Pests — Your city or county council · Ireland

Direct answer

In a rental the landlord deals with pests that come from the building — rats, cockroaches, mice — unless you demonstrably caused them; bedbugs are argued about everywhere, but the landlord still has to act. Report in writing. Your city or county council (gov.ie) — the municipality — has a pest-control service or a duty to act on public-health grounds and handles rats in the street or in bins. HSE Environmental Health Service / council housing inspection (hse.ie) inspects unhealthy housing and can order the landlord to treat. Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) (0818 303 037) decides rent reduction if the home is partly unusable.

Call firstYour city or county council

Report toHSE Environmental Health Service / council housing inspection

If that failsResidential Tenancies Board (RTB)

🗣️ What to say

"Since [date] there are [rats / cockroaches / bedbugs] at [address], photos attached. Please arrange professional pest control by [deadline] and find the source. Until the home is pest-free I reduce the rent by [%]."

🪜 Step by step

DocumentPhotos, dates, where; bedbug bites and traces on the mattress; rat droppings and holes.
Report to the landlord in writingWith a deadline. Ask for a professional company and for the source (drains, waste room, neighbour) to be dealt with.
Municipality: Your city or county councilFor rats outside and for landlords who do nothing; many cities treat rats for free.
Inspection: HSE Environmental Health Service / council housing inspectionEnvironmental health can declare the home unhealthy and order treatment.
Rent reduction: Residential Tenancies Board (RTB)Backdated to the report, proportional to the rooms you cannot use.

📇 All contacts

Your city or county councilNuisances, roads, waste, lost property, environmental complaintsFor anything the council handles🔗 www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/1a5c8-local-authorities

HSE Environmental Health Service / council housing inspectionUnfit housing, mould, pests, noise, food hygieneWhen health is at risk at home🔗 www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/environ

Residential Tenancies Board (RTB)Dispute resolution for deposits, free adjudicationWhen the landlord has not returned it within a reasonable time📞 0818 303 037 🔗 www.rtb.ie

ThresholdFree housing advice charityBefore you write, and for the wording📞 1800 454 454 🔗 www.threshold.ie

❓ Frequently asked

Bedbugs: who pays?

Practice varies. Most tenancy bodies make the landlord treat and only charge the tenant if the tenant clearly brought them in — which is very hard to prove.

The whole building is infested

Then it is the building's problem and the landlord must treat all flats at once; single-flat treatment fails. Tell HSE Environmental Health Service / council housing inspection — they can order a building-wide programme.

Can I break the lease?

If the home is unfit and the landlord will not act, an inspection report supports termination without notice in most countries.

📎 Sources

Last checked: 2026-09-26

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🐀 Rats, cockroaches or bedbugs — who do I report an infestation to?