Family forced into one room of roach-ridden rental as bugs take over

Wednesday, 8 July 2026

A family who moved into a Hillcrest rental just before Christmas had to seal themselves into a single bedroom as cockroaches took over the kitchen and nearby rooms.

Instead of enjoying the holiday season in a new home, the tenants had to move their kitchen appliances out to prevent them getting infested and despite fumigation, left soon after, arguing they shouldn’t have to pay rent for the roach-ridden abode.

While the Tenancy Tribunal awarded compensation for takeaway food and fumigation-damaged belongings, it said the landlord had eventually remedied the problem and both parties should split the cost of rent on the fixed-term tenancy until new tenants moved in.

Both the tenants' and landlord's names have been suppressed in a case the Tribunal described as both parties doing the best they could in an unfortunate situation.

A recent Tribunal ruling found the property was infested with German cockroaches when the tenants moved in on December 22, 2025.

The tribunal heard the evidence included photographs showing live and dead cockroaches on kitchen surfaces, inside cupboards and in appliances.

“The tenants moved their kitchen appliances and other belongings into the garage to prevent the cockroaches from infesting them,” the tribunal heard.

“The family slept in one room, blocked up all gaps into that bedroom and frequently sprayed insect spray to prevent the cockroaches getting into other rooms.”

The tenants notified the landlord on December 26. The landlord arranged professional pest control treatment but declined to give the tenants a rent reduction.

Expert reports from the landlord and tenants differed on the nature of the infestation.

According to the landlord’s expert, the infestation was “minor in nature”, while the tenants' expert assessed it as being at a “medium level”.

Adjudicator N Maplesden found the cockroach infestation breached both the tenancy agreement, which guaranteed the property would remain free of pests for the first 30 days, and the landlord's obligation to provide the home in a reasonable state of cleanliness.

“Cockroaches nesting inside a house is not ‘a reasonable state of cleanliness’”, Maplesden said.

Maplesden said the infestation was not serious enough to justify ending the fixed-term tenancy because the landlord had remedied the breach by arranging professional pest control and ongoing treatment.

While live cockroaches remained after the first treatment, Maplesden accepted expert evidence that this was expected and did not mean the treatment had failed.

However, the tribunal also found the tenants were entitled to compensation because they could not safely use the kitchen or dining areas and had to keep belongings out of the house to avoid contamination.

“The evidence from the pest experts supports their concern that there was a risk of cross-contamination and of the bugs getting into their belongings.”

The tenants were awarded $2,608.14, including compensation for reduced rent, takeaway food, pest mitigation costs, disposal of contaminated items, damage to an air fryer and mirror, and inconvenience.

The landlord was awarded $3,018.57, made up of $2,599.97 in lost rent until new tenants moved in and $418.60 in reduced reletting expenses.

The Bond Centre was ordered to pay $410.43 of the $2,600 bond to the landlord and refund the remaining $2,189.57 to the tenants.