1-800-781-PEST (7378)
Florida has warm weather most of the year. People live in this state to avoid the cold winter months. The mild temperatures in winter make Florida desirable to human beings but also to other species of animal. Bugs, reptiles, rodents, you name it.. If it breathes, it can live in Florida.
It is for this reason that pest control is so important in the Sunshine State. Pests are constantly trying to get into homes and apartments for food, water and shelter. Preventative maintenance is good but sometimes the pests will come anyway.
If you own your home or apartment, you are obviously responsible for your own pest control. But what if you rent? Are you responsible for pest control then?
Under Florida law, your landlord is responsible for pest control if you live in an apartment. But your landlord is not responsible for pest control if you live in a duplex or family home. It is always a good idea to check the lease. There could be a special clause in there about pest control.
We mention preventative maintenance above. The steps you can take to help prevent pests are:
1- Always clean up trash and food debris as you go. Even food left out for a few hours can start an infestation. Crumbs are often a major culprit. They may be tiny to us but to a small insect a crumb is a meal and a sign of a much bigger food source somewhere nearby.
2 – Always tackle pest problems as they arise. If you do not address a pest problem as it becomes first apparent, it can grow fast.
3 – Seal any cracks in the walls or around doors and windows. The better your home is sealed the less likely a scout is to wonder into your home and invite the rest of his pals.
There are natural ways to repel certain pests if they are not already established. You probably have heard the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”. This statement holds true for pests as well.
Are landlord’s/ property management responsible for pest control, outside, but on the property? For example, spiders, ants and worms have been all over our vehicles, on the property, in the parking lot. Is the management office responsible for providing pest control service in the parking lots outside?
Thank you!
Hello Jose, The simple answer is you will have to read your lease for details like this. If it doesn’t mention pest control outside then the best idea is to call your landlord or leasing agent.
We are renting a single family home in Florida and hired a Pest Control company to do quarterly applications of pest control outside. We also provided, at move in, Home Defense for the renter to use inside the house to prevent insects, roaches, etc. from coming in, and explained that it should be used to keep the interior bug free. The tenant recently contacted us and said there are roaches in the kitchen. Are we responsible for paying for the exterminator or is the tenant? There are no provisions in the lease regarding pest control.
I think for this you would need to contact an attorney or look up your local laws.
Who is responsible for a condo rental?
If its not in the lease then you have to take it up with management or your landlord. We have seen cases where the landlord pays and the tenant pays. There is no default setting.
Are wasps and wasp nests considered pests? The wasp nest is on my window glass.
Yes they are considered a pest to most people. Even though they do help pollenate plants, they can also become very aggressive and seriously injure people and pets. We can take care of it for you. Please call 1-800-781-PEST(7378) for availability and pricing. Thanks
My lease says that the landlord is responsible for ants, mices roaches, rodents, termites but does not mention fruit flys or gnats. Are fruit fly’s/gnats the responsibility of the tenant or landlord?
Hello Diane,
Gnats and fruit flies are usually the responsible of the tenant unless otherwise mentioned in the lease. This is because they are usually brought in with food or plants by the tenant.
Our apartment complex doesn’t do regularly scheduled bug spraying. They will come as needed. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Shouldn’t apartments have regular bug spraying schedule?
We have see it all over the years. As needed, monthly, bi-monthly, tri-monthly… Just remember, you can always hire your own pest control and it really is pretty inexpensive.
My apartment complex used to spray the grounds for fleas. They no longer do it! My dog is free of fleas until I walk her in our grounds! Are they expected to treat the grounds?
This is our take and should not be considered as official legal advice: There is nothing in Florida law about fleas or pest control for common areas. But there is a statute about keeping the common areas “clean and safe”. You can see that information here (click text for link). It may be argued that fleas are not “clean and safe”. A good idea is probably to have several of your fellow tenants and yourself draw up a formal request for the landlord to treat the common areas for pests.
Question- Didn’t know about the issue until after the lease was signed but the apartment has an issue with roaches. Can the lease be broken if I am not comfortable staying living with this problem?
Hello, We don’t know the answer to this question. Its probably something an attorney will need to answer for you.
question
I am renting a single family home and it says I am responsible for rodents, which we are hearing but the cause of them is a whole in the roof wouldnt the homeowner be responsible for this which is the cause.
Hi Mark, the landlord is definitely responsible for repairing the roof, the pest problem is a grey area. You may mention to him or her that you believe the rodent infestation came from the damaged roof and see if they will spring for the pest control cost. Pest control is usually pretty affordable so even if they don’t it shouldn’t set you back too much money. It wouldn’t be worth going to court unless it got expensive. And proving that pests came in after the hole would be hard to do even though common sense dictates that they probably did.
