Regardless if you are a cat person or not, you cannot deny the handsome fella in the featured image is way too cute. His name is Dusty and he is – along with his human family, of course! – one of our valued and loveable tenants.
Friendly and very chill, Dusty enjoys long walks around the backyard, receiving pats along his back and keeping his bright orange fur freshly clean.
One thing Dusty does not enjoy? Pest infestations.
Over his time living in the peaceful Bulimba, Dusty has heard from his neighbourhood fur-ends how some humans remain oblivious to the fact that it is no longer the job of a cat to chase mice.
“Such a boomer idea”, declared Dusty in between licking his paws. “We have TVs at home now.”
Problematic as it might be, truth is pest infestations do happen for several reasons not only related to cleanliness of the environment. Mice, cockroaches, ants etc., can ‘attack’ a property at any given time provided circumstances.
And whether it is the landlord’s or the tenant’s responsibility to treat it can be quite confusing.
Most common pestering issues…
Out of the innumerous creatures that can infest a property, a few can be shortlisted as the main showstoppers:
This list might expand to spiders, snakes, termites and possums depending on how terrifying the case might get.
…and their usual causes
The cause of a pest infestation is not always related to the cleanliness of the environment. Seasonal and weather changes, loss of habitat and food or water shortages are a few of the things that contribute (or solely cause) why pests find attractive conditions inside properties.
As stated by Dusty, this is extremely unfair to domestic animals like himself, who need to go through a process of approval by the Body Corporate and landlord plus be stated on Lease Agreement.
The lease agreement
As the base document for your tenancy, your Lease Agreement should be your first resource and an important source of information. Make sure you read the document and its annexes carefully.
When it comes to pest infestations, however, it is little of a grey area as regulations either don’t or minimally state what’s to be done and by who. This can impact the lease agreement redaction and leave the answer to best practice.
At the start of a tenancy, it is the job of the lessor to provide the tenants with a property free of pests, and the responsibility of the tenants to make sure the premises are kept clean and well maintained in order to avoid attracting them.
During the tenancy – landlord or tenant responsibility?
Unfortunately, there is no forward answer to this question.
When dealing with some infestations (e.g. termites, wasps, possum, venomous animals) the responsibility to arrange the treatment or removal is the landlord’s as this might present a hazard to the tenants and/or property.
Infestations of ants, mice and cockroaches, on the other hand, would be essentially the tenant’s responsibility as they often occur due to food wrongly stored or uncleanliness. Regardless of treatment, if the infestation remains, residents can report the issue to management so a discussion can be opened with the landlord and action taken.
When asked his opinion on this puzzling topic, Dusty only purred: “As long as I don’t have to do it.”
No matter if you are a landlord or a tenant – it is important to rest assured the team responsible to care for your property has the knowledge to handle difficult issues such as pest infestation. At Odyssey Property Concierge, our highly experienced team works with smaller portfolios per agent, allowing our Property Managers to dedicate more time resolving such problems.
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At Odyssey Property Concierge, we are committed to our people, our clients and our tenants for the long term. We are committed to delivering outstanding experiences, heartfelt service and authentic connections to all who cross our paths.
We don’t believe in trivial connections or simple feats. Nor do we believe in delivering transactional moments or forgettable situations. We don’t believe in people or properties being another number or asset. Nor do we believe in our people treating this like another job.
And we aren’t just another property management service. We are built on a desire to serve our community of property owners, tenants, trades people, in a market where for so long, the relationships were stagnant, torpid and immovable.
We don’t just want to manage properties, we are on a long and eventful journey, committed to making your everyday exceptional.
