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Who is Responsible for Pest Control in Rental Properties - Landlords or Tenants?

Who doesn’t like fetching a second source of income? Rental properties offer the same to landlords who own an apartment in a housing society. But things may go wrong, and they might lose out on the rental income by paying no attention to regular pest control.

Pests in all forms can be dangerous to the property, and its inhabitants. Be it an anti-termite treatment, a bed bugs treatment, or a cockroach pest control, who is responsible for pest control in a rental property?

Regardless of who is responsible for pest control in a rental house, every effort should be to detect the pests and throw them out. In this article, let us dig deeper into whose responsibility it is to ensure pest control in rental homes. We will also throw light on what to do if a tenant complains about pests.

Who is Responsible for Pest Control in a Rental Apartment?

Whether you agree or not, your job as a landlord is to ensure a safe and pest-free property for your tenant. It is your prime duty to fix all issues that lead to pest infestation in your rental property. 

With regular pest control in your rental apartment, you can protect not just your tenants, but your property too against these dangerous pests like roaches, termites, rats, and even birds.

What to do if a Tenant Reports About Pest Infestation?

If you want to ensure you keep getting your rental income, you must take the first complaint about pest control from your tenant seriously. Follow these steps when you first tenants report about pest infestation in your property.

1. Take Immediate Action

The first thing to do as a landlord when a tenant reports pests in a property is to take immediate action. You must not take such a complaint lightly, as otherwise, you might suffer huge damages to your property. 
At the worst, your tenant might shift to another property being fed up with regular pest infestation. 

2. Go Through Your Lease Agreement

One of the first steps to do after detecting pests in a rental property is to check the lease agreement. Reading this agreement will clarify who is responsible for pest control on the property. 
Once you read the lease agreement, there will be no dilly-dallying in booking a pest control treatment on part of the landlord or the tenant. 

3. Check the Cause of Pest Infestation

It is crucial to detect the main cause of pest infestation on the property. If your tenant complains about pests in your property, make sure to ask them what kind of pests they detected and where. Also, ask them what could be the possible cause of those pests. 
Generally, moisture leakage, cracks in walls and crevices, and lack of hygiene become the main cause of pest infestation in an apartment.

How to Retain the Tenants who Complain About Pest Infestation?

Forget about who is responsible for pest control in a rental property like termite control or wood borer pest control. Just think, what if your tenant leaves your property annoyed by constant pest infestation? 

Won’t you think of how to retain such unhappy tenants? So, try these tips to ensure the regular flow of rental income by keeping your tenants happy in a pest-free rental home:

1. Conduct Regular Pest Inspections

As a dutiful landlord, we recommend you conduct regular pest inspections with the help of experts on your property. 
Through these regular inspections, you are most likely to catch the signs of pests and keep them at bay without much damage. 

2. Educate the Tenants with Pest Prevention Measures

It would be a great idea to educate your tenants about some effective pest prevention measures. 
Try to maintain a healthy communication level with your tenant, so that both of you can collaborate to keep the property pest-free. 

3. Book Regular Termite Pest Control Service

If your rental property has a good amount of wooden work or a history of termite pest infestation, then we suggest you book a termite pest control for apartments at least thrice a year. 
It will make way to detect termites at an early stage, and thereby, minimize the risk associated with termite infestation on the property.

Who will Pay for Pest Control in a Rental Property?

The main reason why landlords and tenants try not to take the responsibility for pest control in a property is the pest control cost. So, who should pay for pest control in a rental property? Let us examine:

1. Instances When Landlords Must Pay for Pest Control

A general concept is that it is the duty of the landlord to pay for a rental house pest control. A landlord or landlady must pay for pest control when the house has a repeated termite infestation and needs termite treatment at regular intervals.  
What if the property has cracks and crevices in the walls or foundation, and gets infested by cockroaches? Then, the landlord must pay for the cockroach control treatment in the rental house.

2. Instances When Tenants Must Pay for Pest Control

It might sound strange that even tenants are expected to pay for pest control in a rental property. But, yes, at times, tenants need to shell out money to live in a pest-free rental home. 
For instance, if you want mosquito control, you might need to spend yourself buying mosquito nets or mosquito repellents. In many cases, tenants are also expected to pay for the bed bug control treatment in a rental house.

Takeaway

To ease your and your tenant’s stress regarding pests, you can rely on pest control services from HiCare. The company with a rich legacy of 28 years in pest solutions caters to all types of industries, and sectors. The experienced HiCare team is a master in using safe chemicals to offer you the best pest control treatments with no false promises. 

Be it your requirement to get residential or commercial pest control, it can be easily met with satisfaction by booking HiCare pest solutions.