Who Is Responsible For Pest Control On A Rental Property?

No matter who you are or where you live, nobody likes pests. Whether it’s bed bugs, termites, mice, or another pest, they’re a nuisance, and they keep you from living your best life. A hatred of pests applies to both homeowners and renters alike. If you live in a rental property infested with pests, it’s important to know whether it’s your responsibility or your landlord’s to get rid of the pests.

If you live in a rental property, it’s almost always the landlord’s responsibility to take care of pest control. This applies to houses, apartments, and multi-housing developments alike. The only time that the renter is responsible for pest control is in situations where you caused the problem or if your lease dictates that you’re responsible.

The division of responsibility between landlord and renter on a rental property is a subject of endless discussion. It’s not unusual for owners to sneak clauses into lease agreements stipulating that they aren’t liable for pest control. In nearly all situations, however, this responsibility often falls to the landlord or owner of the property rather than the person renting it.

While the landlord is often responsible for paying for pest control and hiring the company, pest control is a dual-responsibility situation. The tenant and landlord often have to work together to take care of infestations. There are also times when the landlord isn’t held liable for infestations if they can prove that it happened due to something the tenant did.

There are several loopholes and caveats to be aware of regarding whether responsibility falls to the landlord or the tenant. It sometimes also depends on the type of property that’s being rented.

In single-family buildings such as houses, the line is a little bit blurrier about who is in charge of taking care of pest control. In many situations, it still falls to the landlord to ensure that pests are dealt with. However, in certain cases, if the landlord can prove that the tenant is at fault for causing the infestation, the tenant is forced to take care of the pest control.

Regardless of who pays for it and who hires the pest control company, it’s up to the tenant to make sure their landlord is aware of the problem. Your landlord isn’t going to know that there are pests unless you notify them, and this responsibility always falls to the tenant.

In multi-family units and apartment buildings, the landlord is responsible for taking care of pest control. It still falls to the tenant or tenants to notify them of the problem, but the landlord pays for the process and hires the pest control company.

Pest control is similar to any other problem in a rental property. For example, if the floors, walls, or ceilings in a rental need to be replaced or repaired, it will always fall to the property owner to make these changes rather than the renter. However, if damage directly results from something the tenant has done, they will have to pay for the repairs. The landlord will make sure that they happen, but they aren’t going to foot the bill for something that wasn’t their fault.

The first thing you’ll do is hire a pest control professional or an exterminator. In most cases, both pros will be able to take care of your infestation. They will just go about it in different ways. Exterminators typically use harsher chemicals when eliminating pests, whereas pest control companies use less harmful chemicals but may take longer to get the job done.

In the cases of rental properties, it’s always the responsibility of the landlord to hire a pest control company. That is, of course, unless the lease stipulates otherwise. Who pays for the pest control will depend on where you live and the terms of your lease, but hiring typically falls to the landlord.

Not all states have explicit laws or warranties of habitability about all types of pests. In most cases, it will come down to whatever your lease says about pest control. For larger properties and apartment buildings, you don’t always have a say about what your lease says regarding pest control. However, these properties are usually the ones that are protected by pest control laws.

The laws aren’t always as clear for single-family homes and duplexes or triplexes. You must make sure that pest control details are included in the lease when you sign it and that your landlord is responsible for any infestations.

If you don’t want to jump straight to breaking your lease if a landlord doesn’t take care of pest control, you have several other options. Most states allow you to withhold rent from your landlord if they aren’t complying with the lease terms in regards to pest control. You can then decide to live with the problem and not pay rent or move into temporary housing. You can also move in with friends or family until your landlord lives up to his end of the agreement and takes care of pest control.