Is atenant responsibile for the extermination of rodents?
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Is atenant responsibile for the extermination of rodents?
I’m renting and my house has been overtaken by mice. I have trapped in excess of 10 of them within the last week. I talked to the landlord and she informed me to “get a cat”. I refuse to do this. Not only is it not a responsibility I want, it is another way for her to get an additional $300 pet deposit. I have been having problems with not only the rodents, but also spiders and earwigs. What kind of responsibility does the landlord have for these things or is it all my own?
Asked on July 18, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Nevada
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
First read the express terms of your written lease for the property you are renting with the landlord assuming there is one. There might be reference to your question in the lease and whose responsibility it is to resolve the rodent, spiders and earwig issues. Written leases set the foundation of obligations for a rental between a landlord and the tenant.
However, in many States in this country, there are laws requiring the landlord to provide a clean and safe rental for his or her tenant for safety/habitability reasons. Your issue has habitability and safety reasons all over it.
Some States have laws providing a tenant to ask the landlord to make the necessary corrections to the property rented in a reasonable time and if not done by the landlord, the tenant can make the corrections and deduct the costs for such on the next rent check payment.
Perhaps you should call your county's landlord/tenant clinic if there is one to discuss the problem of the county's building inspection department to inspect the property. A citation should get the landlord's attention.
Good luck.
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