Are there fleas in your home, and your landlord just charged you for the treatment? Are you unsure if you’re entitled to pay for this? In this article, you’ll learn everything you should know.
The landlord can charge for fleas treatment if the tenant’s untidiness or activities cause the infestation. On the other hand, if the infestation isn’t traceable to the tenant or it occurred before the tenant moves in, the landlord will sort the treatment.
Can I Break My Lease Because of Fleas?
Although fleas infestation could be annoying, you can’t break your lease because of it. If fleas infest your apartment, you should complain to the landlord and allow him a reasonable time to fix it.
When it comes to breaking the lease because of fleas, there are two sides to it:
- You caused the fleas infestation
- You didn’t cause the fleas infestation
1. You caused the fleas infestation
In this case, you have no ground to break your lease; you’re liable to pay for the treatment. The infestation doesn’t have to be an intentional action by you before you’re liable to pay for the treatment. You’re also liable to pay if the infestation is unintentional, perhaps due to your negligence or untidiness.
2. You didn’t cause the fleas infestation
If you didn’t cause the infestation, you may and may not break your lease. You cannot break your lease if, after reporting to the landlord, he’s seen taking steps to get rid of the pest. However, you may have to give the landlord a reasonable time before he takes action.
On the other hand, if, after reporting to the landlord, he’s not taking any action, you should make a formal complaint at least twice. Report first by writing to the landlord about the infestation and request repairs. You should hand-deliver the request and also send it by mail. Wait for a reasonable period to get feedback.
If the landlord doesn’t attend to the condition after you’ve waited for a while, you should send a second notice. If he still doesn’t take action to resolve the issue after another reasonable time, you may proceed to the court to terminate your lease and fix the problem by yourself. You can then hold the landlord accountable for the total cost.
If you declare you’re tired of an apartment and move out because of fleas infestation without taking the steps mentioned above, the landlord could take legal action against you.
What Are My Rights if My Rental Property Has Fleas?
If your rental property has fleas, you have the right to charge your tenant for the treatment if they cause the infestation. However, if you can’t trace the infestation to your tenant, you have no right to charge them for the treatment.
You can’t break your agreement and tell your tenant to move out if they caused a flea infestation in your rental property. However, you have a right to make them pay for the treatment. Therefore, once you found that fleas infest your rental property, you should first find out what causes the infestation.
Once you can rule out that your tenant caused it, you should speak to them about it. Ask them to fix the issue, or you fix it at their cost. On the other hand, if the rental apartment is already infested before the tenant moved in, you may seek their permission to disinfect the apartment. This time, it’ll be at your own cost.
Note that if you’ll be charging your tenant for the treatment, you have no right to proceed with it without first informing the tenant.
Are Landlords Allowed to Charge Extra for Pets?
Landlords are allowed to charge a pet deposit or fees for tenants that want to move in with their pets. This extra charge is meant to repair damages caused by the pet and clean the environment when the tenant leaves.
In many states in the United States, landlords are allowed to charge extra fees for pets. There are risks associated with keeping pets in the house. They could damage some of the facilities in the property; they could cause pest infestation such as fleas infestation, and they could pollute the environment.
In such a case, the landlord has something to fall back on to fix the problems and put the property in order again. Thus, extra charges for pets aren’t meant for the landlord’s personal use. Besides fixing damages, the additional fees can also be used to clean the environment when the tenant moves out such that the environment becomes as clean as before the tenant moved in.
However, the money is refundable in a situation where there isn’t any damage caused throughout the tenant’s stay, and the property remains as clean as it was before the tenant moved in. In places where landlords are not allowed to charge extra for pets, they’re seen upping their rent as a legal means of charging for pets.
Who Pays for Pest Control in a Rental Property?
The landlord is responsible for paying for pest control in a rental property except if the pest infestation is traceable to the tenant. In such a case, then the tenant is liable to pay for the pest control.
Generally, it is the landlord’s responsibility to maintain a rental property, including pest control. Before a new tenant moves in, the landlord must ensure the property is free of pests. It is also his responsibility to ensure that the property is pest-free while the tenant remains there.
In situations where there’s pest infestation, and the tenant action or inaction causes it, then the responsibility of paying for the pest control automatically falls on the tenant. In other words, to determine who pays for pest control in a rental property, one question must be asked, “was the pest infestation caused by the tenant?” If yes, then the tenant pays for the pest control; if no, the landlord pays.
Does Your Landlord Have to Pay for an Exterminator?
It’s hard to make a sweeping statement for all jurisdiction, cities and countries around the world when landlords and tenants make agreements with each other officially. Check your contract that you have signed to see if the lease mentions anything about infestations.
In most cases the landlord is responsible to pay for the cost of an exterminator. The only way a landlord is going to make you pay is if the tenant can be proven to have negligibly caused the infestation.
A landlord’s responsibility is to regularly treat the property and surrounding area against pests, but it’s always important for tenants to have this conversation or install this agreement into a rental contract.
Are Landlords Responsible for Fleas?
A landlord is not responsible for fleas if it is proven that they arrived after you have moved in as a tenant. If the property itself had an infestation of fleas because of a tenant that was living there before you, you need to make sure you document this with photos, emails, texts or phone calls.
The landlord should provide treatment if the contract is recently signed. If you have been living on the property for many months and suddenly there is a flea infestation, the landlord will have to check to see if other surrounding areas are also infested.
If the infestation is localized in your habitation only, the landlord may successfully prove that you have caused the fleas to arrive and the payment of exterminating them will have to be provided by you as the tenant.
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