Is my landlord responsible for mice or bed bugs? A London tenant's guide

Your landlord is responsible for pest control when the pests got in through something they must repair, when they were there before you moved in, or when the infestation makes the home unfit to live in. You are responsible only if your own conduct caused it, such as leaving food and rubbish out, not covering bins, or bringing bed bugs home in luggage, and even then only if the tenancy agreement lets the landlord pass the cost on. That is Shelter's summary of the position in England, and the rest of this guide is how to use it.

When is a landlord responsible for pest control?

When the cause is theirs, which is a question of fact rather than of who noticed first. Shelter's advice page for renters puts it in four lines: the landlord "must deal with a pest infestation if it's caused by a repair that they must fix"; "if pests were there when you moved in, they should sort this out"; they "must also make sure your home is fit to live in during the whole tenancy"; and "you could be responsible only if you do something to encourage pests". Mice coming through a hole where a pipe enters the kitchen, rats from a broken drain, or cockroaches travelling through a shared riser all point to the landlord.

Bed bugs are harder to pin down, because they arrive on people and furniture rather than through holes. The National Residential Landlords Association told its members in 2024 that bed bugs "can occur regardless of the tenant's cleanliness or the landlord's actions, so no one is automatically to blame", that landlords should absorb the cost in most cases, and that it can be passed on only where it is proven the tenant caused it and the agreement has a clause allowing it. Wandsworth Council tells private tenants that a recent infestation after a long tenancy is generally theirs to arrange, while anything caused by structural defects falls to the landlord, including the proofing.

What does the tenancy agreement actually decide?

Less than landlords sometimes claim, but read it. An agreement can require you to keep the property clean and to report problems, and a clause making the tenant responsible for pests they introduced can be upheld: the Housing Ombudsman accepted one in 2022 that required the tenant to remove pests "promptly on it coming to your attention", though the landlord there still funded two treatments. No clause removes the landlord's duty to keep the home fit to live in, and a clause does not decide cause. If the agreement says nothing, Shelter's position applies.

What does the law say about pests in rented homes?

Three pieces of law do the work for private tenants in England, and a fourth is on the way.

• The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 has applied to all tenancies since 20 March 2020. The government's guide for tenants lists "domestic hygiene, pests and refuse" among the hazards that can make a home unfit. You must tell the landlord in writing and allow a reasonable time, after which you can take them to the county court, which can order the works and award compensation and costs.
• The Housing Act 2004 Housing Health and Safety Rating System is the council's route. An environmental health officer scores the hazard; the council must act on a Category 1 hazard and may act on a lower one. The system was rebuilt in June 2026, cutting 29 hazard categories to 21, and pests now sit inside "domestic hygiene", but the duty to act has not changed.
• The Environmental Protection Act 1990 treats an infestation as a possible statutory nuisance. If the council will not act, section 82 lets an occupier go to court themselves against the person responsible.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished section 21 "no-fault" evictions from 1 May 2026, so a landlord can no longer answer a repair complaint with a notice to leave. Its private renters' ombudsman is expected to open for landlord registrations in 2028.

Awaab's Law, which sets fixed timescales for social landlords, is reported to extend to pests from 30 November 2026 under its second phase, though the wording of the regulations should be checked. It does not yet apply to private landlords, and the government has said it will consult before setting a date.

How should I report mice or bed bugs to my landlord?

In writing, on the day you find the evidence, with photographs. Shelter's professional guidance notes that one or two sightings are unlikely to count as an infestation unless droppings or other signs point to larger numbers, so collect those signs:

• Dated photographs of droppings, gnawed packaging, bites, blood spots on sheets or live insects, with something for scale.
• A note of where and when, and anything structural you can see: the gap behind the pipe, the hole in the skirting board, damp under the sink.
• A copy of every message to the landlord or agent, with the date sent, and their replies.
• Receipts for anything you have bought or thrown away.
• The move-in inventory, if the problem was there from the start.

Ask for a professional inspection, not a box of bait, and ask what happens after the first visit. And keep paying: Shelter's advice is "Do not stop paying rent", whatever the landlord has failed to do.

What if my landlord does nothing?

Go to the council's environmental health team and ask for an inspection. Shelter's advice is that the council "can inspect your home" and "could tell your landlord to fix the problem"; in practice it usually writes to the landlord first, then serves an improvement notice if nothing happens. The government's tenant guide says this runs alongside the 2018 Act, so you can involve the council and still claim compensation.

Social tenants have a different path, because a council cannot serve notice on itself: the routes are the Housing Ombudsman, statutory nuisance and, for emergency hazards, Awaab's Law. The ombudsman decisions show that delay is what gets penalised rather than the infestation itself. In 2025 the Local Government Ombudsman found Haringey had "allowed the matter to drift" over bed bugs spreading from a council-leased property next door, after the resident had paid £310 twice for her own treatment, and ordered a £600 payment and an apology.

What if the problem is the whole building?

Then the fix has to be the whole building, and the person who controls it is the one who must act. Shelter notes a landlord "does not usually have to deal with pests from neighbouring properties", which cuts both ways in a converted house or a purpose-built block: your landlord may not be liable for the neighbour's mice, but the freeholder or managing agent who controls the structure, the risers and the bin store is the one who can fix the route. In an HMO the landlord controls the whole house, so a shared kitchen with mice is squarely theirs.

Report it to the managing agent as well as your landlord, and ask the other flats to do the same: a block that reports together gets treated together. This matters most in Westminster, which has the highest share of private renting in England.

Who pays for the follow-up visits?

Whoever was responsible for the first one. Mice normally take two to three visits with proofing between them, and bed bugs two or three treatments across several weeks, so a landlord who pays for one visit and stops has not finished the job. If you arranged and paid for treatment yourself because the landlord would not, keep the invoice: Shelter says you "could claim compensation for disruption and damage to your belongings" where the infestation was the landlord's responsibility. The landlord's side of all this, including why treating between tenancies costs them less, is in our guide for London landlords.

What to do next

If your landlord has agreed to act, or you have decided to get it done and claim, book a free inspection survey and we will put the findings in writing for whoever is paying. The number is 020 3411 2329, Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm, and a same-day visit is often possible. See mouse control, bed bug treatment and cockroach control for what each programme involves, or send the details through the contact page.