Oh rats and rats and the law

[RJ Dixon]

Hello BP !

My question today is I'm in a bit of a pickle. I currently rent out a townhome. This townhome was previous treated for rats. I recently turned over this property and have new tenants in place. The tenants are now wanting to move out one month in. I have no problem treating the rats as HOA covers that. I tried to send them to the HOA lady herself to schedule it but the tides turned. The HOA lady loves to talk and gossip and told my tenants that the house was previous treated. Now they are saying i misrepresentation the home and threatening to sue, if I don't release them from the lease and give back the security deposit. I have also answered there every call for basic maintenance. Sent someone the next day each time. I pride myself in having a nice clean home to rent out but rats happen especially in Florida. Any Opinions on how I should handle this matter ?

[Karen F.]

WHAT???? The unit sharing a wall with you is FEEDING the rats???  OMG!  Look, I owned pet rats at one time.  I love rats.  Whenever I see a wild rat (one of my pet rats had the same coloring as wild ones), I go, "Awwwww, ratty!"  And still, the thought of anyone deliberately trying to keep rats around a property is just astonishing.

If I were you, I'd be in that HOA woman's face first thing in the morning. Tell her to get those idiots next door to stop feeding the rats, or you're going to insist that the HOA sue them. Tell her to get an exterminator into BOTH units, immediately, and get a year long contract, to keep the exterminator coming on a regular basis for a year.

Again, you knew you had a problem. You knew you had crazy people who feed rats sharing a wall with you. Until that's taken care of, you've got rats in the building indefinitely. I still say you let them out of the lease. Put it this way, how would YOU have felt had you been in their shoes? You rent a unit in good faith, only to find out that it's rat infested, and that the LL knew it. Give them back their deposit, let them out of the lease, and fix your problem (which means getting the HOA to fix the neighbors).