Rats nesting in a vacant property

Hi, just looking for advice. I live in an estate mixed with houses and apartments. The apartment next door to me has been unoccupied for the last 4+ years and the garden has not been maintained. I asked the mgmt company back in July to contact the owners and ask them to maintain the garden as it was out of control. They confirm they sent a message but received no response. 6 months on, I now have rats coming into my garden from next door. The mgmt company have contacted them again and have received no response.

I believe initially, it was rented out, but then the owner died. There was a feud with the family, and they eventually tried to sell. On trying to sell, they had problems with the layout of the property against the land registry information. I don't know exactly what the problem was, and I have heard nothing since.

I know the mgmt company won't give me the owner's contact details, and I don't want to maintain the garden next door bi-weekly for the next couple of years.
Does anyone know what the next course of action is?
Who is responsible?
I have asked the mgmt company, but they have not come back with anything.

Thanks in advance

Buy poison and lay it in your garden.

Keep receipts in the extreme case you are ever able to reclaim anything from anyone.

The management agent should just keep chasing the owner.
However you are entitled to the owners address. Just an FYI, under the Companies Act any member of the OMG is entitled to the members list (Name and Address only, not phone or email). You could write to them yourself and explain the issue but sounds like that is what your Management Agent has done already.

Have a look at https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/housing/apartments-and-duplexes/owners-management-companies/
and note..
"
Members have certain rights under company law, in particular the Companies Act 2014. All company members are entitled to:......

• Various registers kept by the company, including the register of members and the register of directors and secretaries and their interests"

Also this is worth a look. Once you get the owner details you can report to HSE and Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Lastly, you can spend €5 with landdirect.ie and get a copy of the folio for the propety which will also give you the owner details and history of property.

NoRegretsCoyote said:

Buy poison and lay it in your garden.

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Poison really should be a very last resort, if even that.
Too many downsides.
Vermin dies from it somewhere inside your premises and you have a job/bill to extract it.
Dangerous to people and other wildlife in the area.

In a privately managed area this is really the responsibility of the management company so keep on at them about it.
Even in a privately managed area it could possibly become a public health issue in which case the relevant public body might get involved?

ClubMan said:

Dangerous to people and other wildlife in the area.

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Also to pets.

T McGibney said:

Also to pets.

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And to birds e.g. owls who eat rats

Get a cat

SimplyWorried said:

Just an FYI, under the Companies Act any member of the OMG is entitled to the members list (Name and Address only, not phone or email). You could write to them yourself and explain the issue but sounds like that is what your Management Agent has done already.

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Given that the owner is deceased and there's a dispute, it's likely still owned by the estate so you'll just get the name and address of the deceased. If the family haven't responded to the agent, I doubt they will to a 3rd party.

Leo said:

Given that the owner is deceased and there's a dispute, it's likely still owned by the estate so you'll just get the name and address of the deceased.

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Ditto on landdirect.ie

You should request that the management company get in the likes of rentokil or similar to deal with the problem. They should be able to deal with them without risk to pets or other wildlife.

You can very easily get bait boxes which allow nothing larger than a rodent in so it's very difficult for anything larger to access the poison.

Even if a pet does get the poison, a lethal dose for a 150g rat is not a lethal dose for a 15kg dog.

From long experience both indoors and outdoors traps are just not even vaguely as effective as poison.

Thanks for all the responses. I will get back onto the mgmt company.

DannyBoyD said:

Get a cat

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This I'm sure was tongue in cheek, but a cat would probably be a good option here - if you're willing to have a pet cat or a neighbour is. Rats will disappear very soon.

I lived in a slightly less well run development and there was a rat problem in the underground carpark. The head of the OMC rounded up a few stray cats and fed them in the carpark - soon people started taking care of them a little and the cats seemed happy. The rats disappeared quick smart.

THE_Chris said:

tongue in cheek

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Not at all; cats do a great job keeping the rodent population in check.