landlord let flea infested property to me

[zower]

been here 10 days, 120 bites, GP put me on antibiotics and my 10 year old son decamped to bathroom because tired of fleas jumping on him. we are on HB, private landlord who had pets who used toilet as a garden - so you get the picture. We have no pets and i have never had fleas in my life. pest controller coming tmrw, anyone experience of this. will it work? my own personal de-fleaing efforts have come to nil. it is actually affecting my mental health, and i have chronic heslth problems to begin with (ME) though i am trying to stay strong. letting agents will get back to me as to whether landlord wl refund me. should i get legal aid? SHELTER have told me its a grey are But its very clear the fleas were here before me as the bites started 24 hours after my arrival.

i just need to know what to do next. do flea controllers from rhe council - cost £100 work in people's experience? shoukd i try and get legal aid. ir just put up with till tenancy ends- 6 months assured. p.s. letting agents have been informed.

p.s. i feel angry as well as distressed. i want compensation but most of all a solution. but i also do not want to make myself and my son's life any more sressful than it is. on verge of tears and on edge in my own home. i don't want to over-react and waste precious energy IYKWIM.

Def get some advice from shelter of CAB. No fucking way should you be out of pocket for de-fleaing the house! Will you get some kind if report from the pest control? That might help you getting the money back.

I have used council pest control in a previous house. DO send the bill and a strong letter to your letting agent, also consult CAB and Shelter for your legal rights and to clarify your landlord's responsibilities.

Sorry, meant to say that the council fumigation service did work, no fleas afterwards. Also I believe it came with a guarantee that they would treat again if the fleas came back within a certain timeframe.

The council ones are usually the best to use. The individual pest control experts are salaried so won't overcharge you for extra work (disclaimer: some private pest controls are good and honest). Have you asked about a reduction in costs for people on benefits? My council offers a reduced fee for that.

always a risk when you move into a property where animals have lived. (which is why many landlords don't allow pets) And animals do use the garden as a toilet - better than the house!

it needs serious fumigation, flea bombs etc - not the stuff you can buy over the counter. It is a serious nuisance but it is not life threatening or a threat to mental health. (This is not 'dissing' any MH issues you may already have)

Before you start thinking legal aid etc, try talking to the landlord via the letting agency and negotiating.

the fleas will die off eventually with no animals to perpetuate the lifecycle, but it will take a while.

thanks for helpful advice!

i should point out to special though, i do not as you`ve assmed normally have mental health issues - its just very stressful in addition to moving. also its not normal IME for a dog to be allowed to use the garden as a toilet.

but glad to hear pest controller will hopefully be able to deal with it properly and may ask her for advice as people have suggested.

its just put me off living here too

We've had this problem twice in rented accomodation.

The first time was caused by DW letting one of the local cats hang aroud in our house. This was around the time we got married and we came back from honeymoon to find the house crawling with them. You could literally watch them hopping across the floor towards you. Basically after a couple of weeks of trying to deal with it ourseves and not getting anywhere we had to get the council in. They were brilliant - when the first treatment didn't get rid of all of them they came back round and did a second treatment for free and we were flea-free from that point.

The second time we moved into a house where the previous tenant had obviously had a cat (we found a cat toy behind the washing machine) and there were fleas in the property. This time as we weren't to blame we reported it to the letting agency and insisted they send someone round at the landlord's expense. The infestiation wasn't as bad with this one so it was solved in one treatment.

My advice would be to pressure the letting agency to pay for someone to come round, but if you really can't wait then the council pest controllers should do the job.

thanks.

I would be kicking up a fuss with the letting agency about the state of the garden as well. No way should you be cleaning up someone else's dog mess.

I am sure the treatment will work. I would be asking for a reduction in this month's rent.

for sure Flossy I will consider that. i am just gutted we are in this state atm. But i will try and stay calm till tmrw. but - just to add - even since this thread started 6 more bites and blood running down my leg from horrible itching. bastards.