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Bedbugs in new houseshare - London
(12 posts)-
I moved into a shared house in London a couple of weeks ago. Since moving in I have learnt that the house is infested with bed bugs. They have had the problem since last year so rented the room to me knowing that the problem existed, not just in the house but specifically in my room as the previous occupant had found them in the room. I have had numerous bites already and have found them on my bed.
Obviously I am incredibly annoyed that the previous tenant and the others in the house rented the room to me knowing that there was this problem. It has put me in a very unpleasant and awkward situation that is going to cost me a lot of money and hassle to get out of. There are another 2 recent tenants in the same situation who have rented rooms since the bed bugs were known about.
I am supposed to pay rent for next month but am considering not doing so.
As I see it I can either stay and try and get the problem sorted or move out. Getting rid of the problem will be difficult and cost a lot of money and apparently the landlord is very tight and difficult to deal with and to be fair I don’t know whether it would be tenants or landlords responsibility to pay for treatment. There is no official signed contract with the landlord.
I paid the deposit to the previous tenant so to get my deposit back I would have to rent the room to someone else. Obviously I don’t want to do this as it is just dumping someone else in the same problem as I am in but if I don’t I will lose £400. I certainly don’t want to pay another month’s rent and then move straight out and lose that as well as my deposit and the cost of replacing all the stuff I will have to through away. I was considering moving soon anyway as I don’t really like the place anyway.
The other people involved are all british/european and in reasonable jobs, ie teacher, investment, marketing exec, council worker. I just cannot understand how they have just ignored the problem for months and were happy to rent rooms to people knowing that the house was infested. They all go visiting friends and family and have visitors here so are quite likely to be spreading the bugs all over.
I have been reading through the info on the site and currently assessing what to do with the stuff I have brought here, ie what can I sanitise and what will need to be thrown away.
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lil_bit_obsessed
senior member
Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 495
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Apr 1 2008 21:49:26
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sorry to hear this is happening to you, i can understand your frustration. is there any means by which you can get your 400 back i wonder? a tenancy board of some kind perhaps, that you could call for advice? it's not as though you have moved into sanitary conditions, perhaps an argument could be made that they misrepresented the accomodations, and as such you should be reimbursed. just a thought...
how to treat your items while moving depends on what kinds of items you have. personally i would chuck the bed, if it is yours, but others might suggest otherwise. a mattress can be difficult to treat and bringing it to a new place might be asking for trouble. there is tons of information in the FAQs (orange bug button below) for how to treat clothing, books, etc. when i moved i threw out quite a bit, and carefully cleaned the rest. there are no guarantees in moving that you won't take them with you, but once again a lot of it depends on what kind of items you are planning on moving, and how meticulous you are in sanitizing those items. let us know if you have any questions!
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lil_bit_obsessed
senior member
Joined: Dec '07
Posts: 495
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 2 2008 0:08:27
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i should also mention that when i moved, my apartment had already been treated a few times by a professional, which presumably greatly reduced (or likely eliminated) the bb population before i even left. moving in the middle of an active infestation with no treatments is likely much higher risk, and would require more meticulous attention to sanatizing the items you intend to take. not to make you paranoid or anything... i just thought i should put that out there.
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Hi it_chy,
Sorry to hear of your situation. I have seen this a lot in the last 12 months in London, people moving into an infested location with house mates that were either not aware or were just ignoring it.
Firstly and fore mostly I have some good news:
1 If it can be proved that the infestation precedes your occupation then the Landlord is responsible for the cost of decontamination under the 1990 Environment act so you should not be out of pocket
2 Everything can be decontaminated for bed bugs its just a matter of what to do and in what order.
3 London currently has the worlds only dedicated decontamination facility for Bed Bugs in the form of my warehouse in Battersea.
If you send me a memo or visit my web site at:
I will be happy to discuss your situation and see how we can help you to not only get out of this mess but to make sure you avoid Bed Bugs again in the future.
Regards,
David
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Blue_Ox
member
Joined: May '07
Posts: 136
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 2 2008 11:42:00
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When is NYC going to get the world's second decontamination facility? I can't imagine that it wouldn't be a great money-maker.
To the OP, whether you stay or go, you will still need to get the situation sorted out. Moving will entail taking efforts to move without the bugs.
The decontamination facility sounds great, and if you have the money to take advantage or it, that may be one great way to move without the bugs.
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Hi Blue_Ox,
It's not a massive money spinner but more of an essential tool of what we do. London is an expensive city to have property in and commercial units are no exception.
Cant agree more with the moving statement. I have done decon moves on 7 occassions now, its not ideal and I only agree to do them after consultation and assessment since they invariably take at least half a day to complete even if everything has been prepared and organised well in advance.
