Cooperative Pest Control: Rental Rights and Responsibilities
Landlords and tenants should work together to ensure that a rental property stays pest free and well maintained. However, it can be difficult to know what qualifies as a tenant's responsibility and what qualifies as the landlord's responsibility when it comes to pest control. It is important to work as a team to keep the rental unit neat and pest free. Keep reading to learn how to keep pests out of your rental.
Tenant Pest Control Responsibilities
As the tenant in a rental property, you are responsible for routine upkeep. You want to keep the rental as nice as you got it. Your pest control responsibilities might be less detailed than your landlord's responsibilities. However, they're still important and they may include:
- Watch for a flea infestation. If you bring pets into the home, you are responsible for watching for signs of fleas. These can include bites, excessive scratching, and flea dirt deposits on your pet's coat. If your pet exhibits signs of having fleas, it is your responsibility to get rid of them. It is a good idea to contact your landlord and let them know about the problem as well.
- Keep your rental neat and tidy. If you don't keep your rental clean and you get mice, rats, or cockroaches as a result, you will be responsible for getting rid of them. To ensure you're only taking care of your pests, check over the rental property thoroughly when you're completing your first property condition report. If you notice any pests or maintenance issues, be sure to bring them to the landlord's attention and take note of them.
- Be aware of your responsibilities. If you have any pest issues like fleas or cockroaches when you vacate the rental, you are responsible for any pest control measures to rid the property of the pests. This includes baiting, trapping, or hiring a pest control company to come and spray pesticides.
Landlord Pest Control Responsibilities
As the property owner and landlord of a rental property, you are responsible for pest control measures. This usually means any mice, rats or pest infestations in the rental unit are your responsibility to get rid of unless you have documentation and your pest problem is due to:
- Your tenant doesn't keep the rental tidy. If the rat, mice, or pest control problem is due to your tenant not keeping the rental unit neat and tidy, you could argue that they caused it and they should take care of it.
- Document the condition of the rental. You want to keep good records of the property's condition before every new tenant so you can prove that they caused the pest infestation by not keeping the unit clean. This is why documentation is so important. It should be an ongoing process for any landlord.
Preventing or Reducing an Infestation
If you discover a pest infestation and you're not sure how to reduce it or get rid of it entirely, read on. You'll get several tips on how to get your rental back into top shape including:
- Buy and set mice or rat traps. You can usually take care of a rat or mice infestation by purchasing traps at your local store and placing them around the rental property. If you combine this with keeping the property neat and free of garbage, you shouldn't have a problem with these types of pests.
- Consult a professional pest control company. If you have a problem with cockroaches or spiders, you may want to consult a professional pest control company. Cockroaches are very resilient and extremely hard to take care of without the help of professionals. Spiders may not be that difficult to get rid of, but they can be dangerous as Australia is home to several venomous species like the Redback.
- Perform routine inspections. It is also important to have a local pest control company do routine inspections of the rental property. This can help you identify any problems areas that you'll have to fix. It can also be a key piece to catching any infestations early and correcting them before they get out of hand.
As a tenant and a landlord, you both have rights and responsibilities when it comes to maintaining a rental unit. By working as a team, you can keep the unit in top shape, and you can catch any potential pest issues quickly and easily.
