Rats in garden, whose responsibility landlord or tenant?

Counting_Pennies_2

I wonder if you can answer a question that is being batted around in our household tonight.

Would rats in the garden be a landlord or tenant issue?

Naturally if rats are in the house they would need clearing, but what can be done to rid rats in the garden and is that a landlord or tenant job?

Many thanks for your thoughts. It would be fantastic if answers are not just opinion based, but if you know of any written facts to help solve the debate.

Many thanks

ihatemyhouse

tenant should contact council and tell them, as LL isn't living with them

nw_mum

Contact landlord

tunnel

Guess it would depend if the garden is the tenants responsibility, could be communal, could be the tenant has thrown c*rap in the garden to create a nice home sweet home environment for the little critters. More information needed.

ihatemyhouse

am sure rats are classed as vermin and come under council control to get rid off

elsien

In our area the council will come out to deal with rats, without charge. Might be worth checking.

BigAunty

My last council offered payable pest control services and defined them as problems that landlords were responsible for dealing with. They would serve notice on landlords that ignored tenant complaints and take them to court. Cost around £100 for rodent problems.

My current council offers free rodent control for owner occupiers and tenants.

Guess which council is in London and which one is in Scotland?

RobertoMoir

Context...? Is this a hypothetical question or?
If there was already a rats nest there when the tenant moved in then I can see it being down to the LL.

If the rats are there because the tenants throw their rubbish into unprotected bin-bags that they stack waist-high all over the back garden instead of putting it into dustbins then the LL wouldn't be top of my list of people to blame.

Kynthia

I cant see this being a landlord matter. Landlord's are responsible for the structure of the building and ensure there is heating and hot water. Dealing with this would come under 'acting in a tenant like manner' in my opinion. It's the tenant's home and they have to put some efforts into maintaining and looking after it. See what Shelter says below:

Your landlord should carry out certain kinds of repairs
Landlords are responsible for most repairs to the exterior or structure of a property. This means that problems with the roof, chimneys, walls, guttering and drains are the responsibility of the landlord. Landlords are also responsible for keeping the equipment for supplying water, gas and electricity in safe working order.

Tenants often have responsibility for some minor repairs and maintenance. This usually relates to:

• internal decorations
• gardens
• furniture or equipment
• small DIY jobs such as changing plugs and lightbulbs and unblocking sinks, toilets and drains.

tealady

Hi
I would suggest that you speak to your local Council to see if they provide a free rat treatment (they do here in Brum)
At least then you can ge a professional opinion as to the cause.

theartfullodger

If there were 2 hundred rats in the garden before you moved in (I exaggerate) logicwould suggest landlord is responsible.

If, however, you've lived in rural area next to farm for a year & a rat just aappeared for the first time I doubt the landlord is responsible.

Are you just asking a hypothetical question out of boredom?

Cheers!