Whenever there is an infestation situation in rented homes, there will inevitably be problems between the landlord and tenant in regards to who is responsible for eradicating the pests. No one wants to deal with ridding a home of a pest infestation and the cost that comes along with it. However, this is why most landlords are purchasing better quality homes to rent out these days. Due to the costs of removing pests from homes, it’s much easier for landlords to purchase more expensive turnkey properties that are clean and free of pests. To learn more about turnkey properties, it might be worth visiting the Roofstock website.
However, not all landlords are purchasing better houses yet. One family in Houston, Texas had to deal with this very problem when they discovered that the house they were renting was infested with so many rats that it wasn’t safe for them to live in it, then to top it off they were handed a late rent notice due to not wanting to pay the monthly rental because of the property conditions.
Chantel Edmonson and her family were perfectly happy with their new home they had rented in northwest Harris County until they discovered the hundreds of rats also living there. They moved into the house on Fernstone Lane in May, but didn’t learn about the rats until they spoke to a former tenant that had also had problems with rats in June. The house was full to bursting with their little rodent houseguests. They see rats crawling around the house everyday, leaving feces all over the counter, and frightening the children with all of the racket they made in the back portion of the house. The family sent videos of rats scurrying around the house to a local news channel, and even found a rat stuck in the space between the dishwasher and the cabinets, which had to eventually be removed by an exterminator. Dozens, if not hundreds of rats were living in the walls and attic. The children were literally frightened to live in their own home because of the massive infestation.
Generally, a tenant is supposed to contact their landlord to deal with this kind of situation, but that proved to be little help in this situation. The family’s landlord, one Henri Olivier, refused to take care of the problem when confronted by them. He insisted that the rental agreement the family signed stipulates that the tenant is the one responsible for exterminating any pest infestations, not the landlord. As you can imagine, this led to some serious issues between the family and their landlord. Although, as the rats seem to have been infesting the house even before the family moved in, it seems to me like this landlord has some explaining to do. The moral of this story? Always read your rental agreement thoroughly, and make sure you know what you’re getting into before you agree to move into any house or apartment.
Have you ever had a pest infestation in a home you were renting and had issues with your landlord over who is responsible for getting rid of said pests?
