Q&A: Of Mice and Management

Grey rat near wooden wall on floor. Pest control
Pic credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto/Liudmila Chernetska

Q. There is a situation with mice in my co-op complex. A shareholder on the first floor told the super she had been seeing mice in her unit. He said he would call a pest control company, but they never showed up. The shareholder contacted the super again, and it took him over a week to take a look in the unit.

According to the super, the mice are entering the shareholder’s living room closet through a closed-off stairway inside the unit of another shareholder above her—yet there are no mice droppings in her closet. The super also said that she had to seal the stairs at her expense because the mice were gaining access to her apartment through that stairway. (Picture walking underneath a staircase. Basically, that space has been closed off and made into a closet in the upstairs unit).

I am not a lawyer, but isn’t the staircase structural, and therefore not her responsibility? If anything, shouldn’t it be the responsibility of the other shareholder above her since the stairs are in their unit and cannot be accessed from any common area? My feeling is that the super and the management company do not want to take care of the problem, and my poor friend is suffering from anxiety and fear of the mouse situation. What should we do?

                                      —Pestered by Pests

A.“Under New York City Law,” says attorney Neil Garfinkel, managing partner of the New York City firm Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP, “a shareholder has a right to a livable, safe, and clean apartment, as well as clean public areas within the building. A shareholder has, whether stated in their proprietary lease or not, an implied warranty of habitability which cannot be waived. An infestation of rodents or insects is a possible violation of the implied warranty of habitability.

“If a co-op has a rat or mouse infestation, the co-op may have a duty to remedy these conditions within a reasonable time. However, if the infestation is caused by the shareholder, the shareholder cannot claim their implied warranty of habitability was breached, and it is the shareholder’s responsibility to fix the conditions.

“If the infestation is not caused by a shareholder and the co-op does not remedy the conditions in a timely manner, the shareholder can elect to pursue his or her remedies under the co-op’s proprietary lease. However, before pursuing his or her remedies, the shareholder should notify the co-op in writing of the infestation and keep a record of this notice.”   

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3 Comments

  • The Coop Board refuses to address ongoing Safety Concerns and Building Code Violations. I shouldn't have to hire a lawyer to enforce the aforementioned. The Coop hasn't had an Independent Audit in decades. Respectfully, Dr. Geraldine Towers 2/08/2025
  • Mice infestation usually occurs as a result of construction near the building, winter weather and open doors in the building and during moves. Unfortunately, the only way to eliminate a mice happens to be with traps. An exterminator will never spray for mice. Instead, management should provide superintendents traps for distribution to residents. Shareholders and residents are also called to cooperate by checking and closing any gaps in walls and floors. Example, holes around pipes in bathrooms and kitchens including the gas line and radiator heating pipes. Similarly, baseboards should be sealed, if these are significantly separated from wood floors. Many times, there are gaps behind the kitchen cabinets installed in an apartment. Therefore, the baseboard around the kickplates around the cabinets as well as the interior of the cabinets should be checked for holes and spaces. Finally, rent a cat or become a cat friendly building to provide mice control in the units.
  • My easy answer is: Get a cat! When we moved into our Coop many years ago there was a minor mouse problem. Just the fact that we had two cats scared the mice off, but it IS true that our adult cat made quick work of a few of them. We were not infested ... but they were here. Then our super sealed up certain holes in our apartment -- we have a duplex on the first and second floors but the kitchen is on the first. There were some holes in the kitchen area that once they were closed off, and after the mice were aware of the cats, our problem disappeared. This was many years ago and we haven't seen any rodents or roaches since.