Selling my house with cleared up rat problem

hewittinspain

Ive recently dealt with a rat issue in the loft, I have a report from the pest controller that a rat gate has been put on sewer and so far no other issues.

Ill fully mention this on a TA6 report to stop future problems with any seller so I'll be expected to lower the price but not sure by how much is reasonable. The house value is 140k.

Do I not mention it to the estate agent, put the house on at full value and wait for it to be flagged up by the surveyor and the TA6 form otherwise I could be reducing the property twice by A) asking for a lower initial price with the estate agent and B) seller negotiating more off.

Do I choose an estate agent which has no or little fees incase things fall through because of this?

Whats the best course of action?

I will definitely put this down on a TA6 form and would I then be protected if rats return in the future once I've sold the house.

How do I go about this?

user1977

What question on the TA6 do you think is relevant? I don't see a need to declare a lack of rats.

Emmia

Rats can come into any house, for any reason - you've taken the steps to successfully get rid of them... Would you offer less for a house because the drains have an anti rat device?

Personally I wouldn't mention it.

hewittinspain

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82005329#Comment_82005329

I looked at a dummy TA6 form and I couldn't find a specific question regarding rodents, only drainage. Is this right that the TA6 actually doesn't have a specific question on that?

TroubledTarts

Interesting read

https://www.justanswer.co.uk/law/r5i8w-made-mistake-when-selling-property-not.html

Emmia

https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/property/ta6-6th-edition-explanatory-notes#environmental-matters

These are detailed notes on what the various parts of the TA6 cover. There is no mention of rodents or rats.

The link @TroubledTarts posted just highlights caveat emptor - buyer beware which applies to house purchases.

If your buyers specifically ask about rat /rodent infestations then you should be honest, but you don't need to volunteer this information. And I don't see that it justifies a price reduction.

elsien

I am also unclear why you think you would have to reduce the price of the house because of a problem that doesn’t exist.

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82005481#Comment_82005481

What made you think it did? Even if there was a question about infestations, I'm not sure why buyers would care about something which had been sorted (assuming any resulting damage had been sorted).

Bigphil1474

When you say no further issues so far, is that since the weekend, last month etc? If it's only been a short time, I'd be more inclined to make a note of it so that any buyer has an idea to keep a look out. But if it's been a few months, I'd just not mention it. We had some tree bees recently nest in our old bird house. We had it removed and the bees taken to bee nirvana (more suitable home), i wouldn't mention it if I was selling. Either way, no need to consider a price reduction, your house is probably better protected than the neighbours.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82005492#Comment_82005492

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/10/couple-win-refund-after-buying-moth-infested-london-mansion

Different infestation issue but even in private home sales there can be misrepresentations.

Caveat emptor does not give sellers a free pass to stay silent. The Misrepresentation Act 1967 makes it unlawful to make false statements that induce someone to enter into a contract, and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 require disclosure of material information.

Critically, the law does not typically impose a duty on a private seller to proactively disclose defects unless they are asked about them directly — but the TA6 form does ask about them directly, which is what triggered liability in the case above.

Worth noting that they completed the 4th edition TA6 and the questions that tripped them up no longer exist int he 6th edition.

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82005683#Comment_82005683

The OP hasn't been asked about rodent infestations by buyers, and has taken steps to deal with the problem. For some reason they want to make buyers aware proactively and are thinking of a price reduction...

If the buyer said "have you ever had a rat infestation" then not being truthful about that fact, would be misrepresentation. If the buyer asked and answer was (as it should be) "yes" but I've dealt with it, the buyer could offer less, but the OP also has a choice on whether to accept the lower offer.

If they had a rat problem dealt with 5 years ago would they declare it to buyers today if they weren't asked? Would they declare the shower leaked and they had to repair a ceiling after having it sorted?

Many houses and flats have issues, some of which will become apparent after purchase...