cockroaches?

[brains]

hi all

Is it the owner or the tennants responsibility to pay for cockroach treatment when the tennant complains of cockroaches/ants in the property.

Would it be a different matter if they were complaining about redback spiders?

The properties in question are just north of Brisbane and it has probably got something to do with the hot/dry weather lately so maybe a treatment will have no effect anyway.

Does anyone more experienced than myself have a view on these matters?

Thanks

Wayne

 

[jennyn]

I had the same question a week or so ago.

My tenant threatened to take me to the tribunal if I didn't spray for cockroaches and spiders. It ended up costing m e $165 incl. GST.

My PM said I would probably win at the tribunal.

I've just received the tenancy laws from the Department of Fair Trading today for NSW but haven't had a chance to look at them yet.

I'll post if I find out the answer from them.

Jenny

 

[Sim]

Buy them a six-pack of roach baits and a can of mortein.

 

[brains]

you serious sim?

 

[Sim]

Quite serious actually !

Is the place actually infested ? Or do they just have some creepy crawlies around ?

You can't mother them !

If there is an obvious defect with your property, then fix it. If there is an obvious infestation then fix it.

Ants coming in through a gap in the window is NOT an infestation. The nest is outside (one hopes). They are simply looking for food. Food scraps left lying around in the kitchen will attract ants. Nothing some careful use of ant-rid wont fix. Tell them they can buy it from the supermarket.

A swarm of bees settling somewhere on the house is something I may tend to do something about - only because there are some people who have a severe allergy to the sting - and especially if there are children there. But they usually move on of their own accord soon enough.

Huntsman spiders are useful as they keep the bugs away. Redbacks are not super-spiders and do die with a bit of fly-spray. They are not vicious creatures and do not come looking for trouble. Snakes in the yard need professional attention, as do sharks in the swimming pool and lions in the garage.

All these things (well, the creepy crawly ones anyway) are inevitable when you live in the country, or even in built up areas near where there is bushland.

Even in my house in Adelaide which was no-where near bushland, we got spiders of all kinds (including red-backs), ants, bees, roaches etc etc.

Go and look for yourself - if it looks like a problem (8 foot ant-hill rising up near the back door !!), then fix it. Otherwise have your property manager patiently explain to your tenants the facts of life and make some useful suggestions on how they can deal with the problem.

 

[asy]

Brains,

I moved to BNE earlier this year, and one of the first things I was warned to do was rinse the kettle out every morning because cockroaches get in there overnight and drown...

Infestation is one thing, as Sim said, some cockroaches and ants are to be expected, it comes with living in BNE.

I have lots of bugalugs in my house, usually transient, although I do have a brown house spider living in my hallway, and a barking gecco in my bedroom and another in the lounge. I have caught lizards in the lounge room, and repatriated them outside, and one of my son's chores is to catch the big brown beetles and Xmas beetles and let them go outside.

We also have a myriad of dragon- and damsel- flies around, and the occasionally (read- several times a week) I have to kill huntsmen in my bedroom. (Ordionarilly I don't mind them, but not in the bedrooms...).

Seriously, though, this is something which comes with the territory. I did actually get the "This is how to keep the bad bugs at bay" talk when I got here from my other half. He told me things like, no eat-throughable packages in the pantry, keep everything in containers...

I agree with Sim, you need to have a look at how bad the infestation is, and how much the tenants are contributing to the problem before you make a move, I think.

hope this helps...

anyone want a cuppa?

asy

 

[brains]

thanks for the great replies....heaps of info, but what about the legal side of things. Is it my responsibility legally to get rid of the nasties around the house?

 

[Sim]

How could that possibly be policed ? Are you supposed to spray DDT over every inch of your property to ensure that there are no living organisms remaining and none who venture onto your property will survive past dinnertime ?

How much is too much ? You cannot possibly guarantee that a property will be kept bug-free.

However, I do feel that you have a duty of care to your tenants and their personal property. If there is something which puts them, their children, their pets, their belongings and their guests or anyone else at undue risk of harm then I feel you have a responsibility to rectify the matter.

Herds of wildebeest stampeding through your tenants collection of Barry Manilow albums on a regular basis may be cause for some action on your part. Then again, this may actually be considered a service to humanity - so there is room for debate as to what you should do about it.

I rent a 2BR unit in the middle of Sydney. We get geckos, spiders (of all kinds), ants, birds and sometimes even humans inhabiting our place. The kookaburras are the worst - as they insist on having wild parties at the first hint of dawn - especially on Sundays. I could argue that we have a kookaburra infestation ? Should I ask my landlord to have them removed ?

You really should get some professional advice if this is becoming an issue for you - especially if the tenants look like causing trouble and you feel you have done everything which is reasonable to provide them with a safe and comfortable place to live by reasonable standards.

 

[jennyn]

Thanks Sim. Now I wish I hadn't forked out $165! Hopefully I won't do it again!

Jenny

 

[brains]

thanks for the advice sim,

My PM wasnt impressed, she said "but thats the way weve always done it up here" meaning QLD.

I replied "well, im not paying and you can continue doing it that way for everyone else"

I havnt heard anything, so the tennant must have bought a can of surface spray and some bombs and fixed it.

thanks again

 

[bbruham]

G'day all,

I had Pestrid do one of my investments, cost me $250.
Sydney, the Northern Beaches, has a plague of ticks, plus the usual cockroaches etc. This keeps my tenants very happy. I love them to death, wipe their mouths and bums just to keep them happy.
Their rent is $355 per week which keeps me very happy.

Bruce G.

 

[brains]

hi bbruham,

$355 a week doesnt seem a lot on the northern beaches Sydney.

Whats the % gross rental return at $355/week?

its this percentage that should keep you happy/sad not the amount of rent.

 

[phm]

Hi there.

I'm not sure if this is well known, but if you pay a pest controller to spray for cockies. you get a 12 month warranty. This means if there are any cocky problems for the following year, they pest controller will come back and spray the problem area at no charge. (This is in Qld anyway.)

 

[bbruham]

G'day Brains,

The $355 weekly rent is for a one bedroom 78 square metre living area unit, plus garage, Rent yield is 6.1%.
Yes it would be great if the rent was $500 a week. That would be
a yield of 8.6%. Then again ten percent return would be even better.

Bruce G.

 

[brains]

bbruham.

6.1% is not bad in Sydney................and if you ever want somewhere to live, i can think of worse places than the northern beaches of Sydney