Mice infestationsare often the result of a systemic problem that is affecting a terrace of houses, or possibly a block of flats. Simply put, mice do not fly and surely do not appear from thin air. The reality is that mice first need to get in a home before they pose a problem to the tenant.

Mice will normally get in through holes and gaps that have been left by the original builder and kitchen fitter. The cause of the mouse infestation would then be the building that was not built to sufficient standards so as to stop mice from getting in.

However, the landlord may claim the tenants are responsibleif the tenants fail to implement the advice of the pest control company, or by arguing that their behaviour may have contributed to the mice infestation (e.g., cluttered, unkempt tenancy).

Some tenancy agreements place the responsibility of pest control on the tenants. But in any case, it should be limited to the treatment only.

To remediate the situation, the landlord would then need to make good on the holes that had allowed mice to get in and have the home thoroughly mouse proofed.

Before they reach your home, rats may already have travelled over 300 m from the nest. They may have travelled above ground, from one garden to the next. Or they may have followed the sewer system and escaped through some faults.

If a rat infestationis found only outdoors, there is probably little that can be done but place rat bait stations. The council pest control department may have a free rat service; if not, the landlord would most likely have to pay for it.

If the rat problem is within the living space of the property, the landlord must implement the rodent pest exclusion work needed to stop rats from getting in as a matter of urgency. It is unacceptable to have rats being able to access freely any part of the living space.

If faults are found below ground on the property, responsibility to investigate and, if necessary, to repair falls on either a service company (i.e., Thames Water) or possibly on one of London’s councils.

However, the cost of placing a rat blocker in your inspection chamber to stop the rats from reaching the building will be the responsibility of the landlord or freeholder.

Bed bugs are introduced into the property by the tenants. They may be picked up on the London public transport, at work, a sleepover or during a holiday.

Another major route of entry is by introducing infested second-hand furniture or items into the home. If the landlord brought it in, then the landlord is responsible for pest control.

So, the person responsible for the treatment would normally be the person who has introduced the bed bugs into the property. This is not always clear-cut, though, as bed bug infestations often go unnoticed for many weeks, possibly even months.

If the problem was introduced before the tenancy, you would expect the tenants to take notice of signs possibly within weeks, arguably within six months, and definitely within a year.

So, the longer the tenancy before the bed bug activity was reported, the more likely they would have been introduced during the ongoing tenancy, and therefore the stronger the argument for the tenants having to pay.

In borderline cases, it would be acceptable to reach a compromise where the tenants would pay part of the treatment (since they introduced it by accident) and the landlord part of it (since they have an incentive in protecting the flat).

If it is established that a building has been contaminated as a whole, then the tenants cannot be held responsible. The landlord will most likely have to pay for the treatment within their flat, and the freeholder will have to pay for the treatment carried out at communal area level.

Moths are flying insectsand could well have flown in from the communal areas or through the window.

Tenants would often report moths because they are concerned about their clothes, or because they found damaged items in their wardrobes.

Once again, time is of the essence. If the tenants just moved in and there are patches of moth-eaten carpet, it points the finger toward the landlord.

If the tenant is a long-standing one, and there are no signs of moth-eaten carpet, it gives strength to the moths having been introduced during the tenancy.

In practice, we see at Inoculand Pest Control that landlords often pay for moth infestation treatments as they are concerned that moths may damage and depreciate their property.

Cockroach infestationsmay originate from a systemic problem, or from an infested neighbouring property.

It is also possible that the tenant could have unknowingly brought in some cockroaches with the shopping or other contaminated items.

If the neighbouring property has clearly been established as being the origin of the outbreak, it is unlikely that they will pay for your treatment unless they have some sort of home insurance.

In most instances, the landlord would pay for the treatment. Exceptionally, the block management company takes responsibility if the infestation affects the building as a whole.

The tenants may be held responsible if they failed to report the problem at an early stage or if their behaviour contributed to the cockroach infestation (e.g., using residential premises for a catering business without any pest control measures in place).

Wasps are seasonal pests. Landlords or tenants cannot be blamed for any wrongdoing. Wasp nests just happen.
In this case, the tenancy agreement should determine who is responsible for it. And if there are no specific pest control clauses, the landlord will probably pay without arguing.

In case the nest is found within an unauthorised or inappropriate item or structure on the property grounds, such as a mound of rubble or tyres, the tenant will likely have to pay to treat the nest and to remove the offending items from the property grounds.

The best way to solve a fly problemis to remove the condition that is allowing them to thrive. A treatment will only kill off the flies while the pesticides are active. And if the favourable conditions remain, the infestation will return.

House flies and fruit flies are often associated with poor housekeeping that would normally be the responsibility of the tenant.

Unless the landlord is responsible for the issue/situation that triggered or provided the right condition for the flies to thrive, landlords should not be asked to pay for fly control involving fruit flies and house flies.

Drain flies are often caused by leaky or blocked drains that would normally need to be fixed by the landlord in the first place. Blue bottle flies result from a dead animal that would have died underneath the home, within the fireplace or the walls. In either case, the tenant should not be held responsible.

Fleas are mostly associated with pets. And often the landlords will ask the tenants to foot the bill because they own a furry pet (e.g., rodents, cats, dogs).

In cases where the tenants do not own pets, it raises the question of how the infestation came about. Foxes in the garden or rodents indoors (mice, rats) can be a reservoir of infestation. If no link to the tenants can be established, then the landlord will normally have to pay.

There are many types of beetlesaffecting either dry food or natural fibres.

Biscuit beetles and other SPI that affect dry food brought in through the shopping and Domestic beetles linked to poor housekeeping should be dealt with by the tenants.

Responsibility for carpet beetles is similar to that outlined in the moth section.

 Larder beetle infestations can also be linked to bird nests, in which case, the responsibility may fall to the landlord.

Tropical ants are very much a problem that is endemic to the structure of a building and that is being passed on from neighbour-to-neighbour as satellite nests are created. Normally landlords pay for the treatment.

Garden antsnormally come from the garden areas and are not a public health pest. Responsibility in this case is not always clear-cut and depends on the type of tenancy agreement.

Grey squirrels in the garden area are part of the wildlife and there is very little that can be done in this context. Landlords would probably not feel obliged to do anything about it.

Squirrels in lofts are linked to access points that were left by the roofers/builders, and landlords should be responsible for this.