Maintenance playbook
Tenant reports roaches, mice, or bedbugs: what to do and who pays
Updated
Pests spread, which is why a slow response costs more here than almost anywhere else in maintenance. A single unit's roaches are a treatment; a building's roaches are a contract. Move within days, treat wider than the complaint, and write everything down.
How urgent is it?
OwnAway's classifier files ants, roaches, and mice as P2 Routine (72-hour target). Treat bedbugs, rats, a wasp nest at an entrance, or any pest report from a unit with an infant or someone immunocompromised as P1 Urgent (24 hours) yourself. Anything involving chewed wiring is an electrical problem and urgent.
- Ants, an occasional roach, one mouse: P2. Pest control this week; check for entry points.
- Established roaches or mice (droppings, daily sightings): P2, but treat adjacent units too.
- Bedbugs: P1. Licensed pest control with heat or a multi-visit chemical program; inspect neighboring units.
- Rats, wasps, bees in walls, bats: P1. A specialist, not a general handyman.
Ask for these first
- A photo of the pest or the evidence (droppings, bites, casings). Identification changes the treatment.
- Where and how often — one kitchen sighting a week, or dozens every night?
- For bedbugs: any recent travel, second-hand furniture, or guests who mentioned bites? Not to assign blame, but to plan the treatment.
What to text
Thanks for telling me right away — that's the best thing you can do with pests. I'm booking pest control this week and will confirm the day. Before they come: [keep food sealed and counters clear / pull the bed away from the wall and bag bedding]. They'll leave prep instructions if a follow-up visit is needed.
[Roaches / mice / bedbugs] reported at [address, unit], photo attached. Please treat the unit and inspect [adjacent units / the basement]. Tenant is [name], [phone]; unit is available [times]. Send me the findings and whether a follow-up visit is needed.
Who pays
In a multi-unit building, the landlord, almost always: pests move between units and through shared walls, and most states put pest control on the owner as a habitability item. In a single-family rental, some states and leases allow charging the tenant for infestations that clearly arose from their conduct after move-in — but proving it is hard, and the fight delays treatment. Treat first; the invoice conversation can wait.
Bedbugs are the exception people argue about most. Several states have specific bedbug statutes on disclosure, treatment, and cost. Whatever your state says, the practical answer is the same: treat immediately and professionally, inspect neighbors, and do not let a cost argument slow it down.
Questions
Can I make the tenant pay for pest control?
Rarely in multi-unit buildings; sometimes in single-family rentals when the lease assigns it and the infestation clearly started with the tenant. Check your state, and treat before you argue.
How do I stop pests from coming back?
Seal entry points (pipe penetrations, gaps under doors, cracks at the foundation), fix moisture, keep shared areas and trash rooms clean, and put the building on a quarterly pest contract if it has had more than one problem in a year.