That having been said if there is anyone in NYC with a spare 1000 sq ft of warehouse who wants to talk about setting up a mirrored facility I am more than happy to help detail whats needed beyond the initial 20,000 USD initial investment.
David
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Thanks for the replies.
David, thanks for the support but unfortunately I think I am in a hole regarding landlord. You must know how difficult it is now to find anything to rent in London now without paying a fortune. I had to get somewhere pdq as the landlord of my previous place decided to sell and a couple of places fell through.
This place was first rented years ago and there is no one here from the initial tenents. People just advertise their rooms when they want to move and get someone in with no involvement from the landlord. There is no writtern contract at all. The infestation started, from what I can gather, last year, ie long after the house was first rented. I have no idea hence what the real legal situation is. Do I have some automatic unwrittern contract with the landlord? Does it start from when I moved in or have I taken over legally a contract that has been running for x years since the ll originally rented to the first tenents who are all long gone? There was a break in last year which left a broken window on the ground floor into a girl's bedroom. The reponse of the ll was to send someone to tape a bit of cardboard over it. After two months of no further action the tenants had it fixed and sent him the bill which reulted in him going ballistic. I don't think he is going to stump up for the cost of treating the whole house for bedbugs. He owns well over 100 rental properties in London btw.
I may try to see CAB tomorrow and get some advice but I suspect I am in a **** position legally. I think now it just a matter of seeing how I can minimise my loses and get out asap. The only to really do that is to rent the room to someone else and dump them in it, which I really don't want to do. However, I know that if I move out then I will lose my deposit, have major rows/aggro from the other tenents if I don't pay this months rent and then they will simply re advertise the room anyway as they have before without any qualms.
Your decomtamination service sounds interesting but is probably too expensive for most of my stuff but I will have a look at your site.
I had a very difficult year last year and am being treated for long term depression. Being dumped in the shit again like this was the last thing I needed.
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Hi it_chy,
I would suggest that you talk to the CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) first about your legal status and what rights you have. The tenancy law is currently under contractual review in the UK and as I am not a lawyer I really cant comment.
With regards the cost of our service its not as steep as you would imagine. Luckily I have a team who work hard and don't expect the massive fees I see quoted for the US PCO's . I am working on a way to secure some hardship funding options but it will take a few months for the coffers to build up enough to cover treatment costs, I also have media contacts who are sometimes prepared to pick up our fees in return for the right to be able to use the case study in programs or articles.
Give me a call ont he out of hours number on the website and we will see what we can do.
David
PS I know its hard but try and keep your chin up, I know its unpleasant to find yourself in this situation but as I said before research and knowledge will help you from ending up in a similar situation again in the future.
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elmscrew
newbite
Joined: Apr '08
Posts: 2
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 2 2008 16:35:44
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Hi there OP,
I don't envy your situation at all, but what strikes me is that you ay you're in a crap position legally. As I see it - and do correct me if wrong - you have not signed a contract. If so, just don't pay rent (assume you won't get your deposit back) and run. You have a month to find somewhere else, sod that bastard landlord and let him to to take you to court - he won't dare. As for decontaminating your stuff, it depends on how badly infested the place is. If you're lucky, the infestation is limited to your bed, and you can move with everything sealed in plastic and slowly inspected before exposing it all to your new place. If it's really bad, bag everything anyway and consider getting professional help. Don't be tempted to spend extortionate amounts of money on someone else's problem.
I live in a shared house, and my room only has bed bugs. I think I've got rid of them because I noticed them early before the population got too big (no more than 50 bedbugs I would say), but I'm still not taking any chances. It's all too much of a shame that there are people like us who care about these things, and many more who just don't. But try to remain positive - these things can be defeated.
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Thanks for the reply. The problem is that there is a house account, everyone pays their share of the house rent into the acc and then one cheque from acc to the landlord. This is supposed to be paid on the 1st. There is usually a delay of a couple of days so probably tomorow other tenents are going to look in account and ask where my rent for this month is. If I don't pay then their isn't enough to pay the ll and hece problems. If I don't pay I will obviously have to move in the next couple of days and there will be loads of aggro with the other tenants.
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Time to threaten the LL with the only thing he understands - his pocket (I have no sympathy for people with 100 properties who clearly can't do the job properly). If anyone else in the house cares, get them to collectively not pay rent. No contract, no legal recourse. Considering two of the others are new tenants, they might be prepared to move too. Perhaps you could search for a house with them - if you like them that is?
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it_chy,
As David said, in the UK I'd go to the Citizens Advice Bureau and ask about your rights (and I would do this before deciding to withold rent, since I am not sure on the laws on that--which vary from place to place).
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