Mice??

[Ed999]

Schedule 2 of the 1999 Regulations, set out at Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2083 lists terms that may be unfair.

A pest infestation is not a type of situation covered by the Regulations.



Advice & opinions on this forum are offered informally, without any assumption of liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified and insured professional if you have any doubts.

[GlasweJen]

3 friends of mine are currently letting from an agency in Edinburgh. All three are students so pay no council tax. They moved into the house in June 2006 and it has an HMO for 3 people. The rent for the house is £875 pcm and they have never been in arrears.

When they moved into the house there were 2 sofas, one 3 seat and one 2 seat which did not match. They were filthy and the house was certainly not professionally cleaned like it says in their contract as they found all sorts in the sofa when cleaning including a few used condoms. It soon became apparent that the sofas were harbouring mice and the sofas were taken away and replaced with good condition (only a few months old) leather sofas worth a lot more than the previous sofas with permission of the letting company at my friends expense.

My friends realised that the mice were still a problem so they called the letting agent. The agency promised to get back which they didn't. They called and chased at the agency and they were told to use traps. Not wanting to use back breakers they bought (at their own expense) and set those ethically friendly traps for them and set quite a few mice loose on the Meadows in Edinburgh. Eventually the mice seemed to be gone and the traps were left with no bait.

In June 2007 they resigned their lease and this time there was a clause in the tenancy agreement stating that if there was a mouse problem it would only be dealt with by the agency if it happened within a fortnight of the date they signed the papers. They went home and heard the scurry of little feet, they called the letting agency and they promised something would get done. They then chased the agency and got told that there was no log of them calling in the set time frame and that it was their own problem. Out came the traps again but this time they didn't seem to be catching anything. The friends decided they must have an overactive imagination and they left the traps but nothing has been caught since the first set of catchings early this year.

2 nights ago one of my friends woke to find a mouse on his bed, he was panicked by it and spent the night on one of the girls rooms. This morning one of the girls woke up to find a mouse at her feet. I should mention that I know for fact there is no food eaten or stored outside their kitchen area.

They made contact with the letting agency who said not their problem. They can't lay poison as 2 of them have eczema, one has a bad heart and is waiting for surgery and one is a nurse who worries that she might inadvertantly end up with poison on her uniform. The traps are not working and they don't know what to do.

I think that the mouse clause is an unfair contract term. The letting agency have known since July 2006 that mice are an issue and they have refused to do anything. They once suggested getting a cat which is fair enough until you read and see that their tenancy agreement forbids furry pets and one of the girls is allergic. The next time they called about the cat the letting company "lost" that call (which they think means it wasn't recorded as having taken place). They don't know what to do, the letting agency are usually very helpful which makes them worry that they will get into trouble next year when they move out. They have tried getting hold of Edinburgh pest control but they haven't managed to get through so far.

Any ideas?

[MrShed]

It is irrelevant whether the clause is fair or not I'm afraid - pests and pest control are NOT the responsibility of the landlord, but the tenant.

The exception to this is when the problem is caused by a structural issue in the property.

[GlasweJen]

Thanks MrShed. I'll tell them to keep trying to get in contact with pest control at the city council.

[MrShed]

No problem. It is unfortunate that this is the law IMO, but it is. Of course, this is the law, but the agent may not be aware of this - worth still trying to push the matter with them

[Ed999]

Schedule 2 of the 1999 Regulations, set out at Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2083 lists terms that may be unfair.

A pest infestation is not a type of situation covered by the Regulations.



Advice & opinions on this forum are offered informally, without any assumption of liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified and insured professional if you have any doubts.

Note: My previous post to this effect in this thread seems strangely to have appeared in the thread out of order so I am reposting it here.