Does your rental have a pest problem? We share the importance of having a pest free rental, plus five ways you and your tenant can achieve this. Find out more now.
Keeping a pest-free rental property is usually pretty simple. At the beginning of the tenancy, it is your responsibility to ensure it is pest free and clean. Your tenants need to keep it in good condition so as not to encourage pests. This all sounds simple enough, yet sometimes a landlord is required to step in and either chat with the tenants or provide a pest eradication program.
As the landlord, it is in your best interests to ensure your rental remains pest-free. This is because an insect or rodent free property is cleaner, smells nicer and is not susceptible to damage caused by these pests. Your rental remains in good condition, is easier to find tenants for and can most likely obtain a higher weekly rent.
As mentioned in our article Who Pays for Pest Control: the Tenant Or Owner? we explained that who pays for the eradication can become unclear. If neither the tenant’s or landlords actions have caused the infestation, we recommend that both parties split the cost between them. What steps you take to achieve this can differ depending on the views of both parties. To help you get the ball rolling, here are a few points which can help with the goal of keeping your rental pest-free.
Ways to Keep Your Rental Property Pest Free
During a tenancy, it is the tenant’s responsibility to inform the landlord about any pest problem.While it’s normal for mice to seek warmer places inside during winter, and the ant population to increase during summer, if pests have not been encouraged, then both parties need to take action to remove and/or reduce them. This can involve:
- Fumigation at the landlord’s cost – for fleas, insects such as cockroaches, ants or silverfish
- Providing sealable rubbish bins – to prevent rubbish being removed by rodents or dogs
- Sealing up cracks and nooks – to block access into the property for mice and rats
- Remove rubbish or excess green waste from outside the property
- Lay rodent traps – while bait will kill rodents effectively, they will run off to die. This can leave decomposing bodies around to smell and they can be hard to track down. A cat or dog could also eat the body and become poisoned, making traps a better solution
- It’s also keeping the rental clean and tidy is one of the best ways to prevent unwanted pests from visiting!
- Important that the tenant doesn’t leave unsealed food around, nor dirty dishes in the sink.
For more information on pest control at your rental, take a read of our article Who Pays for Pest Control, and if you are one of our property management clients, feel free to get in touch and we’ll sort it out for you!
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