Bedbug Control Colindale

Who Usually Arranges What

In most leases, what happens inside your flat is your responsibility, and the communal parts, such as corridors, lifts and bin stores, belong to the freeholder, often managed through a housing association or a managing agent. That usually means you arrange treatment for your own flat.

Shared ownership can feel different because you pay rent on the part you do not own. In most cases, though, the lease still puts the inside of the flat on you. Read it, and if it is unclear, ask the housing association in writing. We can explain what we find, but we are pest controllers, not legal advisers.

Why You Should Still Tell the Building

Even if the bill is yours, the managing agent should know. New blocks in Colindale have long corridors of doors, shared service risers and rubbish chutes, and if several flats are affected, dealing with one at a time can go on for months. A written report gives them the chance to look further.

1. Confirm it first. An inspection tells you whether you have bedbugs and which rooms. That is the report you send.
2. Write to the managing agent or housing association. Say what was found, when and where. Keep a copy.
3. Ask whether others have reported it. If neighbours have, the building may want to coordinate treatment.
4. Book your own treatment. Do not wait for a decision on the rest of the building before dealing with your flat.

Treating a Flat in a Newer Block

New flats are usually easier to treat than old ones: fewer gaps in the floorboards, cleaner skirtings, and fitted wardrobes that close properly. That does not remove the neighbours, though. Heat treatment clears the flat in a day but leaves nothing behind, so we often add a light residual at the front door and shared walls. Chemical treatment puts that residual throughout, over two or three visits. Tell us about the fire alarms and any concierge when you ring, as a heat day needs planning with the building.

While you wait, keep the flat door shut, bag bedding in the bedroom before it goes to the washer, and do not leave furniture in the corridor or the bin store for someone else to pick up. That last point matters in a large block, where a chair left by the lifts can end up in another flat by the evening.

If You Rent the Flat Out

If you are a leaseholder letting the flat, your tenant reports it to you, and you arrange treatment unless the tenancy says otherwise. Look at the page for Barnet landlords for organising several tenants. The Barnet borough page covers household preparation for owners in Colindale who live in the flat themselves.

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