Carpet Moth Control for Landlords and Rental Properties in Earley

Why an HMO Is a Different Problem

• Each room is a separate tenancy, so reports arrive one at a time and each looks like an isolated issue
• The communal areas belong to the landlord outright — landing, stairs, hall, living room, kitchen
• Nobody living there is responsible for the landing, so nobody reports it
• The landing carpet is usually the oldest in the house and runs past every door
• Occupancy turns over annually, so no tenant has the history
• Furniture is supplied and therefore never moved
• The house stands empty over the summer, giving three undisturbed months a year

Treat the House, Not the Room

The single most useful change a landlord or agent can make on an HMO, and the one that turns four bills into one.

1. On any report, ask every room whether they have seen anything. It costs one message
2. Include the communal flooring in the scope — landing, stairs, hall and living room — whenever more than one room reports
3. Record it on the property file, with dates, so a later report is recognised as a recurrence and not a new event
4. Treat between letting years rather than during one

The Summer Void Is the Opportunity

It is also the risk. Three warm, undisturbed, unvacuumed months is excellent breeding conditions — and it is the only period when the house can be dealt with properly.

• Rooms are empty, so every carpet edge and every floor area under supplied furniture is reachable
• Communal areas can be treated without coordinating around residents
• Supplied mattresses, sofas and rugs can be turned over and checked
• No tenant has to be excluded from their home for a day
• The work has time to be done properly

A treatment in August is worth several in November.

Licensing and the Practical Obligations

We are a pest control company rather than a licensing adviser, so this is a prompt rather than a statement of your obligations — check with the local authority, since HMO licensing conditions and the requirements that apply vary.

• Many HMO licences carry conditions about the condition and repair of common parts
• A licensing authority may take an interest in a persistent, unaddressed infestation in shared areas
• Tenants in a licensed HMO have routes to raise disrepair that a single private tenant may not use
• Keeping dated records of reports, scopes and invoices is the practical answer to all of the above

What To Give Tenants At the Start of a Year

1. A line asking them to check under the bed once, in the first week
2. A named place to report it, and a request that it be in writing
3. A note that communal areas should be reported too, not just their own room
4. A request not to move supplied furniture between rooms
5. Nothing about spraying it themselves — uncoordinated DIY across four rooms is worse than no DIY at all

Between Letting Years

• Move every supplied bed and wardrobe and look at the floor underneath
• Turn supplied sofas and armchairs over
• Lift any rugs
• Check the landing and stair carpet, at the outer ends of the treads
• Photograph the floor under where furniture will stand, and date it
• Treat the whole property, communal areas included, if anything is found

Treatment starts from £220. For an HMO tell us how many rooms are let, whether the communal areas are carpeted, and whether the property has had this before — those three answers decide whether this is the last treatment or the next one.