My tenant reported pests. What should I do first?

Reply quickly, in writing, and get someone to look. Pest problems tend to get bigger and dearer the longer they run, and a fast, written response protects you as much as it helps your tenant. Who pays is a separate question, and the answer depends on the country, the contract and the cause. Do not let that argument hold up the inspection.

Worried about liability and cost? Quick action and clear records are usually your best protection on both.

The first week, step by step

1. Acknowledge it in writing within a day or two. Thank them for telling you and say what happens next.
2. Ask for details: what they saw, where, since when, and photos. Ask them not to spray or use foggers before the inspection, as that scatters pests and hides them.
3. Get the pest identified. A small indoor German cockroach needs a different plan from a large one that wandered in from a drain. Bed bugs need different treatment from fleas. Mice and rats need their ways in found.
4. Book an inspection by a licensed pest controller. For bed bugs and indoor cockroaches, a professional is usually the quickest route.
5. Check neighbouring units. Cockroaches and bed bugs move through walls, pipes and shared spaces. In a block, treating one flat alone often means treating it again later.
6. Agree the preparation. The pest controller will usually give a prep list. Send it to the tenant in writing with the visit dates.
7. Plan the follow-up. A second visit and monitor traps show whether it worked.
8. Keep records of every message, visit and report.

Who pays: the usual pattern

Pests that get in through the structure, that were there before the tenancy, or that spread through the building usually sit with the landlord. Pests a tenant clearly caused may be charged to them, where the contract and local law allow. Many cases are somewhere in between.

Bed bugs reported months into a tenancy are a good example. Some people react to bites late or not at all, and bed bugs can come from a neighbouring flat. Late reporting does not prove who brought them. Treat first, and discuss cost later with evidence in hand.

For the rules where you let, ask the housing authority, the council’s environmental health team, a landlords’ association, or a lawyer if there is a dispute or a compensation claim.

Bed bugs: do not cut corners

Shop sprays and foggers tend to spread bed bugs rather than end them. A professional inspection, treatment of the affected flat and its neighbours, and a follow-up visit is the standard approach. Mattress encasements help after treatment. Ask the pest controller what their plan includes before you book.

Mice and rats: find the way in

Rodents keep coming back until the gaps are closed, and those gaps are usually in the building: around pipes, under doors, in vents and in the roof. Ask for an inspection that finds the entry points, then seal them once the animals are out. Our answer on mice that keep coming back covers the humane approach.

Kids, pets, pregnancy, asthma: ask your tenant, and tell the pest controller. It changes which products and placements suit the home. Follow the label on anything used, and give the tenant the product names and the safety advice in writing.

Once the tenancy ends, the empty weeks are the best time to finish the job. See how to clear a rental between tenants.