn from the patio doors. Concrete, rubble, tree roots, clay that holds water, a soakaway nobody mentioned: each of them changes the excavation and the base build-up, and each should be priced as a variation agreed in writing before you carry on. The terms should make the customer responsible for telling you where pipes, cables and irrigation lines run, and should say that you install to the agreed base specification rather than guaranteeing that a garden with a standing water problem will drain. Where grass goes over an existing hard surface, record who accepted that decision.

Homeowners, deposits and cut-to-size rolls

A job agreed in the customer's garden or over email and phone falls within the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and the customer has fourteen days to cancel. That matters more than usual here, because you order the grass cut to length and it is not going back on the roll. Grass made to the consumer's specification can fall outside the cancellation right, but only if the terms and your order process are set up to show it. If they are not, and the cancellation information is missing, the period can extend by up to a year.

Guarantees, shading and heat damage

Two rolls from different production batches will not match exactly, pile flattens under furniture, and reflected sunlight from a window can melt fibres in a way that has nothing to do with your workmanship. The terms should distinguish clearly between the manufacturer's product warranty, which you pass through, and your own guarantee on the installation: joins, edges, levels and the base. Exclude ground movement, third-party damage and heat damage from glazing, and say how a claim is made and what you will do about it. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you cannot use a guarantee to cut down a consumer's statutory rights, so it has to sit alongside them.

Aftercare, pets and what the customer does next

Artificial grass is low maintenance, not no maintenance, and customers who were sold the first will complain about the second. The terms should set out the aftercare the customer takes on from handover: brushing the pile, clearing leaves and moss, rinsing pet areas, and keeping barbecues, fire pits and heavy planters off it. Say what invalidates your installation guarantee, including work by another contractor, weedkiller or jet washing. If you sell an infill for pet odour or a maintenance visit as an extra, describe what it does rather than leaving the brochure to promise it.

Commercial installs, waste and liability

For nurseries, schools, gyms and developers the specification needs to be in the contract, including any shockpad or performance requirement, rather than left in an email. Installing artificial grass for a business customer is a construction operation, so the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 brings in adjudication and payment notice rules and bans pay-when-paid; it does not apply to a homeowner. Late payment interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 belong in the same section. If you remove turf and spoil you must be registered as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency, and commercial clients will ask.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Do I need different terms for supply-only sales?

One document can cover both if it separates them properly. Supply-only is a sale of goods with no workmanship obligation, so the delivery, inspection and cancellation wording differs from an installation. The point worth getting right is that you take no responsibility for how someone else lays it, which needs saying rather than assuming.

The manufacturer gives a long warranty on the grass. Should my terms promise the same?

Match your own promise to what you actually control. Your guarantee should cover the installation, with the product warranty passed through on the manufacturer's terms and the claims process explained. Promising the manufacturer's headline period on your own paperwork leaves you carrying a product failure personally if the supplier has since disappeared.

A customer's window has melted the grass. Am I liable?

Reflected heat from glazing is a product and site issue, not a workmanship one, and a well drafted exclusion says so. The better protection is earlier: flag the risk in writing before installation where a garden has large modern glazing, and record it on the order. Against a consumer, an exclusion does no work at all if the grass was never fit for the purpose you were told about.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a landscaping business
• Terms and conditions for a driveway and paving contractor

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.