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Fleas in rented flat

smj43
smj43 Posts: 385 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Just wondering if anybody could give me some advise. I just moved into a privately rented flat 2 days ago. The past 2 nights I have been bitten so many times I've lost count. I thought it was just a mosquito at first but then I remembered when we first viewed the flat, the tenant that lived here had a cat. I checked and sure enough there are tiny little fleas everywhere. I'm really angry because the previous tenant has left no end of trouble for us. Nothing was clean when we moved in and she had left massive debts on the electricity meter.

Where do I stand? I know it's not my landlords fault but he shouldn't have let her keep a cat here. Surely this is the landlords liability? Please help, these bites are driving us insane!
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Comments

  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    Go down your local pet store and buy some products to tackle the problem immediately.

    Vacuum at least twice a day.

    Easiest way would be to have the carpets replaced if there's bad infestation.
  • jamie11
    jamie11 Posts: 4,436 Forumite
    smj43 wrote: »

    Where do I stand? I know it's not my landlords fault but he shouldn't have let her keep a cat here. Surely this is the landlords liability? Please help, these bites are driving us insane!

    Yes. Landlord's job to give you a flea free place. Best if the carpets are removed and the whole place treated before the new carpets are fitted.

    If there are any soft furnishings then they may be infested as well.
  • ~Chameleon~
    ~Chameleon~ Posts: 11,956 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Don't bother getting anything from your local pet store, nothing they sell is effective for either your pet or your home. You want a veterinary grade product which you can buy quite cheaply online without a prescription. Look for products such as Vetkem Acclaim or Indorex and spray your entire house, paying particular attention to soft furninshings.
    “You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”
  • mirrorimage0
    mirrorimage0 Posts: 3,918 Forumite
    it is up to the landlord to rent you a clean liveable place they should not of let you move in until it was habitable. if the previous tenant did not clean it or leave it up to standards then the landlord should of charged them for puting right.
    as for the bills, make a note of the meter readings on gas and electric asap and ring them and inform them you are the new tenant now, they will have to chase the old tenant for any existing bills.

    i would speak to the lanlord about cleaning/defleaing of the flat. totally unnacceptable
    now proud mum to 3 handsome boys :j latest one born 10/10/11:j
  • Yorkie1
    Yorkie1 Posts: 11,550 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I'd certainly let the LL know. It's possible that they may not have resolved the deposit with the previous tenant, and can take the cost of defleaing the place from the deposit.
  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,726 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    I agree, it was the landlord's duty to give you a flat free of infestation. Go to him, and ask he takes care of it ASAP. Tell him you will help if he self treats rather than calling in a specialist, but he should pay for the treatment, and new arpets if they become necessary. Call in a specialist treatment frim for a quote first.
  • Callie22
    Callie22 Posts: 3,444 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    From a practical point of view, make sure you stick a flea collar in your hoover bag and change it regularly, otherwise you'll just keep reinfesting the house. I moved into a house that had a similar problem and the LL wouldn't do anything - I couldn't deal with waiting to sort it out so I bought flea stuff from the vets, treated the whole house and a week or so later I hired a Rug Doctor and washed all of the carpets.

    One lesson I've learnt from that is that I always have flea products with me as part of my 'moving in cleaning kit' and every house I move into gets sprayed - you never know if the previous owners/tenants have had pets.
  • westv
    westv Posts: 6,081 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Why are some pet owners so lax that they can't even be bothered to make sure their animal doesn't get fleas bad enough to infest a house? Do they not care about their pet?
  • DAVESDON
    DAVESDON Posts: 25 Forumite
    I'm a lawyer so I hope I can help!

    Yes, it is the landlord's responsibility to ensure you have a clean and habitable place to live. But that is assuming he knew about the cat and/or fleas. It is entirely possible that the place looked clean and he wasn't there long enough to see fleas or be bitten, in which case he'd have no idea. Most landlords include a 'carpet cleaning' clause in the tenancy agreement, which ensures that the tenant professionally cleans (and proves via receipt) the carpets before vacating.

    Anyway I digress - the landlord needs to be informed, and I suggest you ask him to pay for the place to be de-flead.

    As for the old bills - call the providers, tell them when you moved in and email the tenancy agreement if necessary. They'll open a new account for you and chase the old tenant for debt. If council tax applies, ask the landlord to inform the council so they can chase the old tenant.

    Hope that helps.
  • firesidemaid
    firesidemaid Posts: 2,129 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Bake Off Boss!
    yes, definitely get a very large can of vet-grade household flea spray.

    spray it daily, concentrating on the edges of your rooms/carpets and furniture.

    it should work within a few days.

    i would also discuss it with your landlord, to see what he/she says.

    good luck x
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