Hi , I have a tenant who has got mice I have paid for pest control to come out the next day. They have done two visits but reckon they was coming from next door.
where do I stand with this if tenant decides not to pay or says they can’t live there while there are mice.
Just need to know where I stand and what I can and can’t say etc
Thanks
You are responsible for maintenance costs which generally includes pest control. You have a duty to keep fit for human habitation. Check if covered by insurance. Mice do chew and find holes and ways to get in.
That said, if cause is tenants not cleaning floors, leaving food about etc or leaving a back door to garden open, you could possibly claim but difficult to prove it’s their fault unless very obvious.
I would get advice from pest control person on what’s needed to prevent recurrsnce, pass that info on to tenants and make clear that they need to keep clean etc. That you wont charge on this occasion but if it keeps happening because they arent cleaning then you would need to charge them
You are under no obligation to rehouse them if you have got remedied reasonably quickly.
Good luck
Thanks for you reply David I’ll take your advice on board cheers.
A good pest control company will offer two visits and a third if you see them again within a month.
The poison should kill all the mice, even if they are coming from an adjoining property.
The pest control company should search for holes and fill them. They may advise you about other prevention ideas, like covering airbricks with mesh.
You may want to consider liaising with the neighbour, or even contacting the council’s environmental health people if they don’t cooperate.
The tenants cannot refuse to pay rent because of mice, though they may ask for a reduction from you as a gesture. If they want to move out they can of course provide notice.
Reassure the tenants that you will do everything necessary to sort the problem.
If the mice are getting in through holes in the structure, (often under the sink), then its down to you to fix. If theyre getting in through open doors and windows due to the tenants leaving food out, then the costs of eradication are down to them.