#28857
bluehouse
Flatchatter

    I agree. Make a fuss. 

    The landlord and agent might be just trying to get away with the situation but when you show you know your rights after reading the above, you may get a better response without having to go further to Fair Trading. 

    If you haven’t already take lots of photos every time it happens  – during and after the swarms. Look critically at the photos to make sure they convey how bad it is. That will be evidence to show Fair Trading or Council’s Environmental Health Dept, but also may convey to the agent how ridiculous what they are asking you to put up with is.

    There is potential for damage to your belongings too – if there are cracks and spaces where the swarming termites have been coming in, the workers who are living in the walls can come in that way too. Termites also eat other cellulose materials as well as wood so if they come into wardrobes or where it is dark behind shelves etc they will eat things like books, fabrics, boxes and furniture. And depending on the species, surprisingly quickly.  I lost my silk wedding dress to them – it was being kept by my mother for sentimental reasons – I think she was more upset about the dress she had lovingly made than the wall they had eaten through to get to it! 

    Its the regular worker termites that will do that damage and they won’t come into the light, so they will only do it somewhere dark, or where they have built their closed tunnels to protect themselves from light. The tunnels are easily visible, so it shouldn’t be too hard to work out where to check. But its another reason why your home is not in an acceptable state that you pay your rent for.