Squirrels!!

[laughlast.livejournal.com]

I've never posted to a site like this before but it was recommended and I could use some help, so here I am.

I live in the top floor unit of a three-unit house and for the last few months, squirrels have been working their way into the walls and crawl spaces around my apartment (there is no attic space in the house - my apartment is directly under the roof so the squirrels are between the rooms of my apartment and the most slanted part of the roof, if that makes sense).  I have reported this to my landlords several times and they have been minimally responsive.  I have looked at my lease and there is nothing that speaks to their responsiveness to complaints and/or what constitutes disturbances about which I could withhold rent...etc.

In the last week or so, the squirrel activity has increased significantly and yesterday, one squirrel made it into my apartment...a thrilling experience a la National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Obviously, I contacted my landlords immediately by phone and email and asked them to call but I only got an email several hours later.  One of them came to my apartment today while I was not home to take a look and I have not heard anything about what was found or what will be done.  In general, I have, as mentioned, found them sluggish to respond and rather rude and this squirrel issue has persisted for a few months.

So...I have two questions: 

1. Any suggestions of how to handle squirrel invasions? 
2. Does anyone have suggestions or know Somerville housing (rental) laws that might be relevant to this situation?  Can I withhold rent if the issue continues?

Any feedback is welcome!  Thanks so much.

Comments

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

IANAL, first off.

A friend of mine had a somewhat similar issue. Basically, squirrels are vermin, and I doubt your lease says anything about vermin being AOK.

HOWEVER, to withhold rent, you can't just withhold rent: you need to put it in an escrow account, so that the court can see you have the rent available and that you can disburse the funds.

Basically, find a tenant advocacy group, keep depositing rent somewhere every month, and be ready to go to court.

[lunarcamel.livejournal.com]

Cambridge's Consumers' Council (http://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil.aspx) does a lot of landlord/tenant stuff, and their jurisdiction extends to Somerville. They're badasses, and I'd call them. Good luck to you.

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

Keep written records of every complaint you make. Send them by certified mail, or get the landlords to respond by email.

[unferth.livejournal.com]

I am not a lawyer, but based on some web resources and personal experience I've found the following:

The relevant law is the state sanitary code (http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cissfsn/sfsnidx.htm), in particular 410.550:

In a dwelling with one dwelling unit, the occupant is responsible for exterminating all rodents, cockroaches, skunks and insect infestation and maintaining the unit free of these, provided, however, that the owner shall maintain any screen, fence or other structural element needed to keep rodents and skunks from entering the dwelling; in a dwelling consisting of two or more units or in a rooming house the owner is responsible.

The sanitary code is enforced by inspectional services (http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/ospcd/isd); if they agree that there's a violation of the code, they can order the landlord to remedy it. If the landlord doesn't, you have legal cover for further action. My layman's understanding is that the usual recourse if the landlord hasn't taken action in the time allowed in the order is to have the problem addressed yourself and deduct the cost from the rent. However, you might want to consult with a lawyer before doing that, or withholding rent in an escrow account.

Sometimes an official order is all that's necessary to get a landlord to respond.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Based on what unferth says, I guess I'd start by calling Inspectional Services and asking them what to do and if they come look at the apartment and ask them to intervene in communicating with the landlord. I believe that I.S. can levy fines (??) or have some other recourse. But I guess the risk is that I.S. declares the home unfit for occupation and you're stuck finding a new place. :/

[siderea]

So, I can't advise about the legalities, but I was having my own squirrel-landlord problem, and a friend suggested pointing out to the landlord that squirrels gnaw on wiring and can burn down the building if left to scamper the walls. I did, and within the week the landlord had guys on ladders patching holes under the eaves. Perhaps that would be a useful rhetorical tack.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

Another non-confrontational way to deal with it would be to say "Hey landlord, is it OK if I just deal with this and take it out of the rent? I'll send receipts." And then call an exterminator (see previous tagged posts about squirrels, home repair, home services). That way, the landlords don't have to deal with it, and you don't have to pay for it.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

but whatever you do, don't use Terminix. they were completely useless for me, and had a scam-like approach to their "year-long contract". i had to call them several times to get charges reversed, and each time I had to flourish the "no really i *canceled* this contract" paperwork at them to get them to do the right thing.

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

There was an almost identical posting to this a few months back.

When I had squirrels they were easy to fix:

Step 1: The exterminator finds the entry point an puts a trap there.
Step 2: The squirrels will come outside when they are hungry
Step 3: Squirrels are trapped in trap
Step 4: Exterminator takes trap away and plugs up hole.

I used Commonwealth Wildlife. I assume Best Pest is also good at this stuff too.

It is not expensive. Get better landlords when you have a chance.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

Best Pest

I am in utter disgust at the misunderstanding from a homeowner of what these creatures do to the building over time, from the inside out for that matter. This is the second post here about vermin inside the home and I am talking fro experience that once I realized I had squirrels in home a few years- I moved fast and got them out.

Don't withhold rent-just get them out

[litia2005.livejournal.com]

Squirrels are such a pain for homeowners and tenants! We had a bunch of squirrels in our attic a few years ago. At times they make a lot of noise up there, perhaps their are fighting intruders, no idea. We called a pest control company specializing in squirrels. They did their thing, installed a one way exit from the house so squirrels could not come back. Then they put mesh over the entry gaps. Everything was OK for a little while, but then the little bastards went crazy and started chewing through wood to try to get back in! Perhaps they could still smell their own nest inside or something. We had to call the company back and they had to replace wood sections and put more mesh over the affected areas. It's been OK since, but what a nightmare. I used to like squirrels... Now they are my enemy.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

I had a squirrel problem and the exterminator trapped the squirrels outside and relocated them far away. That kept ones them from trying to return to the scene of the crime.

[laughlast.livejournal.com]

Hello again!!

Wow. I can't believe how many comments I got. Thank you so much!!

All of your feedback/suggestions have been very helpful. And mostly, it's just great to feel a little solidarity in sticking up for myself and getting rid of these little buggers.

So far, my landlord has come in and plugged the hole that granted the one brave squirrel who actually came into my apartment. However, though he let me know that he would be hiring a professional to address the larger invasion issue, he has not followed through or communicated when that will happen.

So...some progress...but resolution has not been achieved.

It's a delicate dance of wait-and-see and then speaking-up/taking-action. Difficult with this all happening around the holidays...but over the next couple days, I may be taking stronger actions...largely encouraged by you all!

So. Little update for you. Mostly, I just wanted to say THANKS A LOT for taking time to offer your thoughts. I came in skeptical to this whole blog posting thing...and you guys turned me right around.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!