Advice needed - Landlord isn't helping regarding bugs in property

bambam789

Hi,

As per the title I need some advice. I've been getting bugs in my rented property for the past 6 months. After letting our landlord know they sent a pest control company round who confirmed they were Biscuit Bugs. The pest controller couldn't establish where they were coming from but between us we were 90% certain they were from the loft. Long story short the pest controller treated the area in our property & said see how you get on. 

We gave it 2 months & no change. We raised the point again & after chasing/pushing for a 2 weeks they sent someone round again. This guy went into our loft & said he thinks they're coming from there. He said he would recommend to the landlord that the loft needs clearing out as there is some old junk up there (not ours). This was 2 weeks ago now. 

Since then we have chased 3 times to see what is going via our maneging agent who keeps fobbing us off. They don't seem to care that we are having bugs crawling over our kitchen unit & some in our bed occasionally but still expect us to pay rent (which we are doing).  Our rent has ironically gone up this month too.

Is there anything else we can do? It's draining having to chase up something that they should be on top off naturally. It's like they don't care at all.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

MultiFuelBurner

Biscuit beetles normally need a food source for their larvae. You would hope there was not a food source in the loft.

bambam789

MultiFuelBurner said:

Biscuit beetles normally need a food source for their larvae. You would hope there was not a food source in the loft.

Hi, Yes we were told that. The pest controller also said it could be a birds nest but ruled that out after going in the loft.

We're just so fed up of having to chase them to come round & sort the problem out. They are obviously not refusing to sort the problem BUT the amount of time that this is dragging on with is paying full rent is to us unacceptable.

MultiFuelBurner

If you don't pay full rent you could be served with a section 8 grounds 10 (basically any arrears even 1p)

I am not saying that will happen but tenants should never consider withholding rent.

Have you contacted environmental health department of your local authority for their opinion?

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-in-rented-housing/repairs-common-problems/repairs-infestations-of-pests-and-vermin/

bambam789

Yes we have considered going to environmental health. The only reason we've held back is the fear of being kicked out because we've 'reported' them in their eyes.

We are getting to that stage though as we really don't know what else to do.

deannagone

I had bed bugs in a private rental property.  I was slow to spot the infestation but once I did, I didn't bother contacting the LL I dealt with it myself.  I had pest control come in which i paid for, and he was very effective.  Also disposed of a bed.  I took it on my shoulders to do it because as I was living there, I knew I would make sure it was done properly.  My LL did as little as he possibly could, after lots of arguments.  Sorting it out myself was the easiest way in the long run to make sure it was done properly.

I'd advise googling to find out how to deal with Biscuit beetle infestations, and get rid of all dried food products in the kitchen (or wherever they are stored), use storage containers  and also contact the LL/LA about hiring a skip and emptying the loft.  Then get pest control in.

You could contact Environmental Health of course, but in my experience you'll be lucky to get them to write more than a letter to your LA/LL.

Pest control may deal with the bugs that are there on a particular day, but they won't get rid of the cause of the infestation (food, things they are living in, and reproducing in).  Remember all pests have a breeding cycle so you may need to hit them more than once.    

Keep_pedalling

MultiFuelBurner said:

Biscuit beetles normally need a food source for their larvae. You would hope there was not a food source in the loft.

They will thrive on a wide varsity of foods and are found consuming the contend of old birds nests and wasps nests. In the US they are known as drugstore beetles as they are able to eat poisonous substances like strychnine and belladonna.

https://bpca.org.uk/pest-aware/page-3/biscuit-beetle-control-get-rid-of-biscuit-beetles-bpca-a-z-of-pests/189182

bambam789

deannagone said:

I had bed bugs in a private rental property.  I was slow to spot the infestation but once I did, I didn't bother contacting the LL I dealt with it myself.  I had pest control come in which i paid for, and he was very effective.  Also disposed of a bed.  I took it on my shoulders to do it because as I was living there, I knew I would make sure it was done properly.  My LL did as little as he possibly could, after lots of arguments.  Sorting it out myself was the easiest way in the long run to make sure it was done properly.

I'd advise googling to find out how to deal with Biscuit beetle infestations, and get rid of all dried food products in the kitchen (or wherever they are stored), use storage containers  and also contact the LL/LA about hiring a skip and emptying the loft.  Then get pest control in.

You could contact Environmental Health of course, but in my experience you'll be lucky to get them to write more than a letter to your LA/LL.

Pest control may deal with the bugs that are there on a particular day, but they won't get rid of the cause of the infestation (food, things they are living in, and reproducing in).  Remember all pests have a breeding cycle so you may need to hit them more than once.    

Yes we have considered the route of dealing with it ourselves but thought why should we spend our money & time on something that in our tenancy agreement is the responsibility of the landlord. It makes the whole point of a tenancy agreement pointless if you sign it & then they don't stick to their side. We are paying rent as agreed & always have done - that is our side of the agreement which we are sticking to.

The bugs have nothing to do with our food as we have checked all our food cupboards & there has never been 1 bug in there. They are coming down from the loft into our general storage cupboard (with no food in it). 

I do fully see your view like I said we did contemplate it ourselves. But if we go down that route we may as well mend their boiler next time it goes wrong or pay for a plumber when the water is playing up. It is in the contract which they have signed to deal with bug infestations etc. It is in black & white in a legal document.

deannagone

I understand what you are saying.., but as you have pointed out, forcing a LL/LA to do what they should do can be quite a long and stressful process.  With something like this (not replacing a boiler) I would probably clear the loft out myself.  I'd try to get the LL to agree to pay some/all the cost of getting a skip but for a £100 and a few hours work.., I'd have doing it myself as a fall back position to get rid of the problem.  But that's just me, obviously.  

MultiFuelBurner

It is clear that legally this is the LL responsibility but consider these things before pushing

1) are you currently paying under market rate for rent
2) are you near the end of a current AST or are you on a periodic

Rents are increasing in large chunks at the moment so the money you consider spending sorting the issue might pale into insignificance should you have to find a new property. Moving costs, higher rent etc etc

Only you know your relationship between yourself and your LL so the above might be not applicable.

BobT36

^You'd have to be VERY careful of disposing the landlord's belongings.. There's a whole section of law around this stuff, and it's even more complicated when it's the landlord's stuff and you're a tenant.