Eek! The patio has become a rat’s nest. Who’s responsible?

Question: Our very upscale gated community has a dark, ugly secret that no one on the board wants to deal with: rats. They climb the fruit trees, sun themselves on our terraces and even take the occasional dip in the common-area pools and spas. The rats live freely in hundreds of acres of perfectly manicured flower beds and on the golf courses.

Our association spends more than $30,000 a month on landscaping but only $500 on pest control. If vermin get into a private residence, it’s the owner’s responsibility to call an exterminator because the CC&Rs; say owners are “personally, legally and financially responsible for their eradication.”

The management company’s response to my complaints of rats nesting in my private patio furniture and coming into my home was “in that case, I guess you can shoot them.”

The Riverside County health department’s vector control tells us there isn’t anything it can do to require our association to clear out the rats. Based on the CC&Rs;, can our board deny responsibility for vermin entering our homes from common areas? What can we do?

Answer: It doesn’t matter how exclusive your community is. What matters are the health and safety concerns of residents, guests and employees.

Just because the association’s covenants, conditions and restrictions hold owners responsible for rat eradication within their units does not absolve the board of its responsibility to independently resolve the infestation in, and emanating from, the common areas.

Civil Code Section 1364(b)(1) states, “Unless otherwise provided in the declaration, the association is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the common area occasioned by the presence of wood-destroying pests or organisms.” However, this does not mean the association is unaccountable for the vermin infestation.

Excuses aside, considering the serious nature of owner complaints, the manager’s response is not only inappropriate, but also may expose the association to liability. A problem such as this deserves immediate attention. A nonchalant board and cavalier management do not serve the best interests of the association and its titleholders.

Vermin and the parasites they host are known to carry disease, and should anyone be harmed, the association’s potential liability increases. The board’s spending priorities -- $30,000 monthly on landscaping versus $500 on an unequivocally fundamental duty of eradicating a threat to the health and safety of its members -- are misplaced. Beyond the health issues, the overt presence of vermin may devalue the property more than the landscape enhances it.

Notwithstanding the department’s inability to satisfactorily address this issue, most county ordinances require property owners, including associations, to remedy such conditions in a timely manner.

Obtain a copy of the association’s vendor contracts pertaining to pest control. Analyze the coverage and pay close attention to vendor liability clauses.

Where possible, take photographs and document the presence and damage in both the common areas and your separate property. Be certain to obtain estimates to substantiate costs for your damaged property.

Attend the next board meeting and participate in the open forum. Make sure that your complaint regarding the board’s failure to treat the common-area rat infestation is included in the minutes of that meeting.

Before and after that meeting, confirm your complaint in writing to the board, putting its members on notice that should any of the occupants or guests in your home be injured due to vermin infestation, or should any damage occur, you will hold the association liable.

If the board fails to own up to its obligations and perform its duties within 10 days of the date of your letter, file a claim on the association’s insurance policies for any injuries and damages incurred.

Send questions to P.O. Box 11843, Marina del Rey, CA 90295, or e-mail noexit@mindspring.com.