Is the Landlord responsible?

[pedropony76]

Started a similar thread yesterday so sorry to be annoying!

I private rent and just wanted to know if I had a serious problem with mice if it’s the Landlord’s responsibility to do something about it? Currently have mice which ex dp is dealing with however they seem to reside in the kitchen.

The kitchen is attached to the living room with only a doorway and no door. There’s also no door in the living room meaning I can’t just close the door and shut them in a specific room. In the kitchen near the over there’s a MASSIVE open space underneath one of the cupboards. However the way the kitchen is set up, no one could physically get under there to put steel wool in any gaps etc. Maybe someone from pest control could get through but even then I’m not sure.

I have a 3 month old and 15 month old too. Is it unreasonable to send an email and expect the Landlord to have some sort of involvement seeing as this is his property? Even if he could call pest control to have a look at the space underneath the cupboard and do something about it?

Screwing and unscrewing cupboards literally sounds like too much work for me. Surely I can pay someone to do this? Can I even pull cupboards out and put steel wool there as it’s the LL’s property?

I was a landlord for a rental property a few years ago. If my property had an infestation of any sort I would have valued a telephone call or email to let me know. I would have tried to help sort the issue. It is in your landlord's interest to deal with issues like this. Good luck

I believe it is the tenant's responsibility.
When my tenant had mice and told my agent my agent stated it was their responsibility, the contract clearly stated this.
But mice damage the fabric of the building, water pipes etc so I paid for three visits from a pest company.
Not because I had to but because it seemed a sensible investment in my property.

Call your landlord and explain what's happening. If I were a landlord I would immediately try and sort it all out if my tenant was unable to (for whatever reason).

We got one humane mouse trap and caught 7 in 36 hours. I took them to the park and released them. We've not had trouble since.

Thank you guys.

It seems it’s my responsibility as the tenant but it’s also in the Landlord’s best interest to get involved as mice can damage his property. Well let’s hope he sees it that way!

I’ve sent the email to the agent so we’ll see what happens

You/landlord need to find out how they are getting in from outside otherwise putting down traps is useless. Once the hole(s) is found humane traps and Nutella will sort them out

Your landlord is responsible.

If you've identified that they're coming from the hole in the kitchen, or are likely to be coming from there, then he is responsible for repairing the hole and dealing with the resulting infestation. He has a legal duty to ensure your home is fit for human habitation.

If he gives you any shit over it then contact environmental health, they'll come out and identify where rhe mice are coming from and then will either compel him to repair it/deal with the infestation or they'll take care of it via the council and will bill him for the service.

Surely holes in the house that allow mice to get in is a landlords responsibility?! Why on earth should a tenant have to pay to patch up somebody else's houses if they didn't make the holes?

Thank you!

I’m 99% sure that’s where it’s coming from as that’s where the mice run everytime we’ve seen them. It’s also a huge space so there could be all sorts living there and I’d have no clue. I’ve sent the email to the estate agent and the one that deals with my property is always quite reasonable so I’m sure she’ll help me.

If not I’ll be contacting environmental health like you’ve advised, thanks so much