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Landlord charging for mystery flea infestation
curtis2307
Posts: 3 Newbie
All,
My wife and I had been renting a house until recently and have two cats. The landlords also had pets before they moved to Australia and were fine with our cats moving in too. We lived in the property for 2 years and a month after moving out (deposit has already been returned) we have been contacted by the letting agent telling us that there was a flea infestation and that we're to pay a fee as they had to get the carpets treated.
Whilst we were there our cats never had fleas and we treated them regularly to prevent them ever getting fleas.
What is the situation here? Do we pay or do we fight this? Our tenancy never had a special pet clause.
Any advice would be appreciated.
My wife and I had been renting a house until recently and have two cats. The landlords also had pets before they moved to Australia and were fine with our cats moving in too. We lived in the property for 2 years and a month after moving out (deposit has already been returned) we have been contacted by the letting agent telling us that there was a flea infestation and that we're to pay a fee as they had to get the carpets treated.
Whilst we were there our cats never had fleas and we treated them regularly to prevent them ever getting fleas.
What is the situation here? Do we pay or do we fight this? Our tenancy never had a special pet clause.
Any advice would be appreciated.
0
Comments
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Is the property re let? If so then they could easily have bought in the fleas from anywhere work the bus or their friends cat. it could be their movers their friends the gas man anyone.
The question to then is that having left a month ago and new moved in can they prove that it was your cat their fleas or ones that you brought in on the last day? No, fight it.Stop! Think. Read the small print. Trust nothing and assume that it is your responsibility. That way it rarely goes wrong.
Actively hunting down the person who invented the imaginary tenure, "share freehold"; if you can show me one I will produce my daughter's unicorn0 -
Yes the house has been re let and the new tenants raised the alarm. They are suggesting that there may have been eggs laying dormant that have been disturbed by the new tenants. Like I say, our cats never had fleas. They were housecats and treated regularly. As our deposit has already been returned I'm tempted to do nothing.0
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I'd write (or email..) thanking them kindly for their suggestion but decline. Or just ignore them
If they take that to court I doubt they'd win.. Can't see it would be worth taking to court either...0 -
Although I have a lot of sympathy for the new tenant, and landlord, I think there is little they can do.
As a LL, the worst scenario is where a tenant with pets moves out, a new tenant moves in, and then shortly after complains of fleas. As LL, of course
a) you have to deal with the fleas for the new tenant and
b) it really sours the new LL/T relationship
Personally I would have de-flea'd automatically when you moved out, and charged you - irrespective of how well-cared-for you claimed the cats were. But then I'd also have had a clause for that in the agreement.0
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