Landlord Mendell Gosnell walks through seven steps for handling pests in rental units, from knowing your local tenant laws and sealing structural gaps to setting up annual pest-control contracts and keeping open lines with tenants. Quick response and clear communication prevent disputes and keep tenants longer.
Chapters
Alright, today we're going to be talking about what to do with bugs and pests in your rental property right now. So today I want to talk about 7 things to have success in dealing with bugs and pests in your rental property. One of the number one things is understanding your rights and responsibilities as a landlord for your local jurisdiction. Number two, have a clearly defined policy created in advance that you go over with your tenants before move-in. That way you, you understand what your responsibilities are and what you are asking them to be responsible for in accordance with what you are able to do with the law. Number 3, be proactive. Set yourself up for success. If you've got a home that you know has issues, do what you can to remedy those issues. For instance, one of the things that we see is open eaves. Where squirrels or birds get in. Take care of those things before you rent your property out. If you have an issue with ants, you might consider getting on an annual contract with your local vendor. Number 4, on an ongoing basis, keep in touch with your tenants and inform them. You'll want to inform them of things like the changing of the season. Here in the Mid-Willamette Valley, we know when the spring is knocking on the door like it is right now. Ants are on the march. And so we inform our tenants that, hey, if they're experiencing issues with ants in their residence, here are a few tips that they can take to mitigate the situation. Clearing the food, wiping down the cabinets, using a bleach or chlorine solution, and using ant baits. And having patience. The fifth thing that you can do is investigate the situation. So, uh, if there is an issue with a tenant at one of your rental properties, there's a pest issue and the tenant thinks it's your responsibility to handle it and you think that it's their responsibility, you have to investigate the situation. Sometimes it is just going to be the responsibility of the landlord to take care of the issue. Because it's no fault of the tenants. The pest issue is not the fault of the tenants. So then, 6, you'll really want to try to reach a peaceable solution with the tenants. That's gonna be in your best interest. Happy tenants, long tenancy. So, and lastly, the 7th tip I'll give you about dealing with pests or bugs in your rental property is have a couple good vendors that you trust on standby so in the event that you get that call that there's roaches or rats or any number of different pests or bugs or rodents that you can deal with those quickly and efficiently and keep your tenants happy. Remembering that some of those things are definitely the responsibility of the tenants to keep their home clean and pest-free, but it's not necessarily the tenant's fault that bees infiltrated their eave and are wreaking havoc on their quiet, peaceful enjoyment of the backyard. So hopefully that will help you mitigate the situation in dealing with bugs and and pests in your rental property. Thanks for watching and happy investing.