If it’s the landlord’s responsibility to pay for and take care of pest control, can they still charge the tenant for it? I have never been charged for pest control in my many years of renting, but a new company bought the complex I live in and we have gotten a notice about signing our new lease. Of course they are jacking up the rent, but in addition, there is also verbiage about how we will be charged monthly for pest control (among other things)
Hi Jen, In the end, the money to pay for pest control is coming from tenants anyway. It sounds like your new company just decided to itemize it as a new expense. Perhaps they are paying more now. They can pretty much put anything they want in the new lease and it is up to you to sign it, negotiate or walk away. Maybe you can ask them to throw in the pest control for free and you will sign it. As they say, It never hurts to ask. Hope this helps!
Who is responsible for rodent pest control my lease does not say anything about who is responsible tenant or landlord, now i have a rats infestation do the maintenance of the house who is responsible for the outside to cover the area where the rats came in or show is responsible for the inside since lease does not say anything about pest control.
Hi there,
under Florida Statute 83.51 (2)(a) “Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in addition to the requirements of subsection (1), the landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for: 1. The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs.”
So basically if you are renting a house or duplex you are responsible for pest control in and around the home unless otherwise specified in your lease. We hope this information helps. If you are in an apartment the duty falls on the landlord.
I live in an apartment complex in Florida and have notified management that snakes are living under my concrete deck. I told them an exterminator is needed but they haven’t responded? What actions can I take?
If management hasn’t replied see if you can dig up your lease to check weather you are permitted to hire a pest control agent on your own. If you are, then a pest specialist should be able to help you get rid of your snake issue.
Hello, two months ago I informed the owner of my rental that there were termites in the property, the lease says that the owner is in charge of eliminating the termites, but they still have not given me an answer, how much time does the owner need after to be informed to do the inspection and fumigation?
There is nothing in the law that states how much time they have specifically. If a few months goes by and they refuse to address the pest problem you may want to contact an attorney. Here is where you can find the Florida law pertaining to pest control http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.51.html
I have had termites swarming in my apartment for the last 4+ years. I have sent maintenance requests to the property management company that is responsible for pest control. In 4 years they have never even returned my call or replied via e-mail. Or treated my apartment. I want out of here SOOO bad!!!
Hi Patrick, you may want to contact an attorney. Sometimes if a company or person receives a letter with attorney letterhead they become very motivated afterward. Good luck!
This a question, I live in a a apartment with just 4 units. The whole place is infested with roaches. The lease stated that they do pest control outside, but not inside.all 4 apartments are infested . What can I do. We do use spray, commercial grade spray. But every time we spray they just keep come back because Billy’s. What can I do?
Hi Alyssa, it may be time to move to a new building. All you can really do at this point is submit complaints and perhaps contact an attorney. Good luck.
Sorry, the whole building is infested so they just keep coming back
I am renting a 3 story town home and recently realized that there is a huge honey bee infestation on the roof in our AC vents, thus the bees are coming through the vents and into the home. Our lease states “tenant shall be responsible for any and all pest control necessary for the interior and exterior of the premises at tenant’s sole expense”. Can I really be held liable for something out of my control. Its so bad that a roofer, AC man and a beekeeper will need to be hired to remove the hive from the AC vents on the roof. and now there is honeycomb in the vents. I know that florida law statue 83.51 states that the landlord would be responsible, but since that is in the lease the landlords say I have to take care of it. Can I really be held responsible?
Hi Yolanda,
This is not legal advice so please contact and attorney for official legal advice but I believe if it is on your contract that you must take care of pests then you will probably have to pay to have them removed. It is worth a shot to call your landlord and see if they will do it anyway. Also, honeybees are usually valued in the community so there may be local beekeepers that will come by and do it for free. You may want to Google “honey bee rescue” and keywords like that. Thanks
I’m renting an apartment with 4 units. On the lease it states that landlord is responsible for common areas for pest control and the tenant is responsible for the inside of unit.
My question is why do I have to pay the landlord the pest control fee, to spray my unit. If it’s my responsibility shouldn’t I be able to chose who does my pest control and not the landlord/management company
That’s a very good question Sean. Unfortunately, I am not sure how to answer that one. You may need to contact an attorney to clear that up.
Our apartment complex used to do bi-monthly automatically, but they change to quarterly now under the new Miya’s Law, for safety reasons, maintenance and/or pest control are not allowed to come into your place of residence. Unless of course, you place a WO first. So pretty much you need to stay on top of your quarterly pest control. I misplaced the letter where they explained all this, back in December 2022, found it recently. I totally forgot when was the last time they did pest control and now is starting to show.
