Rats and Garage Doors

I have a tenant in one of my single family houses that had a pest control company call me to set up a visit to treat for roaches and rats. I told the company I don’t think so. Later that week that same tenant called and said the garage door was broken. I sent out a technician and the technician said what he found was that the tenant was raising the garage door and a rat got his head caught in the mechanism and was ripped apart forcing the door off the tracks. The rat’s head was on the floor and his body was stuck in the door and the door was ripped off the tracks.

Should I charge the tenant for to repair the garage door?

Rats?

I think I’d pay the bill rather than get a bad reputation as someone who keeps trashy places.

When I looked in the garage the floor was covered across the whole thing to about 3 feet high with junk. When I went inside there was unwashed dishes in the sink and clothes in various stages of laundry on the kitchen table sofas and in the hallways. I told her that when I turned the house over to her there were no pests and the only way to get them gone and keep them gone is to not feed them or provide harborage for them. I am not going to pay a couple hundred dollars getting rid of the pests and she is going to turn around and invite them back by how she is living. This just goes to show that if you live nasty you are nasty.

Bill her for it. Then give her 30 days to clean it up or get out.

You are going to pay for it one way or another.

I’d get it treated as soon as possible and get her cleaned up or out of there asap.

Rats breed like cockroaches and don’t go easily once they’ve found a nice home to stay in.

Charge her for it or take it out of the deposit as she leaves.