Photo by Alex Berger
The tenant should not have to pay for the damages to the property. Therefore, if you are a landlord then it’s a good idea to sign a contract a pest control company who will arrange to take care of your properties if any problems should arrive.
If you are a tenant and the landlord will not pay for the treatment then there are a few things you can do. First you can attempt to treat the termites by yourself using the solutions in this book – however, if you do this and damage your property then it is likely that you will have to pay for the damages, not the landlord. Secondly, just simply ask the landlord for help – it’s in their interests to take care of their properties and they’re likely to aid you.
How to get your landlord to give you a free termite treatment?
However, if they’re still not helping then hire a pest control company to give you a free inspection of your property. Once the company has completed the inspection they should give you a report confirming how bad the termite damage is. Make a copy of this report and give it to your landlord, along with a copy of the local laws concerning pest control. This should give them a strong hint that they need to take care of your home. Do this in a nice way because the landlord is more likely to be ignorant than evil.
If the landlord still fails to take care of the termite problem then I recommend renting elsewhere, or if this is not an option – you can take the landlord to court. However, I do not recommend taking the landlord to court – this should only happen once you’ve exhausted out all other options. You probably will be able to get them to sort out the problem in court, but you’re likely to ruin the relationship with your landlord so I would avoid this option.
For more detailed information on your termite laws, contact your local government for details and they should be able to direct you to the local tenancy laws in your country or state.