Vermin and infestation claims against your landlord
Rats, mice, cockroaches or other pests in your home are frightening, unhygienic and exhausting to live with. Where the infestation is down to your landlord’s failure to repair or act, we can claim compensation and force the works — on a no win, no fee basis.
Often, yes. Where vermin are getting in through disrepair your landlord should have fixed — holes in walls or floors, broken air bricks, defective drains — or where an infestation makes your home unfit for human habitation, you can claim compensation and a court order requiring your landlord to deal with both the pests and the defects letting them in. The key is your landlord’s responsibility for the cause, and that you reported it.
When your landlord is responsible for an infestation
Not every infestation is a legal claim — the question is whether your landlord caused it or failed to deal with the conditions allowing it. Common situations where the landlord is responsible include:
- Entry points caused by disrepair — holes in walls, floors or skirting, gaps around pipework, broken air bricks and vents that rats and mice get in through
- Defective drains and sewers — a frequent source of rat infestations, and squarely within the landlord’s repairing duty
- Damp and decay — rotting timber and damp conditions that attract cockroaches, beetles and other pests
- Infestation in the building’s common parts — pests spreading from communal areas, bin stores or neighbouring flats your landlord controls
- A known, reported problem left to spread — where your landlord was told and failed to arrange effective pest control and repairs
The repair duty and the pest problem go together: spraying or laying traps without fixing the holes the vermin enter through is not a real solution, and the law does not treat it as one.
Unfit for human habitation
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires your home to be fit for human habitation throughout your tenancy. Infestation is one of the matters the court considers — a home overrun with rats, mice or cockroaches, with droppings, gnawed wiring, contaminated food preparation areas and the constant stress of sharing your home with vermin, can be unfit even where the structural disrepair itself looks minor.
This matters because it gives tenants a route to compensation that focuses on the condition of the home rather than only on specific defects — particularly powerful in infestation cases.
“Landlords often assume tenants won’t push back. Our job is to make sure they do — and that the repairs actually get done, not just promised.”
Stephen Lund · Director
The EPA Section 82 route
Statutory nuisance — a second legal route
A serious infestation can amount to a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 — premises in a state prejudicial to health. Section 82 lets tenants take the matter to the Magistrates’ Court directly, where the court can order the landlord to abate the nuisance and carry out works.
For some infestation cases this route runs alongside or instead of a civil disrepair claim. Which is right depends on your circumstances — we advise on both. Read our full EPA Section 82 guide →
What you can recover
A successful vermin and infestation claim can secure:
An order requiring your landlord to carry out effective pest control and repair the defects letting the vermin in.
Damages for the distress, disturbance and loss of enjoyment of your home for the period of the infestation.
The cost of food, clothing, furniture and other possessions gnawed, soiled or contaminated by pests.
Where the infestation has affected your or your family’s physical or mental health, and related out-of-pocket costs.
How the claim works
Civil claims follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims: free assessment, formal letter of claim, independent expert inspection, then settlement or court. Photographs, pest control reports and your repair correspondence all help — our evidence guide explains what to gather. For the wider picture of your rights, see our main housing disrepair guide.
Vermin and infestation FAQs
My landlord says the pests are my fault. Are they right?
Blaming the tenant is the standard first response and it is often wrong. Where vermin enter through defects your landlord should have repaired, or the infestation stems from drains, common parts or conditions your landlord controls, responsibility sits with them. An independent expert inspection usually settles the question of how the pests are getting in.
My landlord sent pest control but the problem keeps coming back. Can I claim?
Yes. Traps and poison treat the symptom, not the cause. If the holes, defective drains or other entry points are never repaired, the infestation will return, and a cycle of failed treatments shows your landlord knew about the problem and never properly fixed it, which strengthens your claim.
What evidence helps an infestation claim?
Photos and videos of the pests, droppings and damage (with dates), your reports to the landlord and their responses, any pest control visit reports, and records of damaged or contaminated belongings. If environmental health have visited, their findings help too. Don’t worry about gaps, an expert inspection is arranged as part of the claim. Our evidence guide has the full list.
The mice are coming from my neighbour's flat. Can I still claim?
Quite possibly. In blocks of flats, infestations travel through shared walls, floors, ducts and common parts, areas your landlord typically retains control of. Where your landlord owns or manages the neighbouring property or the building as a whole (common with councils and housing associations), the duty to deal with the source usually sits with them.
How much does it cost to claim?
We act on a no win, no fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement. If your claim is unsuccessful, you do not pay our fees. The full details of how no win, no fee works, including the insurance arrangements that protect you, are set out on our costs and funding page.
Stop living with the infestation — find out if you can claim
Tell us about the pests, how they’re getting in, and what your landlord has (or hasn’t) done. We’ll review it free of charge and tell you honestly whether you have a claim.
Free case assessment
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