Property

My tenants had a moth infestation. Who’s responsible for the damage?

You would have great difficulty proving the tenants were responsible for the moths

Moths have a taste for quality carpets only. Photograph: iStock

Wed Sep 29 2021 - 06:00

I read with interest an article you published ten years ago entitled Moths are back – Time to Kill. It appears they are back again with a vengeance!

I have a house that has had the same tenants for five years. The house is kept well and anything that breaks is repaired immediately.

Recently however they suffered a moth infestation and are insisting that I rectify the issue immediately.

I obliged and arranged for a pest control company to address the problem at a cost of €2,650. The tenants also requested a new carpet due to the small sections that had been eaten by the moths. Again, I obliged and spent €3,850 on this.

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It seems the cost of a moth infestation has increased from €1,000 10 years ago to €6,500. Are moths a landlord or tenant issue?

Kersten Mehl writes: Despite being in my 44th year in property management, I have only encountered this issue with moths in the last decade. Perhaps it’s a consequence of global warming and they find it easier to breed?

Personally, I have encountered it in apartments rather than houses. Interestingly, moth infestation can occur in a particular apartment or apartments in an apartment block, but they do not necessarily have to be side by side or on the same floor. This leads me to believe that tenant behaviour obviously plays a part in how this problem arises.

Moths appear to be fussy creatures who have a taste for quality carpets only. From my experience, they attack wool carpets, and the cheaper synthetic variety are unaffected. Therefore, when I do encounter an issue with moths, I replace the wool carpets with either the cheaper variety or with laminate which tends to solve the problem.

Contractors I have engaged to resolve this problem over the years advise that moths normally gather under a bed that has not been properly vacuum cleaned. They then spread out to the rest of the carpet and in many cases attack quality curtains as well.

I think you would have great difficulty in proving the tenants were responsible for the gathering moths and the subsequent damage they did to the carpet. Similarly, I do not believe you would be successful if you were to seek an adjudication on the issue at the Residential Tenancies Board.

I would advise that you replace the carpet with a laminate floor or synthetic material carpet. You will not have a reoccurrence of the problem then. Personally, I have never spent more than €200 to resolve a moth infestation, however, I am not aware of the scope and scale of the property in question.

Given your tenants have been there for five years I certainly would not be inclined to pursue them on this matter. I would, however, seek a detailed breakdown of the bill you received to treat the infestation.

Kersten Mehl is a chartered residential agency surveyor and member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie

Society Of Chartered Surveyors Ireland