Rat Control Responsibility - Landlord Forum thread 360759

Rat Control Responsibility by GUANGRUI on August 12, 2020 @17:30

New tenants moved in and a couple of weeks later they claimed sound on attic, suspected rat, and requested me to handle that . Leasing terms states tenants be responsible for pest control after move in.

Should I be paying for it? they told they found a contractor look at the situation and price range is 1000 and 1500, too much for me, in Southern California

thank you
Gary

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Re: Rat Control Responsibility by lpadave on August 13, 2020 @06:17	[ Reply ]

Yeah,".........right,.....welcome to southern ca. Did the rat guy roll up in his 200,000 sports truck ?? Since it's so close se to move in, I'd say you should take care of it. Properties in the hills are prone to rats, mice, raccoons, squirrels,, etc. You need to identify what's there AND properly close up access. Trim back trees from roof areas. One time look see and trap set with two or three comebacks should only be a few hundred dollars. If you have lots of access points that need to be located and closed up,....that's what you'll spend the money on. You're responsible for varmit proofing your property. Tenant is responsible for good housekeeping. You don't want the health department calling on you because the tenant dropped a dime . Take care of it no matter what your lease says.

Re: Rat Control Responsibility by Jason on August 21, 2020 @00:42	[ Reply ]

I agree with lpadave. Just take care of it yourself. There's a difference between rats gaining entry to the property vs fleas that were brought in by their dog. One would be YOUR responsibility and the other is THEIRS. You could always have someone come out to give you an estimate and point out where they could be entering from - they you can fix it yourself instead of paying $1k.