Rats, mice or cockroaches in my rented home — what can I claim?
If your Council or Housing Association home has rats, mice, cockroaches, bedbugs or other persistent pests the landlord has not treated, you can usually claim compensation and a court order forcing proper treatment and repair of the entry points. Under Section 9A of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 the property must be fit to live in throughout the tenancy, and a serious infestation is one of the HHSRS hazards (hygiene and pests) that routinely renders a home unfit. Where pests are entering through a defect the landlord is responsible for — holes in brickwork, failed drains, damaged ventilation grilles — Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 also applies. In parallel, your local authority's environmental health team can serve a statutory nuisance notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Most awards we see sit between £1,500 and £10,000 depending on severity and duration.
Reviewed by Sannah Khatoon — litigation & housing disrepair solicitor.
SRA #654258 · Admitted 2018 · Verify on SRA register
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What to do right now
Three things to do today
Photograph and video everything
Droppings, nests, live or dead pests, chewed packaging or electrical cables, holes in brickwork, failed air bricks. Short dated videos walking around the affected rooms are among the strongest evidence we see.
Keep every repair request and reply
Texts, emails, letters, complaint reference numbers. If your landlord is a council or housing association, log the complaint through their formal process so there is a documented timeline of your reports and their inaction.
Call Environmental Health in parallel
Your local authority environmental health team can inspect under the HHSRS and serve a notice on the landlord if a Category 1 or 2 hazard is found. A specialist solicitor can run this in parallel with a disrepair claim, not instead of one.
The law behind the claim
The statutes we rely on
Section 9A, Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018
For tenancies granted or renewed on or after 20 March 2019, the property must be fit for human habitation throughout. Hygiene and pests is one of the twenty-nine HHSRS hazard categories; a serious infestation routinely renders a property unfit under this section.
Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
Where pests are entering through a structural defect — holes in brickwork, broken air bricks, failed drains, damaged ventilation grilles — the landlord's duty to keep the structure and exterior in repair applies, and that duty includes closing the entry points pests are using.
Section 80, Environmental Protection Act 1990
The local authority environmental health team can serve an abatement notice on the landlord where a pest infestation amounts to a statutory nuisance. This runs in parallel with a civil disrepair claim rather than as an alternative.
Common questions
FAQ
The landlord says it's my fault — do I still have a claim?
What is Environmental Health's role?
How much compensation can I claim?
Do I need to pay anything up front?
Other housing disrepair claims
If your problem is something else
Damp and mould
Prolonged damp, black mould, condensation — Awaab's Law and Section 9A claims.
Leaks and water damage
Roof leaks, burst pipes, water-damaged ceilings — compensation and repairs under Section 11.
Or go back to the main housing disrepair page →
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Abrahams Solicitors · SRA #809071 · https://www.abrahamssolicitors.co.uk/pest-infestation-claim/