QUESTION
I have a rat problem in my condo wall.
Asked on Aug 28th, 2025 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Florida
More details to this question:
I have a rat problem in my condo wall. I need plumbers to go into the unit above mine to inspect the pipes by putting a camera in their faucets. The owner of the unit is the condo president. He is hostile and will not allow access. He said the rat came in through my open door or cat door in the rear. The rat people have said it is a sewer rat, and they come in through broken pipes in plumbing. For my health and safety, I want to keep the rats from getting into my walls. I have sealed up any access into my condo, but they try to chew through barricades. I am distraught and not sleeping well. How can I force the condo president to allow me to inspect the pipes via his condo?
1 ANSWER
Consumer Debt Collector Harassment & Abuse Attorney serving Tampa, FL
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2 Awards
You generally cannot, other than having the board address the issue or spending a lot of money to hire a lawyer to sue and try to get a court order for the inspection if he won't allow it otherwise. That stated, there is no such thing as a "sewer rat" as opposed to a Norway other species of urban rat that, among other places, is found in sewers. Any reputable pest control service would advise you that access points like exposed roofing, appliance accesses or pet doors is the most likely means for rat intrusions, especially inside walls and cielings. It is rare that they would be associated with "broken pipes" in interior plumbing as the obvious issue would be the water intrusion of the lower units when the pipe was used. This sounds a lot more like you have a whole lot of other issues with the upstairs owner and are trying to weaponize this issue to "tangle" with him. If the rats are in the common area walls, you will need to address the pest control issue with the board not the upstairs neighbor.
Answered on Sep 05th, 2025 at 7:29 AM