I rent a house in Seminole County and have just discovered a termite nest next to the house. Should I notify my landlord? Am I responsible for regular inspections for termites or is he? If the house is damaged am I responsible for repairs? I’ve only been here for 6 months. Does he have any responsibility for treatment of problem or alternate housing (if needed)?
You should notify the landlord. As far as we know he is responsible for regular check-ups and repairs.
We had to leave our condo we renting because the building is being fumigated with a tent over the entire building. We have to leave for 3 days and rent a hotel. Should the owner reimburse us for our hotel rooms.? ?
Hi Clifford, We have no idea. You may need to contact an attorney to answer that question. Thanks
Hello, I am experiencing termite issues in the townhome I am currently renting in Miami Lakes, FL. The landlord has been very difficult to work with and refusing to share the report of the findings the termite inspector conducted. Is it illegal for us as tenants to hire our own inspector if we are not the owners of the house? We want to have our own record of the inspection if our landlord does not want to share the report they hired for whatever reason
Randy, you may want to ask an attorney about this. They have virtual attorney services online so you don’t have to spend a fortune either. Hope this helps.
I live in a duplex in Florida. My lease states I’m responsible for pest control and I’ve never had a bug problem since my moving in in 2016. My apartment is kept clean. Now there is a problem. TERMITES. Am I still responsible for pests such as these? These pests cause structural damage to her property which is out of my control. Why should I be responsible for taking care of it? I didn’t cause this problem. Plus the expense.
You may want to contact your landlord and let them know about the termites. I’d imagine that is something they will definitely want to know about. There is a good chance they will want to take care of that particular problem themselves.
Hello – I live on an apartment and my neighbor caused an infestation of maggots that got into my apartment from leaving trash outside for days in my building and the leasing department did nothing to prevent this. Now I have an infestation of flies. I have complained numerous times with the leasing department regarding to the maggots and flies and now it’s a continuous situation. The pest control under my lease came into my apartment for 2 minutes and nothing has changed. My living condition is unsafe and hazardous. I have bombed my apartment twice within two days and nothing seems to stop it. I can’t cook. I have anxiety. I can’t sleep because I can hear the flies. I’m constantly spraying around my apartment and the chemicals from the spray is now giving me headaches and sinus issues. What is the next step to this situation with the leasing department?
You should ask to get out of your lease and move. If they refuse, then contact an attorney. Many times a simple letter from an attorney will get the wheels turning. Good luck!
Is there a requirement on how often an apartment complex needs to treat for bugs if any/none or is it fine only when we let them know there is a bug issue that they send pest control service out?
We are not aware of any requirement of how often. However, if you see pests then report to your landlord so that they may increase pest control efforts.
I have been living in my duplex 3 years with no bug issues. My lease says the tenant is responsible for interior pest control. Well now there is a nest of carpenter ants in the attic and my landlord says its interior so my responsibility. I could have in no shape or fashion caused this infestation. Is it the landlords responsibility since this is not an insect that I caused to be here?
If the lease says the tenant is responsible for pest control, it doesn’t matter what or who caused the infestation. The good news for you is that pest control isn’t very expensive and once they get it under control you can cut service back to every other month. Good luck!
I’m currently renting a room in a single family house. The landlord and another tenant live there as well. I currently do not have an actual lease, and the place is infested with cockroaches. The landlord has made an attempt once to remedy this, but it hasn’t succeeded, and is infested as bad as before. What are my options?
You have no lease and the roach situation shows no sign of improving, I would move out if I were you. Not a lot of options left on the table.
Can a landlord mandate that you leave your home for 4 hours to do a mandatory pest control? We do not have any serious issues. We do live on the first floor, so we occasionally get bugs crawling in under the door but again, this is no great issue. We have pets that would need to be removed which is a massive inconvenience. Can a landlord mandate that you leave your apartment to do a pest control? Can I refuse this service?
Not sure about the legalities, so you may want to contact an attorney, but we have known that landlords sometimes ask tenants to vacate while they do something to the apartment which may be dangerous while tenants are there. They must be planning on setting off fogger devices.
The property management where I live want me to empty my cabinets once a month for pest control, however, which it is inconvenience for me, the problem isn’t in my cabinets, it behind the refrigerator and stove. They want to charge me a fee if I don’t empty my cabinets. Is that even legal? They didn’t have that on the lease.
Natasha, You will need to contact an attorney about this. It is beyond our field of expertise. Thank you.