When renting your home, you rely on your landlord to maintain the integrity of the building and your unit. If rats or mice are coming into your apartment, you could find yourself and your children at risk of negative health effects and property damage.
Dealing with rodents should be the responsibility of your landlord, but you may need to explore legal action to make the landlord perform their duty. A Fresno rodent infestation lawyer from Elder & Spencer can protect your rights as a tenant and help you bring a lawsuit if necessary. Contact a dedicated tenant attorney today for a free consultation.
Rats and mice have learned to live alongside humans and to find food in relation to spaces that people inhabit. They can enter a home and attempt to feed and find shelter from the elements, all to the detriment of you and other occupants.
If there are unaddressed structural issues, such as gaps and cracks in walls, foundations, or windows, rats could find their way inside. An infestation may also exist before you arrive as a tenant, rather than as a result of you living on the property.
At first, you might not think that having a rodent on the property is a huge problem, besides a small scare if you see one. However, rodents can cause damage and spread disease by polluting your environment and contaminating food. Rodents can worsen breathing issues, such as asthma, and can pass on viruses and bacterial infections, such as Hantavirus and Salmonella.
In addition to endangering your health, rodents can chew through walls, electrical wires and cables, and containers, potentially damaging your personal property as well as the building itself. To figure out how to respond after discovering an infestation, you can look to the experience of a Fresno attorney familiar with rat problems.
Perhaps the most important thing to do when confronting a rodent infestation is to document the problem. Taking pictures and getting reports from exterminators can help you show the extent of the issue, and making sure to save all communications with your landlord can help you show that you appropriately reported the issue.
In an ideal situation, you would discover the presence of rats and tell your landlord, at which point they would handle it by hiring exterminators and making any repairs necessary to secure the property. Unfortunately, a landlord may try to turn the blame on you as a tenant, claiming that uncleanliness or structural damages allowing rodents in are your responsibility.
Our rodent infestation lawyer in Fresno could help you push back against these kinds of claims and assist in showing that your landlord’s negligence in maintaining the building caused harm. An attorney can work with you to get the documentation you need and show your damages—represented in categories such as property damage and medical costs—in order to sustain a legal claim, in addition to helping you communicate effectively with your landlord initially.
Acting quickly to protect yourself and your rights can make a huge difference once an infestation becomes evident. Getting a Fresno rodent infestation lawyer on your side and considering your options can ensure that you can get your landlord to make you and the property whole.
At Elder & Spencer, we focus entirely on housing issues, rather than glancing at tenants or referring to other firms. We can evaluate your case and help you gather evidence of the issue before too much time passes. Call our office today to see how we can help with your rat infestation issue.
(714) 587-5150