If you're just looking for grass, you don't need to be good at gardening. :-)

And for a rental? I'm not sure I'd advocate spending very much.

But that's up to you, and you didn't specify a budget. $2K may be pocket change to you, or it may be an insurmountable amount, or somewhere in-between.

We don't know your locale, so I'm going to guess northern lawn. Instructions are for northern lawns. If you're not in a northern lawn locale, disregard everything I say about the time of planting grass seed and shift the timing to around late May.

If so, now is the perfect time to seed or sod, or spring is fine for sodding. If you're in the south, then late spring would be right for seeding and spring correct for sodding (I'm not sure about sodding now).

For a bumpy, unflattened soil, it can be a bit of a challenge. You can rent a roller, or get family and friends to help you with that (quite cheap at the local big box store) to get it at least somewhat flat. Flat-ish. It's not perfect but again...rental place.

Plant seed as soon as you can, and choose something off the shelf. A sun and shade mix, presuming the yard gets at least 3-6 hours of sun per day (any less and grass won't do well. More is fine). Water 3 times a day, morning, noon or afternoon, and evening, for a short period (about 5-10 minutes) to keep the seed damp, for about a month if the mix contains bluegrass (most do). 14 days if it doesn't.

Back off to every third day watering for about 30 minutes or so after that to keep the young grass damp. Feed around day 30 with any feed off the shelf at bag rate, and the grass should be starting to grow in nicely.

Those are the basics. Total cost to DIY:

Roller: About $30 to rent for a day or two.

Seed: Figure around $60 for the bags for the yard size I'm thinking, but I'm really guessing it at 3,000 square feet. I could be waaaaay off.

Water: Shouldn't be more than $100 for a month, really, on a small-ish yard.

Feed: $80-$120 for the year, using Vigoro.

Total cost to bring it in and feed it for a year: $400 or so, shooting a little high.

If you want some gardens or something, by all means, add them. But keep in mind that you go away eventually and leave those behind for the land owner.

I’m living in Davis, CA and yes.. you’re right. I’ll leave those behind. I even didn’t get a permission from the owner for installation of sprinkler yet... Thank you for your information. It’s really helpful!

Your son will probably find a back yard full of wild plants (weeds) much more fun than a lawn. He's not going to be lawn bowling or playing croquet. He can run around on the weeds. I don't think it's a good idea to spend that kind of money on improving a rental property.

Thanks! This is the current status of my backyard. I hope to make it better but it doesn’t have to be a lawn.

Would your son get more out of having a dog? Looks like a perfect place for one and you don’t have to worry about it tearing up a lawn. Or how about chickens?

As for spending money on a rental property, amortize the investment (and maintenance) over the period of time you’ll be there and add it to your rent. Would you have spent the higher rent on the improved place? If yes, go for it. If not, there’s probably a better way to spend your money. Homeowners who are gardeners are a bit delusional, by the way. We rationalize our expenditures of time and money as an investment in improving our properties to be recouped. Ha!

A tenant's responsibility to care for the yard should not really extend beyond maintaining it in the state it was handed over to you (unless something different is specifically agreed). Anything beyond that is really up to you. From what you describe you are looking at $500 to $1,000 dollars a year over the 2-3 years you plan to be there. It's entirely personal, but if it were my decision, I would follow @morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA) plan and do some basic DIY improvements and find other ways to spend the money on your son.

Did your landlord specify the terms of “yard maintenance?” Make sure you save plenty of photos of all yard angles as of right now, so that you are not confronted with issues when/if you decide to leave.

I would look at what I am paying to rent the property, and spend no more than 10% of the rental price on the yard. ie 12 months @ 1000/month is 12000/year 10% is 1200.

Looking at the pictures, I wonder if the yard is as bad as it appears. California is coming out of a long very hot summer, so even the best maintained yards are not looking good without irrigation.

If it were me I would spread some grass see, water, if it is permitted in your area, and accept what comes up. Legally not being able to water may be the cause of the current state of the yard.

IMO this is your landlords responsibility to give you a yard that you then look after. I would rough up the dirt and get 3 bags of wildflower seeds and then a good sprinkler and grow the seeds just with the same instructions as the grass they will multiply every year and look pretty. IMO grass in CA is a huge waste of water to care for and way too many chemicals to keep it looking good.

