Your landlord should make sure a property is comfortable with no safety or hygiene issues when you move in, and throughout the duration of your tenancy. A housing disrepair issue can lead to dangerous and unpleasant living conditions, and you must report these to your landlord as soon as possible. Vermin infestations are a common result of housing disrepair issues, and your landlord must respond to these reports and solve the issue before there are serious consequences. If you are having problems getting a housing disrepair issue fixed, contact our experts at Sparrowhawk Legal.

What can cause a vermin infestation?

Wherever there is a point of entry into a property, this is open to vermin. Animals such as rats and mice, as well as other pests such as silverfish and bed bugs, all thrive in certain conditions, often where waste gathers and where there are damp conditions. If there are holes in walls or in pipework, where there are water leaks or damp patches and where there are structural issues or faulty drainage, this can attract vermin.

In all these cases, where a disrepair issue has led to a vermin infestation, your landlord must respond to your report and fix the issue in a reasonable time. However, there are some cases where the tenant has to extend their responsibility also. If the tenant has been careless in leaving food waste out or practising poor waste management, or has damaged something through their own fault, the landlord does not have a duty to carry out this repair. But you should still report the issue and get the problem fixed. You just might have to pay the cost of this repair.

How a vermin infestation can impact on you

A vermin infestation can have a devastating effect, because nobody wants to live in such conditions. Vermin can spread illness and disease and can contaminate food items. Such hygiene issues can start to affect your quality of life, and once you know of a vermin infestation, it can be very unpleasant to continue living in a property. It is also possible that vermin can start to damage your belongings, such as eating through wires of electrical items.

The stress and anxiety of living with a vermin infestation can start to affect relationships in your household, while illness can also affect work and income. Your landlord has a basic duty to provide a safe and comfortable home, so you must report a housing disrepair issue as soon as it comes to light.

Our services at Sparrowhawk Legal

At Sparrowhawk Legal we believe that all tenants have a right to live in safe, clean and comfortable conditions, and that they should be able to secure justice in cases where a landlord hasn’t carried out their duties. We also understand that tenants can feel vulnerable and anxious about starting a housing dispute with their landlord. For this reason we take great pride in helping tenants and supplying the legal expertise required:

• Remote consultations online from anywhere in England.

  Expert legal knowledge to help you resolve housing disrepair disputes.

• We take responsibility for communications with your landlord, getting repair work done, processing a housing disrepair claim and representing you in legal proceedings.

• We keep you informed throughout the process with regular, clear and jargon-free communications.

• We make sure you have a successful outcome and are left with a safe, clean and comfortable home and suitable compensation for your ordeal.  

Professional legal support for housing disrepair disputes from Sparrowhawk Legal

If you have a housing disrepair issue that has caused a vermin infestation, you need to report this to your landlord immediately. If your landlord has not responded to solve the issue, Sparrowhawk Legal can step in and handle the dispute on your behalf. We will solve the issue with your landlord and make sure you are left with a safe, clean and comfortable home, and suitable compensation for your stress and discomfort and for any damaged belongings. So contact our team at Sparrowhawk Legal today.