Ants?

[Jacque]

From: J Parker


Quickie for those of you out there who are specialists in property management....

Whose responsibility are ants? My tenants are complaining that their kitchen is overrun with them, despite their efforts with talculm powder. The PM wants me to pay for a pest man to locate and destroy the nest (at a considerable cost) Should I be paying for this?
Cheers, Jacque

 

[JoannaK]

Reply: 1
From: Joanna K


Hi Jacque,

It would be difficult to determine who is responsible for this. Clause 30.9 of The lease does say that the tenant's must notify the landlord of the presence of pests, but it does not say who is responsible.

If you do an impromptu inspection and find that the tenants live in a pig stye I would try and have them pay for it themselves, or at least contribute to 50% of the cost. If they have been living there only a very short time I would say to my landlords that they should pay for it themselves.

Kind regards

JOANNA

 

[michele_b]

Reply: 1.1
From: Michele B


In SA, pests are usually the landlord's responsibility if they were present at the beginning of the tenancy.... termites, fleas etc. Infestations which occur during the tenancy are normally the tenant's responsibility.

 

[Jacque]

Reply: 1.1.1
From: J Parker


Thanks for that advice Joanne and Michele. That's the thing I love about this forum- the willingness of others to share their knowledge in fields of expertise.

Cheers, Jacque

 

[Sim]

Reply: 1.1.1.1
From: Sim' Hampel


We had an ongoing battle with ants at out unit in Sydney back at the end of summer. The ants seemed to have nested in the brickwork outside the kitchen window, and were coming in through the gaps between the bricks and windows.

After much liberal usage of ant-rid, which was effective for keeping them away for a day or two (the mass killings were at the same time both disturbing and rather satisfying, which in itself was quite disturbing !).

After several weeks of this, I ended up attacking the wall both inside and out with surface spray insecticide (mortein), making sure to drench the gaps between the bricks and so on, trying to get the spray down into the nest.

It either did the job killing them off, or they got fed up with the smell and left. Funny... I think the same thing has happened with my neighbours.

Yes, it was a pain, yes I guess I could have called the landlord... but my approach is that it was my problem, as it was not a fault with the property.

Yes, if they were already there when we moved in, then I would call the landlord. Fleas are a good example of this... previous tenants with a pet in the house can lead to fleas magically appearing weeks after you moved in (this happened to us).

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 1.1.1.1.1
From: The Wife


Their not fire ants are they? Brisbane is having some problems with them at the moment.

TW

 

[Ross Sondergeld]

Ants? Potential future problem... ???

Reply: 2
From: Ross Sondergeld


Hi Jacque,


Subject: Ants?

You said, "Whose responsibility are ants? My tenants are complaining that
their kitchen is overrun with them, despite their efforts with talculm
powder. The PM wants me to pay for a pest man to locate and destroy the
nest (at a considerable cost). Should I be paying for this?"


What do you think ants do...

Ants can move soil? Break the termite barrier? Cost you big $$$$$ ?

Talk to a pest man and see what they say...



P.S. I'm NOT a builder or pest guru... Therefore i promote discussion.


Ross Sondergeld ~ Buyer Agent

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