Pest control in blocks of flats: obligations and solutions

Few buildings suit a pest better than a block of flats. Damp basements, bin stores, garages, internal courtyards and shared pipework give cockroaches, rats and other unwelcome guests everything they need to settle in and move from one flat to the next. And the job does not end with good housekeeping: the law requires the residents' association to keep those pests actively under control. Below we set out exactly what that involves.

What obligations does the residents' association have?

Both national law and the local by-laws of Barcelona and Girona leave little room for doubt:

• Barcelona public health by-law: every owners' association must keep the building's communal areas in a proper state of hygiene, and that expressly covers pest control in basements, garages, plant rooms, courtyards and bin areas.
• Catalan Public Health Act (Law 18/2009): sets out the duty to prevent and control any pest capable of affecting public health in shared spaces.
• By-laws of Girona and towns across the province: broadly mirror Barcelona and oblige associations to run regular rodent and insect control in communal areas.
• Spain's Horizontal Property Act (LPH): the cost of treating communal areas falls to the association and is shared among the owners in proportion to their ownership quota.

Which pests affect blocks of flats?

In residential buildings across Barcelona and Girona, the usual suspects are:

• American cockroaches: arrive from the sewers through inspection chambers, soil stacks and drains. They do well in basements and meter cupboards, and from there they work their way up into the flats, above all in summer.
• Rats and mice: nest in basements, garages, false ceilings, light wells and bin stores, getting in through cracks in the foundations, service ducts and gaps around pipework. Once inside, they chew through electrical cabling, plastic pipes and anything left in storage.
• German cockroaches: once in the building they take over the kitchens and pass from flat to flat through ventilation ducts, soil stacks and gaps around the shared services.
• Ants: come in from gardens, courtyards and cracks in the façade, forming trails that climb several floors in search of food.

Critical areas in a residential building

A thorough communal treatment has to concentrate on a handful of points:

1. Bin stores and refuse containers: the number one draw for cockroaches and rodents. Keep them clean, ventilated and on a regular treatment schedule.
2. Basements and garages: damp, dark and poorly ventilated, which is exactly what rats and oriental cockroaches look for.
3. Inspection chambers and drainage access points: the join between the public sewer and the building. Treating these chambers against insects is the key to closing off the American cockroach's way in.
4. Light wells and internal courtyards: they collect damp and debris and double as a climbing route for insects and rodents.
5. Meter cupboards and electrical panels: cockroaches are drawn to the warmth of motors and transformers, while rodents gnaw the cables and leave short circuits and fire risk behind them.
6. Soil stacks and ventilation ducts: vertical motorways that carry pests from floor to floor.

What happens if the association fails to act?

Ignoring these duties can get expensive, and not only in fines:

• Council fines: the town hall can penalise the association for breaching the public health by-laws, with the amount depending on how serious the case is and on the municipality.
• Work carried out in default: if the association sits on its hands after an official notice, the council can arrange the treatment itself and send the association the bill, usually well above the going rate.
• Claims from residents: an owner hit by a pest that started in the communal areas can claim damages from the association if it has neglected its maintenance duty.
• Damage to the building: rats gnawing through wiring, termites eating into timber structures. Left alone, pests cause damage that piles up over time and ends in costly repairs.

How often should treatments be carried out?

How often you treat depends on the building itself:

• Rodent control: at least twice a year (spring and autumn). Where there is a history of problems or a high-risk setting, quarterly inspections with permanent bait stations are the safer bet.
• Insect control in communal areas: at least twice a year, with an extra top-up in summer, when cockroach activity is at its height.
• Insect treatment of inspection chambers: at least 3 to 4 times a year, timed with the change of seasons, so the barrier against American cockroaches never drops.

How do you manage pest control in a block of flats?

Handling it well across the whole building comes down to four steps:

1. Put it on the agenda at the residents' meeting: vote to bring in a professional pest control service and treat it as an ordinary communal expense.
2. Sign up for an annual plan: a maintenance contract with scheduled visits works out cheaper, and far more effective, than calling someone out once the problem has already taken hold.
3. Insist on an authorised company: it must be listed on the ROESP (the Official Register of Pesticide Establishments and Services) and issue a certificate for every treatment.
4. Keep the paperwork: file every treatment certificate and have it ready for council inspections.

Service for residential blocks in Barcelona and Girona

At ERRADICAT we run annual pest control plans built specifically for blocks of flats in Barcelona and Girona. Each plan covers rodent control, insect control of the communal areas and inspection chambers, technical reports for the managing agent and a certificate for every treatment. Ask for a free quote for your building and you will have it back in under 24 hours.