Maintaining means just that for example cutting the grass so it isn't a foot tall. As far as adding to it you should speak to the landlord before investing any money. They may be willing to upgrade if not realize you will not recoup any money you spend. I would get a swing set: just swing and slide and your son will have a blast.. You can take it with you when you move or sell it. No worries about ruts in the grass, etc

Your son can play on that surface just as well as he could on grass. I wouldn't spend a cent on installing a lawn that will die anyway if you can't water it very often.

My 5 year old granddaughter's favourite outdoor toy is a small tent. They need to move it around the yard so that it doesn't kill the grass under it. Without a lawn, you can leave it up in the same place permanently. Same with a small swing set - it's killing the grass under her swing.

As a renter who is responsible for the outdoor space, you're actually lucky that you won't be responsible for keeping the grass alive and can just let your son play in the space.

Grass seeds don't really take that long to grow. Get a bunch of seeds that grow well in your area, get a couple sprinklers and a longer hose. Spread the seeds down and water in. It needs to stay moist for the first couple of months. You can buy sod at Home Depot if you want instant grass. Don't install an in ground irrigation, just that sprinkler you attach to a hose. And you don't need to flatten out the ground; it's flat enough. And ask the landlord if he will compensate you for the cost of all the materials - maybe take some off the rent.

I would not put in grass. I googled Davis, California, and they have water restrictions and are suggesting the removal of grass. I would put up a swing set, a play house, and possibly an outdoor grass rug near the playhouse. You can get the outdoor grass rugs at Home Depot/ Lowes. Mulch the rest of the yard with playground mulch.

https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/public-works-utilities-and-operations/water/water-conservation

This is from 2018 and they may not be doing it now, or it may be worse.

https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/public-works-utilities-and-operations/water/water-conservation/drought-information-water-use-restrictions

I certainly wouldn’t pay for an irrigation system for a property I didn’t own. And your landlord might not even want you to - it’s his, after all.

Irrigation systems are not a standard yard thing. IMHO it is your job to mow--and maybe water depending on the cost of watering. The landlord should seed...you will have to purchases hoses...grass well established can survive in a dormant state but come back when the rains do. If it is impossible to keep grass alive w/o extensive watering I would say it is silly to fight nature. Maybe your child will enjoy the large sand box?

Need to talk to the landlord before making any alterations to the property. With the fact that they have not provided you with a more appealing outdoor setting themselves probably being a good indication of what they would think of a tenant making it more garden like.

I would not spend one cent on putting in grass or an irrigation system or any live landscaping whatsoever.

It makes no sense whatsoever for you to spend your hard-earned money making improvements to a property that you do not own, and the money you spend can never be deducted from your taxes or re-couped in any way.

Furthermore, the cost of water is prohibitive where you live, and watering a yard costs a lot of money. Once you put in a yard, you will have to maintain it, or it will look even worse.

In the summer in southern California many places prohibit the watering of lawns for weeks on end because of water shortages and what you put in now will die.

Right now, you were given a wasteland.

That's what you need to give it back to the landlord as, unless your lease says otherwise.

Please carefully read your lease and make sure he didn't slip something in about your putting in grass.

If not, take multiple photos of the front and back and side yards that have the date on them, and and have the landlord sign them on the back, and you sign them too, and you keep a couple of copies and give a set to the landlord.

I would add a codicil to the lease that both of you sign saying something like photographs are given to the landlord showing the current condition of the front, back and side yards with no living vegetation whatsoever and piles of dead vegetation.

The lessee (that is you) bears no responsibility for planting these areas. As the dead vegetation is present at move-in of the lessee deemed a fire hazard it is the responsibility of the lessor (that is the landlord) to mitigate the hazard as soon as possible but in any event no later than 10 working days of notification of such hazard if it exists.

And then you should contact the local fire house and have someone come out and see if the conditions constitute a fire hazard. If they do consider it a fire hazard, get it in writing on official fire department letterhead.

Because if they do consider it a fire hazard, your renters insurance (do you have that by the way?) may not even cover your damages because they may consider it negligence. And do you really want to try to sue your landlord for the value of your posessions?

And why should you have to pay someone to clean up the mess that previous tenants made? Did you clean up their dirty kitchen? NO

So don't clean up their dirty and unsafe yard.

For the Houzzers that are unaware, California is a tinderbox.

There a many green spaces in Davis. Save your money to spend on outings to green spaces beyond your back yard. In your space, get some big tubs, plant flowers and plant some tomatoes which will grow like weeds in Davis. In the fall, plant chard. Watch your garden grow and have fun. BTW, my grown up son still calls radishes, "radi-shoots" because they sprout so fast and we would go out each day looking for tiny greens shoots.