Options after finding out house is full of rotting rats

[rangerkev]

Hello,

I live in a house where I rent the upstairs suite, and a woman and her 2 young children rent the main level suite. Recently she's started to notice a stench. I've noticed it slightly but not as much on the top floor. We had the pest guy come in today to see what's causing it and he said that there's been a water rat infestation that had been dealt with by poisoning them and letting them die and rot in the walls. This was never mentioned to us when we moved in. I've been living there since mid-December and I believe she has been there a fair amount longer.

Does anyone know what our options are? The pest guy basically said that the house would have to be torn apart and re-insulated/dry walled.

Thanks for any guidance,
K

[Anonymous123]

Hello,

I live in a house where I rent the upstairs suite, and a woman and her 2 young children rent the main level suite. Recently she's started to notice a stench. I've noticed it slightly but not as much on the top floor. We had the pest guy come in today to see what's causing it and he said that there's been a water rat infestation that had been dealt with by poisoning them and letting them die and rot in the walls. This was never mentioned to us when we moved in. I've been living there since mid-December and I believe she has been there a fair amount longer.

Does anyone know what our options are? The pest guy basically said that the house would have to be torn apart and re-insulated/dry walled.

Thanks for any guidance,
K

Contact the landlord and give him immediate notice. Demand all deposits back and start moving. If you don't get your deposit back go to the Rental/Tenancy Office.

[rangerkev]

Thanks for the response. We have both started looking for other accommodations but we haven't had much luck.

Finding suitable housing isn't exactly easy in Kelowna. I'm paying $650 for the 2 bedroom upstairs. The house is located downtown on Abbott. The woman downstairs has 2 young children, I'm not sure what she's paying but I'm sure that it puts her in a tough spot as well. It doesn't really seem fair that we are only able to move out without proper notice. The landlord purposefully misled us and put her children in danger. We are in a tough situation because he did not properly deal with a problem.

[W105]

do you have tenant insurance ??? sometimes they cover you for emergency living expenses...boy, you all are sure lucky nobody got very ill from living with this...and yes call the RTB like right now...

[Catri]

You don't mention discussing the issue with your landlord. If you haven't, you should. If you have, what's their response?

[Mtn Biker]

Thanks for the response. We have both started looking for other accommodations but we haven't had much luck.

Finding suitable housing isn't exactly easy in Kelowna. I'm paying $650 for the 2 bedroom upstairs. The house is located downtown on Abbott. The woman downstairs has 2 young children, I'm not sure what she's paying but I'm sure that it puts her in a tough spot as well. It doesn't really seem fair that we are only able to move out without proper notice. The landlord purposefully misled us and put her children in danger. We are in a tough situation because he did not properly deal with a problem.

Wow is all I can say. I cannot believe the landlord does not know about this. I think it smells like a lawsuit if not like dead rodents. If they denied they knew, then say they do now, what are you going to do about it? If they did know, or you sensed they knew but are denying it, then I would be filing a claim with any and everyone that can respond, including the health authority, rental tenancy branch, your lawyer, doctor for a check up, and so on. This should never happen and you should be compensated.

[kgcayenne]

How long has the landlord owned the house? He may not even know if it's a recent acquisition. Would a buyer have any recourse against the vendor if this were the case?

If this is not the case, and the landlord knew already, then he's a dirtbag who obviously didn't care and just wants tenants to pay rent. In that case, go straight to the RTB, and contact IHA just for the helluvit in case they have some jurisdiction.

Scumbag landlords should be strung up alongside scumbag tenants.

[jimmy4321]

Usually when rodents eat the bait they head for water, not usually in walls unless of course there's a water source. Sure it's not the crawl space?

[rangerkev]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. The landlord has owned the house for 7 years, but lives in Vancouver. I can't imagine him not knowing that this was an issue, unless he was mislead. The previous tenant told me there was a small rodent issue that was dealt with professionally. This doesn't seem like the case.

I don't notice the smell as much downstairs, so the tenant downstairs was the one that met with the pest control guy and has been trying to contact he landlord. He has been good to deal with so far, but who knows now that this seems like a much more serious issue.

As far as walls vs. crawl space, I can't really say. I'm at work right now and just got a call from the downstairs tenant letting me know about the situation. Would a crawl space vs. walls make much of a difference?

[jimmy4321]

Doesn't take much to make some big odour at times.
Ya if it were in the crawlspace it could be a real pain or quite easy to access depending on the situation but is much much easier than walls.

[gman313]

After talking to your landlord call the Residential Tenancy Office.

[Poindexter]

Small dead things can make a big stink but you don't have to do the same. One dead mouse curled up next to our refrigerator compressor made our entire place smell like rotting eggs.

A dead rat probably means your landlord dealt with the infestation with poison. The rat took poison back to nest and viola, no more rats, just stink. This does not make your landlord a slum lord, it's part of owning a house. It's not always easy to find the source of the smell so either tear the walls down, which is unlikely or wait it out with windows open, the smell will eventually go away when it dries out. Having rats isn't a crime and neither is dealing with them using poison. So cut your landlord some slack and make a decision weighing the costs and benefits of moving. But I dont think its outrageous to ask for a discount on rent for a few months since heating bill will be higher with windows open.

[ToddT]

I had a dead rat under my trailer. It took about a week but the smell went away. It was awful though.

[Joe Public]

It doesn't sound like there is any malice, misinformation or underhanded dealings here.

Kelowna is known for it's rats, particularly down near the waterfront. If rats were reported and investigated, the logical method to deal with them is poison. Rats that are poisoned die and they smell for a week or two. Everything should be normal after that.

Stop listening to the commentators that espouse legal action in every form, it would appear that due diligence was used and your position is indefensable. I would talk to the landlord. If he's a reasonable person, he will realize that paying your heating bill for two weeks while you air the place out is much more valuable to him than finding new tenants, and will probably be beholding to you in future rental issues.

[LoneWolf_53]

I must say I'm a bit shocked at some of the outrage displayed here.

Even million dollar homes can get rodents, and from the sound of it the issue was addressed.

If we were talking about a hundred dead rats, in the walls or under the house, which I doubt, would be one thing, but it only takes one rodent to create a stink that would linger around for a while.

I tend to feel that in this case, what's expected from a landlord is bordering on a bit much. I doubt anyone would strip the drywall, and insulation, from a house, in an attempt to locate one dead rodent, that may or may not be in the wall.

If the exact location is known that would be another thing, and if there is a crawl space accessible, someone checking it would be a reasonable expectation, beyond that it's just one of those things that can happen to anyone.

I know I'd be carefully examining the perimeter, to see if there are any obvious signs of entry, which may well narrow things down.