Pests and infestations
We want our customers to live in homes that are safe and healthy. Here’s more information about your responsibility to prevent and treat pests, and how to avoid infestations in your home.
You can also find out more about what pests are, and our responsibility to treat pests in communal areas and complete structural repairs that are enabling infestations.
Serious pest infestations are a risk to public health or spread disease. They include:
- Rats or mice where present in unusually large numbers.
- Bedbugs which can spread to the whole building and can be difficult to eradicate.
- Cockroaches that may spread disease.
Responsibilities
Customers and residents
You are responsible for the prevention, treatment (and associated costs) of most common pest infestations in your home and garden. We can offer advice on effective services or products for the eradication of pests. However, you will generally be responsible for the decision to purchase services.
We recognise that some customers with additional needs, including people with a hoarding disorder, may be less able to manage their home and garden and therefore more prone to pest infestations. If you are living with any kind of vulnerability, please let us know.
Any persistent behaviour that encourages pests may be addressed as a tenancy breach.
What we will do
SYHA will take reasonable steps to prevent and treat pests in communal areas. Our responsibility may extend to your home if an infestation has spread from a communal area, or if the cause is found to be a fault in the structure of the building.
We will arrange to carry out a survey that will look at areas of your home including any loft spaces, under kitchen units, air vents, drains and waste pipes. If we find that there are no building related reasons for the infestation, we may recharge you for the cost of the survey.
We will also take action where there is a serious infestation (such as bed bugs) in a property where there are communal areas and there is a risk of spreading to other people’s homes.
We will investigate reports and arrange treatment of infestations of wasps and bees if the nest is inside the property. We are not responsible for infestations or nests that are external to the property or in the garden.
If we are responsible, we will:
- Use a qualified pest control company to carry out any treatment, including repeat treatments (generally three times)
- Make good any structural works (sealing potential entry points, including cracks and holes)
- If you need to move out of your home whilst pest treatment takes place, this will be managed in accordance with our Decant Policy.
Top tips for keeping your home pest-free
- Wipe kitchen surfaces and floors regularly to remove any traces of food, especially after preparing or eating a meal
- Clean up food spills immediately
- Don’t leave food (including pet food) or dirty dishes out, particularly overnight
- Store food in sealed containers
- Make sure rubbish is in a bin bag, and throw it away in your bin or bin store
- Keep your garden tidy to reduce the chance of nesting
- Feed birds using a table or a feeder off the ground. If rats are identified, remove food from any bird feeders.
- Be a good neighbour and help to keep communal areas on your estate clean and don’t drop litter.
Pests and Infestations
Pests are considered to be any organism (typically vermin or insects) that causes harm, nuisance, or damage.
An infestation is the presence of pests in unusually large numbers. Infestations that are harmful under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 definition of statutory nuisance or may be considered a hazard under the Housing Health and Rating System. If an infestation is recognised as a statutory nuisance or a hazard, we have an obligation to take action and resolve the issue.
We will not treat the following types of pests:
- Foxes are not regarded as pests so will not be treated. Nuisance relating to foxes can be eased by not leaving food out to encourage them and maintaining a tidy garden.
- Bats are protected by The Wildlife and Country Act (1981). It is illegal to kill or injure bats and it is also unlawful to disturb roosting bats, or to damage or destroy any place used by bats for roosting.
- Masonry Bees are incapable of stinging or harming humans so we will not destroy them.
- Bumblebees can sting humans, but are the least aggressive of the stinging insects.
- Honeybees – we will provide details of the British Beekeeping Association and you will be responsible for contacting them or a registered beekeeper so they can arrange removal.
- Fleas are typically brought into a property via pets or can be transported on people and are therefore not the landlord’s responsibility.
- Nesting Birds (other than pigeons) are protected by law.
