A residential back alley at dusk with closed bins and a drain cover in the foreground.

How Portsmouth pest reports to the council are handled

7 min read
Local
Residents in Portsmouth can report rats, mice and other pest problems to the council, but the route depends on the land and the species. This guide explains what to include in a report, how public and private land differ and what follow-up and enforcement look like.

Residents in Portsmouth sometimes assume a pest problem is either a private matter for the household or a matter for the council, and do not know which applies. The answer depends on where the pest is, who owns the land and whether the problem involves rats and mice. This guide explains what to report to the council, how public and private land differ, how neighbour and drain issues are usually approached, and what follow-up and enforcement look like in practice.

Where to start

The GOV.UK pest reporting page explains that you should contact your council to find out whether it provides pest control services to remove pests such as wasps, rats, mice and bedbugs. The same guidance applies to England and Wales. In Portsmouth the local authority is Portsmouth City Council, so that is the body to contact first, whether you need advice, a service or an inspection. The same council is also the port health authority for the Port of Portsmouth under the Portsmouth Port Health Authority Order 2010, which assigns it the rat and mouse notice powers over the docks, harbours and marinas in its port health district and treats a vessel there as premises, with the master in the position of occupier.

For a report, describe the problem clearly: the pest if you know it, the location, how long the activity has been going on and whether it is inside or outside the property. Include the address and say whether the land is public or private. Photographs of droppings or gnaw marks help. Keep a note of any reference number, because it is the record of the report if the matter needs to be followed up.

Rats and mice: the council's duty

For rats and mice, the council's responsibilities come from the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949. A council must take the steps needed to keep its district free of rats and mice as far as is practicable, which includes inspections and action on land it occupies. Section 2 of the Act is the authority for the council's work, and it is written so that the council can use its judgment about priorities rather than treating every private complaint as a case for direct action.

The Act also puts a reporting duty on whoever occupies the land. Under section 3 of Part I, an occupier who learns that rats or mice are living there, or regularly coming onto the land, in substantial numbers must write to the council straight away. Farmland is outside the rule, and an occupier who stays silent risks prosecution and a fine at level 1 on the standard scale. "Substantial" is not quantified, so a lone mouse in a kitchen is unlikely to count; when you write, give counts, places and dates rather than a general description.

Public versus private land

The distinction between public and private land is the first thing an officer will establish. Public land that the council occupies is the council's own responsibility, and the Act requires it to destroy rats and mice on that land. Private land is the responsibility of its owner or occupier, and the council's role there is to serve notices and enforce them if they are not complied with.

Section 4 lets the council serve a notice on the owner or occupier requiring reasonable steps within a stated period, which can include a particular treatment or structural repairs. Where the owner and occupier are different people, separate notices may be served on each. A notice that requires structural works can be challenged in the magistrates' court under appeal provisions borrowed from the Public Health Act 1936, and section 300 of that Act allows 21 days from service to bring the appeal. A report about a private garden may therefore lead to a notice to the occupier, the owner or both, depending on who is responsible for the land. If you do not know who owns the land, say so in the report, because the council can usually establish ownership.

Neighbour and drain issues

Neighbour disputes often begin with a rat problem that seems to come from next door. The council will look at where the activity is and whether it is caused by a building, a drain or a waste practice on another property. A leaking or broken drain can attract rats, and a defect of that kind may be the owner's responsibility. The Act allows the council to require steps on land where the problem arises.

Where the problem is a nuisance rather than a rat or mouse issue, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 may apply instead. That Act covers premises kept in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance, and councils must investigate complaints that a nuisance may exist. This route can also cover accumulations of waste that attract pests.

Neighbour disputes are rarely quick to resolve. The most useful step is often a written message to the neighbour describing the problem and asking for action, followed by a report to the council if nothing changes. That sequence gives the council a clear picture of what has been tried.

What a council visit involves

An officer will usually want to see the evidence and speak to the owner or occupier. They may look at the affected area, check whether activity is recent and ask what has already been tried. Have the report and any photographs ready, and be clear about who has access to each part of the property. If the officer asks for something you cannot provide on the day, such as access to a neighbour's garden, say so and ask how the council will proceed.

Follow-up and enforcement

After a report, the council will normally contact the owner or occupier, arrange an inspection where needed and decide whether a notice is required. If a statutory nuisance is found, the statutory nuisance guidance says councils must serve an abatement notice, usually on the person responsible. That notice sets out what must be done and by when.

Councils do not always need to act formally. In many cases a visit and a conversation are enough to start a treatment or repair. Where a person does not comply with a rat or mouse notice, section 5 allows the council to carry out the steps itself and recover the expenses reasonably incurred, and failing to take the required steps is also an offence. Where rats or mice affect a group of premises in different occupation, section 6 lets the council treat the land as one unit, after giving each occupier at least seven days' notice of what it proposes, and divide the cost between them. That cost recovery is a strong incentive to act on a notice first.

Keep a record of the follow-up, including the dates of visits, what the officer said and what has been done since. If the problem continues after a notice has been complied with, report it again with the same reference number, so the new information is linked to the earlier file.

Getting the most from a report

Be specific and factual. Give the address, the date you first noticed the problem, the pest if known and the steps you have already taken. Attach any photographs and note whether you have told the owner or the neighbour. Ask what the next step will be and when, and note the answer.

What to expect after you report

A report to the council is not an instant service. The council will usually acknowledge it, record the reference and decide whether an inspection is needed. The time this takes depends on the workload and the nature of the problem, so it helps to say whether there is an immediate risk, such as droppings in food storage or a gnawed electrical cable. If you do not hear back within a reasonable period, quote the reference when you follow up, and say what has changed since the first report.

If you are a tenant, remember that the duty to notify applies to occupiers, so reporting rats or mice to the council may be a legal step as well as a practical one. The who pays in a rented home explains how landlord and tenant duties sit alongside the council's role. For a private or commercial problem the council will not resolve on its own, request a quote and describe the species, the location and whether the land is public or private. The pest control services page gives an overview of the work contractors carry out, and how this site works explains that quotes are passed on for comparison. The site does not report problems to the council on anyone's behalf.