Renting in Queensland: the pest rules
Pet conditions count
The Residential Tenancies Authority says tenants who agreed to reasonable carpet cleaning and pest control conditions as part of a pet approval should follow them. Check your approval for the exact wording.
Your choice of business
A Queensland property manager or owner can't require you to use a specific pest control service or product, or to pay a set fee for pest control. You choose who does it.
Leave it as you found it
Queensland tenants must hand the property back at the same standard it was in at the start of the tenancy.
Pests during the tenancy
The owner is responsible for pests when you move in and while you live there, unless your actions caused them. If pests turn up mid tenancy, tell the property manager as soon as you can.
Why fleas come up when pets move out
The cat flea is the most common flea in Australia, and it bites dogs, rats and people too. Fleas collect where pets rest: bedding, rugs, under the house, sheds and kennels.
Adult fleas can wait inside their cocoons until they sense vibration, warmth, noise or breath, which is why the next people into a house that's sat empty sometimes get bitten in the first days. It's one reason a pet agreement may ask for a flea treatment when you leave.
Victoria's health department says treating the pet is essential to stop fleas coming back, so sort the pet first, then the house.
Before you book it
- Read your lease and pet approval: is it a flea treatment, a general treatment, or both, and inside only or the yard too?
- Check whether the agreement asks for a receipt, a treatment record or both.
- Treat your pet for fleas before the house is done.
- Book it after the furniture is out, so every floor can be reached, and before the final clean if the carpets need drying time.
- Keep the treatment record: product name, date, areas treated and the business's details.
What an end of lease treatment involves
For fleas, the technician treats carpets, floors and the spots the pet used, and often the yard, subfloor or garage where it slept outside. The job is bigger with a large yard, a high-set house with an open area underneath, or a lot of carpet.
Ask the technician how long before the floors can be walked on and the carpets cleaned, and plan your final inspection around it.
Ask the pest business
- Will your treatment record name the product, the date and every area treated?
- Will you treat the yard and under the house too, if my lease mentions them?
- How long before carpets can be cleaned or walked on?
- Can you come back if fleas are still biting a couple of weeks later?
Where we'd start with end of lease pest control in Brisbane
Get the pet approval out and read the exact wording before booking anything. If it asks for pest control, treat the pet first, book the house once it's empty, and keep the paperwork with your bond claim.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
