liability jurisdiction municipal-bylaws
Are municipalities responsible for rat problems?
<p>A friend of mine is having some problems with rats along with a handful of his neighbors. He is under the impression that the city should be coming out to get rid of them since it's a "health issue". Is there any validity to his reasoning? </p>

<p>It depends on where you are. Typically, rodents inside a rental must be removed by the landlord. In <a href="http://records.tukwilawa.gov/WebLink8/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=54063&amp;&amp;dbid=1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tukwila</a>, ch. 6.16.030 under health and sanitation says</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It  is  unlawful  for  the  owner  or  occupant  to  fail  to 
  reconstruct  or  repair  [buildings of various types, controlling in
  various ways] for  the   purpose of preventing rats, mice, or other
  rodents from gaining  entrance  thereto;  and  it  is  also  unlawful 
  for  the  owner  of  [things rats eat] to fail to adequately protect
  the same to  prevent such rodents from gaining access to or coming in
  contact  therewith.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This does not govern rodent "outside" (either on private property or on public lands): the city has absolutely no responsibility for rat control. A similar ordinance exists in <a href="http://www.codepublishing.com/WA/Kirkland/html/Kirkland21/Kirkland2141.html#21.41.302" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kirkland</a>, except that 21.41.302(e) says "The owner or occupant of real property shall keep buildings <em>and premises</em> free from rats, mice and other rodents", where "premises" includes the land (thus, it is the land-owner's responsibility). The "owner" is defined as</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>any person, agent, operator, firm or corporation having a legal or
  equitable interest in the property; or recorded in the official
  records of the state, county or municipality as holding title to the
  property; or otherwise having control of the property, including the
  guardian of the estate of any such person, and the executor or
  administrator of the estate of such person if ordered to take
  possession of real property by a court</p>
</blockquote>

<p>so Kirkland must eliminate rats in its parks. But there is an exception that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The provisions of this section shall not apply to wetlands, unimproved
  parks, greenbelts or other unimproved property if the property owner
  or occupant has not committed any acts or omissions that increase the
  likelihood of rat, mice or other rodent infestation</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and it's not clear whether there are any improved property owned by the city that has rats. King County (which contains Tukwila and Kirkland) does not appear to have any rodent control ordinances apart from one pertaining to kennels, not surprisingly since most of the county is out in the woods. There are often municipal agencies that provide "assistance" in rodent control (not that they do it, but they may tell you what to do), but generally the responsibility is on the property owner.</p>
