Renting, Rat problem

daphnemoon

Hello,

I'm currently 5 months into a 12 month AST and I live in England.

My TA says nothing about pests, I have had a rat get into the basement which fell through large grating over the old coal shoot. I bought a trap for £25 as it was over the weekend and the agents answerphone message gave a number for emergency calls only and said I would be charged a fee if I called and they deemed it a 'non emergency"

Said trap killed the rat, I called the council in as advised on the Monday by the agents. There was no fee from the council, the pest controller who came told me the point of entry and clearly advised me I were not to blame, no rubbish left out etc.

LL is now refusing to cover the gap insisting its a one off event. They kindly suggested maybe I would like to do this for them at my own expense. I have no tools or experience and I cannot afford to buy what's needed along with the wire. I've had to bleach (bought thick gloves, clothes, bleach myself) the basement steps the top of the stairs and basement to clear the wee as it's apparently very dangerous. Also lots of possessions I had at the top of the stairs, such as outdoor swing seats, boxes of cycle equipment etc, had to be thrown away as they were chewed through, had been wee'd on and poo'd in.

So do I have any rights? I don't want to get any bad feeling between myself and the agent or LL as I love the house but I'm feeling a bit upset especially as I've already paid for the trap. I've also previously filled many gaps in the walls and door surrounds, treated large areas and deep cleaned all at my own expense when I had a previous infestation of flies!

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Thank you for your help and time

anselld

Unfortunately, enforcing your rights and keeping a good relationship are not going to sit well together if the L has chosen to be lazy.

If you want to escalate the issue then report the issue in writing along with the pest controller's comments and say that you will invite a view from the Environmental Health Officer if no action is taken.

jjlandlord

To be fair, most of what you describe seems to be your responsibility as tenant.
Arguably your landlord should close that gap, however it sounds simple to do yourself.

davidmcn

daphnemoon wrote: »

LL is now refusing to cover the gap insisting its a one off event.

From what you've said it sounds like it is (so far) a one-off event. I don't think there's any implied right to have all rat-sized gaps filled in by your landlord.

Guest101

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/housing_w/housing_repairs_in_rented_housing_e/housing_disrepair_common_problems_e/disrepair_infestations_of_pests_and_vermin.htm

&

http://m.england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/common_problems/pests_and_vermin

Baby_Angel

We had mice problem. The only remedy the LL took was to send a professional to place poison and that is even worse than traps. They die under the bath tub or some inaccessible covered surface and you have to live with it. We knew where the holes were in the floor boards but the landlord didn't want to cover them. We did all we can to cover as much as possible ourselves. We had a 4 yr old at the time and were fed up cleaning every imaginable surface. It costs us a lot of money, time and effort. One of our reasons to move out. When we got our own house first thing we did was mice proof the whole house

I can only sympathise with the OP.

AdrianC

davidmcn wrote: »

I don't think there's any implied right to have all rat-sized gaps filled in by your landlord.

And filling every gap a rodent could possible enter through would not only be impossible, but would quickly cause condensation and damp problems through lack of ventilation.

maninthestreet

How big is the this grating?

fairy_lights

daphnemoon wrote: »

Also lots of possessions I had at the top of the stairs, such as outdoor swing seats, boxes of cycle equipment etc, had to be thrown away as they were chewed through, had been wee'd on and poo'd in.

I think you're overreacting a bit. Those items could all have been wiped off, they didn't need to be thrown away.

daphnemoon

Thank you all for your replies I appreciate the advice.

The grates cover a hole about 2ft square and there are 5 rods going one way. Chicken wire is sharp and I have nothing to cut it with or gloves etc.

I'm not really overreacting we were told to clean everywhere he'd been with bleach and throw absorbent items away. He chewed through most of the items making them totally useless! If you look up about Weil's then you would not think it's over the top to dispose of items the wee had soaked into - hardly safe to wipe the things down that we had to throw away.

Seems there is little I can do then, so thanks for the help everyone.

AdrianC

daphnemoon wrote: »

Chicken wire is sharp and I have nothing to cut it with or gloves etc.

A pair of side cutters and a pair of cheap work gloves would cost less than a fiver.