Ms Amanda

[Amanda]

a tenant has a wasps nest in the garden. Who is responsible for its removal. The landlord or the tenant?

[Richlist]

Thats a really interesting question.....which is more difficult to answer than you might imagine.

If the garden was say 2 acres in size then a wasp nest wouldn't cause much of a problem but if the garden was 30 ft square then it would.

So, my take is that almost anything that interfers with the tenants ability to enjoy the property e.g......broken fence letting wild animals into garden, bird stuck down chimney, rats or mice in the property etc are the landlords responsibility to fix.

Don't know if it's covered by insurance, or if council pest control will sort it for you. If the property is leasehold then it would be covered by service charges normally.

 

[Melboy]

If this wasp nest was in my tenants garden I would deal with it and would not expect the tenant to have any responsibility for clearing it out.

Easily done as I had to clear one last year..........just wear light body protection and spray or inject a branded wasp nest spray in the early morning or late evening. It does work.

[Amanda]

Thankyou for your advice. Originally I thought I wasn’t responsible but on reading your replies I will arrange for it’s removal!

[Carryon Regardless]

You are responsible for any pest that was present prior to the start of tenancy.

I had the same issue some years back, the T and I researched and came to the same conclusion. It was latish in the summer and the nest would have grown to it's near enough full size to disturb them would likely have caused a greater problem. There would be many wasps unable to find their home and then be wandering aimlessly and feasibly annoyed. Actually getting to the nest, in our case in a roof void, would have been near impossible to effectively remove anyway.

An issue will arise come September(ish) as they start to die, that's when they are more likely to sting. Wasps don't return to the same nest the following year, but 'may' be somewhere close.

My view is that unless you get to it early it may be best to leave it, and be prepared with sprays come September. Before that and if you don't bother the wasp it'll not bother you. It's just that many have a fear.

 

[Grampa]

We as a agent would treat it differently. We class it the same as any pest or infestation. If it occurs during the tenancy and not caused by a breach of the landlords repairing obligation or  structural defect and was not there at the start of the tenancy it is the tenants responsibility to resolve.  Otherwise where do you draw the line? If you had a red ants infestation in the garden or field mice would you also swallow the cost of that also? 

Our tenancies do also allow for this which you would need.

Though I do acknowledge sometimes for the sake of good tenant/landlord relations it may be prudent for the landlord to deal with. 

[Melboy]

Just goes to show what a big softee I am Grampa............😇

[Grampa]

15 hours ago, Melboy said:

Just goes to show what a big softee I am Grampa............😇

Horses for courses. I dont think there is a right or wrong way with this issue its personal choice but as you become so cynical in this industry I just assume I would then get inundated with unnecessary requests thereafter if the landlord/agent deals with.. 

[Richlist]

Well I'm guessing this sort of issue (pests, vermin, unwanted furry or crawly visitors.... doesn't happen very often).

Agents with hundreds of tenants probably  see it from time to time......someone like me with a few properties has seen it a couple of times in 20 years.

Bed bugs seem quite common.

I've had mice/ rats in flats but have had council pest controlling sort it out......even though there were gaps in the building (exterior wooden cladding) through which they gained access.

I've had more trouble with human pests (tenants) than anything else so it's not something high on my list of problem areas.

I'd probably pay to get wasp nest removed.....can't imagine it's gonna be very expensive.