Cockroaches in a shared house in London: what the Mitcham case shows about who deals with them

What happened in Mitcham

A tenant living in a house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Mitcham told MyLondon that water had been seeping down his wall from a roof leak for a long time, that his ceiling fell in on 24 October, and that the house also has cockroaches, which he had paid to deal with out of his own pocket. The local MP has asked for environmental health to visit, and Merton Council told MyLondon it had contacted the tenant to arrange a visit and would take action if it found breaches of housing standards.

The housing provider told MyLondon it was sorry for the tenant's experience, that it had offered him alternative accommodation several times since the leak was reported, and that it was working with the housing association responsible for the roof to complete repairs.

Who is responsible for cockroaches in a London HMO

Shared houses have their own rules. Under the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, the manager must keep the common parts of an HMO in good and clean repair, and keep fixtures, fittings and appliances that two or more households share, such as a kitchen, in good repair and clean working order. Regulation 8 adds that each room must be clean when a tenant moves in, and that its internal structure must be kept in good repair.

In practice, cockroaches in a shared kitchen, bathroom or hallway are the manager's problem to sort out, not one tenant's. GOV.UK's guidance on repairs says that if repairs are not done, you can contact the environmental health department at your local council.

Why treating one room on its own rarely works

In London, the cockroaches found in homes are mainly German cockroaches, which favour warm, humid kitchens and bathrooms, and Oriental cockroaches, which prefer cooler, damp areas. Both live where there is warmth, water and food, which in a shared house usually means the shared kitchen and bathroom, not one bedroom. A tenant spraying their own room deals with the few cockroaches they can see, while the colony carries on in the shared spaces.

Three things make the difference:

1. Treat the whole house at once. The treatment goes where the cockroaches feed and shelter, which in an HMO means every shared space.
2. Fix the water. Leaks and damp give cockroaches the water they need. Repairing a leaking roof or pipe is part of the treatment, not a separate job.
3. Plan for a follow up. Cockroach eggs sit in protective cases and can hatch weeks after the first visit, so one visit is rarely the end of it. Sealing gaps around pipes stops them moving between rooms.

If you rent a room in a shared house

1. Report cockroaches to your landlord or managing agent in writing, and keep a copy.
2. Note where you see them, with dates and photos, especially in the shared kitchen and bathroom.
3. Report any leaks at the same time, because damp keeps an infestation going.
4. If nothing happens, contact your council's environmental health team.

If you manage or own a shared house in south London, see our cockroach control page, or pest control in Merton and pest control in Tooting. We give a fixed written quote after a free survey.