Q: Are landlords required to pay for pest control services to remove wasp nests in the yard of a rental property?
The property is in Tidewater, OR. There is no specification in the lease regarding pest control. We have told the tenant that utilizing a self-applied wasp insecticide from a hardware store should be an effective remedy since it is only one nest, & he has refused to do that. We are in Utah, so cannot do the application ourselves. The property owner feels the tenant should be responsible since the property is located in the national forest, on the river, where it would be expected that one would be exposed to "nature", and the nest is not located within the physical structure of the housing unit itself. He also did not notify us of the problem or provide an opportunity to handle the matter until after he had already contacted the pest control company. His notification was via text message.
A: It is a landlord's legal duty to keep the "[b]uildings, grounds and appurtenances at the time of the commencement of the rental agreement in every part safe for normal and reasonably foreseeable uses, clean, sanitary and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin and all areas under control of the landlord kept in every part safe for normal and reasonably foreseeable uses, clean sanitary and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin". ORS 90.320(1)(f). I suspect a Judge would find wasps nesting on the property to constitute "vermin" and/or at least to make the property unsafe, either of which would trigger your duty (not the tenants) to be sure that the nest was removed. It is, however, your choice as to how to remove it, understanding that if one method does not work you have a duty to keep trying until it is successfully and permanently removed. It is also your choice as to who does the work, not the tenant's. If you can't work out a deal with the tenants ($50 off rent if they spray the nest themselves?), it is likely to be your duty to hire someone (if you cannot do it yourself) to take care of the problem. If the nest is not on your rental property, however, that may be a different matter. Sorry but being in nature does not change a landlord's legal duty.
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