kesm Posted March 11 Report Share Posted March 11 We rent our house to a family for 6 years now. They are saying that they have mice. There are no holes outside the property or the brick work (which is my legal responsibility). The situation got to a point that the mice ate the plastic under the sink which i paid to replace. The plumber that replaced it said that the property is very dirty. I keep saying to the tenant that she needs to clean and pretends that she cleans every night with bleach. How can I ensure that she does clean properly? Can I ask her to pay the bill for the damage under the sink that the mice caused? Help, really don’t know how to put it to her or what to do so the property is crystal clean as it was upon move in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 You need to set mouse traps to catch them and dispose of them. Mice reproduce every 6-8 weeks so it doesn't take long to be over-run with them. You cannot expect the tenant to pay for vermin damage under the sink. Mice are not concerned whether your property is clean or dirty as they will infest in either condition. You have to inform the tenant that detailed cleaning is required if, upon your property inspection, it is not up to standard. There is no easy way of doing this. Just inform them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Whenever I have had mice in rental property, it's as a result of having gaps/holes in the fabric of the building. Those buildings often had some form of cladding e.g. timber with small gaps in the wood or sealer. I accepted those gaps as my responsibility to fix and the mice my responsibility to eradicate. If your property is brick built without cladding or any gaps in the outside walls then the mice (and the damage they cause)are not your responsibility. However, it's probably in your best interest to help your tenant in any way you can and it doesn't cost much as there are lots of excellent products available. The only time we had nice in our own home was due to an integral garage. Garages have gaps especially around doors and if you leave food (pet food, bird food etc) in bags then the mice will get in and eat it. So we just made sure any food stored in the garage was in metal containers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanrent Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 If it's a terrace or semi property they could be entering from the neibours property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Your best bet is to ensure there are no gaps in the building for the mice to enter. Explain to the tenant where your responsibility ends and theirs begins and that they need to set traps or poison. Get the ball rolling by buying some proprietary items that'll cost you less than £20 just to get them started and tell them to get on with buying their own. If there is any food lying around that is not in a container, fridge or cupboard the mice will eat it and they'll keep returning. We had a lot of success with poison. It acts as a coagulant and dehydrates the mice very quickly so they die of thirst. Obviously care needs to be taken if there are pet's around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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