Who pays for pest control? The landlord or the tenant?

This is an age old question people ask when they have a pest problem in their rented property.

What is the answer you ask?

Well it depends…

You see the answer will usually be in your tenancy agreement. This is why we always advise people to have a clause covering pest control in their tenancy agreement otherwise it can result in a lot of finger pointing and a slow response in resolving the issue potentially allowing the problem to get worse.

Most tenancy agreements will usually stipulate that the landlord is responsible in keeping the property in a habitable state and the tenant is responsible for maintaining sanitary conditions.

In our experience overwhelmingly the landlord has been responsible for pest control works required in the property. There are several reasons for this such as:

• A structural issue like a hole in a wall or defect in the roof has allowed the pests entry and resulted in the infestation.
• The property was already suffering from a pest problem prior to the tenant moving into the property or has had pest problems in the past and the problem has reoccurred.
• If the tenancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible for pest control in the property or ensuring that the property is habitable then that usually means the landlord is responsible for the repair.

Please bear in mind that the scenario presented can have a bearing on the situation.

For example if you have pets in the property and they end up with fleas. In this scenario it is difficult to ascertain liability, as although the pets may have not caused the problem, the fleas will not usually infest a property that has no pets.

If your lease says no pets allowed and you have pets in the property which get fleas and the property requires treatment then it is difficult to see how the landlord should be responsible for the treatment of the property.

Also if you have travelled recently and been exposed to bedbugs and brought them back to the property. It can be difficult to ascertain liability in these situations without reading your tenancy agreement and speaking to the landlord.

In all cases such as this it makes sense to speak as soon as you are aware of the issue with the landlord or managing agent to discuss your options. If there is a dispute then legal help may be the best option.

Please note that what we have said in this article is mainly based on our experience of pest control in tenanted properties in the past and from reading other related material. We are not offering legal advice and do not take any liability whatsoever for any inaccuracies in the information presented above. When is doubt always consult an appropriate legal professional.

A point I would like to add for landlords. Some landlords are very proactive in repairs regardless of liability and some do not see why they should pay for pest control especially when they have a good case for not paying. I would always like to bring it to their attention that in my experience in the past I have seen many instances where tenants have not taken adequate steps to resolve an issue and have left the property leaving the landlord with an even more expensive problem to fix further down the line as pest problems, as a rule of thumb, only ever get worse with time. I am not advocating on behalf of either party but I would strongly urge you to protect your investment as promptly as possible.

Is there good money in pest control?

There is a living to be made in pest control if you know how to do it right but I would rush to add that the living is no way superior to a living doing other occupations. As a salaried pest control technician you will rarely make significantly more than the UK average wage. If you are self-employed then you have the potential to make a lot more but do not go assuming millions. All those millions are tied up with larger companies who have the man-power and the infrastructure to deal with companies that have a lot of money to spend on pest control.

According to indeed -the jobs website- the average wage of a pest control technician is £22,000. Self employed pest controllers can earn the same or a hell of a lot more depending on their hard work, luck and contacts in the industry if they’re well known.

In fact I know a window cleaner with few if any qualifications to his name who makes way more than most self-employed pest control contractors I know. How much money you make is massively dependant on what effort you put into an endeavour.

I know of pest control companies who have not raised the prices of their pest control contracts in 20 years. Like all industries and markets in the UK the pest control industry has a lot of competition. There are big and small companies out there battling for custom doing everything in their power to get customers. Some charge ridiculously high prices and some ridiculously low prices.

Pest control is especially price sensitive as no customer wants pest control -they need it and hence will look for the cheapest in a lot of cases. This is especially true for commercial pest control customers who will do everything they can to keep the cost down.

I should add though that a lot of pest control companies owners I know are successful in earning a living salary from there business but few if any of them have the traditional trappings of wealth like big houses or cars.

So if you have a get rich quick mentality then that is not going to happen. Blood, sweat, tears and years is what it will take to build a pest control business up to a good wage level. I would like to add that it is worth it in the end but that is the same with any business where you graft your way to a living.

Pest control technicians need to have a thorough and detailed understanding of various pests, practical control methods, legislation, safety protocols and the paperwork associated with all of the above. One mistake can send you to jail. I’m not kidding. You are usually working with products not available to the public and so great care and effort are required when your out on the field. At the same time due to the knowledge and experience required by a professional pest controller and the fact that it is not an obvious career choice for most people, it is quite stable.

I would add that pest control is not a recession proof industry, but it is recession resilient. I mean that pests will always be around so they will need to be controlled but as any experienced pest controller will tell you commercial work is an important part of the job and that can be affected in a recession. I know many pest control technicians who have lost there jobs in a recession but many who have kept them also.

If you want to do it as a career then I don’t see why not. Pest control is an undervalued but extremely important service. You will in most cases make a reasonable living doing pest control, be it employed or self-employed, but your effort and luck will determine your outcome. I think that applies to everything in life.

How much does pest control cost?

The pest control cost in your home or business depends on many different factors

3 such factors are the nature of the problem, the location of the property affected and the type of building or property with the pest problem. It is impossible to give someone an exact cost off the bat for pest control as all these factors need to be considered before quoting.

A 5-bedroom Edwardian house with a rat problem will pest control cost more than a new build 2 bedroom semi in most cases for example. Now if the 2 bed semi had a bigger infestation then that may flip the equation in the opposite direction.

If your calling national companies for quotes then I have seen some whopping figures quoted for pest control. An example would be a combined £2500 for bedbug chemical and heat treatment. This is a treatment we can do for less than a 1/4 or 1/5th of the price.

If your calling for a wasps nest removal service companies usually quote in the region of £50 to +£100. It all depends on who you call. I know that other companies can quote all the way up to £200 for the same service and that is sometimes with no guarantees of any kind.

For rat and mouse control the cost is very variable and I caution readers against companies who display fixed pricing for these issues as how are they supposed to know before discussing your problem with you as to how many visits your problem is likely to take to resolve or how much material will be required to kill all your pests.

The severity of the issue plays a part as well.

Your property type, level of problem and location all have a part to play in the exact cost. Bear in mind that severe rat or mouse issues may require more visits which will of course increase the cost.

I would strongly encourage you to be just as wary of prices which are too cheap as ones that are too expensive.

Prices which are too cheap will usually involve the use of sub-standard or illegal materials, poor accountability on the part of the contractor and in the worst case scenario you end up having to pay twice as the first person failed to resolve the issue. That does not mean you pick someone expensive. You look at the reputation of the company and select one who seems reasonable.

I was once called to do pest control in a fast food takeaway which had cockroaches. They paid their previous contractor a pittance for treatment which obviously was done using materials completely unsuitable for the job and only made the problem worse. Later when the environmental health officer walked in and saw the state of the infestation she closed them immediately. The business owners called and called the cheap contractor who completely ignored them and then realised that they would have to pay the going rate. We completely eradicated the problem in about 9 days and it has remained clear since as they kept us on for their regular checks. You get what you pay for. Don’t pay for the most expensive company but don’t go looking for Mr cheap as there is usually a reason why they’re so.

With regards to bird control and commercial pest control both pest control requirements usually require a site survey to accurately quote as each job and its requirements may differ.

London based pest control companies will as a rule of thumb be more expensive than say Glasgow based ones as they will have invariably higher operating costs.

In a nutshell – get some quotes.