House Rules: Property Law and Living with Bats
Property law will impact far more than where you can put a shed or pour a new driveway. It often creates problems when protected species are found on a property, such as when there are bats living inside your old shed or frequently visiting the trees in the backyard.
British law makes it a crime to:
- Intentionally capture a bat.
- Intentionally or recklessly injure a bat.
- Kill a bat, either on purpose or “recklessly”.
- Destroy habitat bats use for shelter.
- Damage bat habitat.
- Disturb bats where they roost.
So how does this affect the average property owner?
Have a survey of the property before you start ripping down an old shed or making roof repairs. (You can’t do the survey yourself, since it won’t meet the standards set by the Bat Conservation Trust.) Then you can’t get in trouble for recklessly disturbing or even killing bats. Don’t try to kill bats. They will not bite you. They won’t damage your home, either. They don’t gnaw on wood, wires, or insulation like rodents. They don’t build nests or bring insects into your home, either. They’re very clean animals.
Consider having your home inspected for bat droppings or other signs of them living there. Then you can’t get in trouble when you enter the roof void in July, August, or in the winter months when bats are most vulnerable. You could in theory be fined for disturbing them just for shining a light at them such as when you climb into the attic to fix a hot water boiler or add insulation. For example, waking hibernating bats causes them to burn unnecessary energy, and that can reduce their overall odds of survival. If bats have access to your roof, closing up the holes they use is illegal. And it may result in bats being trapped inside the building and dying there. That can result in fines as well as a nasty odor.
Expect a survey to be mandated by the local council if there are bats living in the trees or old buildings on the property. This means it is unlikely you’ll be allowed to take them down without a mitigation plan in place. In most cases, you shouldn’t even think of damaging or moving those old hedgerows.
Having bats doesn’t mean you can’t have work done in the loft or on the roof. Instead, you’ll need bat surveys and additional planning permissions before work could be done.
You may want to bring the cat in half an hour or more before sunset. This allows bats to emerge from their roost undisturbed. This is doubly important between June and August when bats are rearing their young. Don’t let the cat go into the attic if bats roost there. You can aid bats by building and installing bat houses ten to fifteen feet off the ground. Cats and other predators can’t reach those.
If you find an injured bat, call the bat helpline. Call the bat helpline if your cat has caught a bat, too. If you find a baby bat on the ground, you should put it in a cloth-lined box and call the bat helpline for advice. Avoid handling the bat with your bare hands, because it might bite. Fortunately, British bats rarely have rabies. But if you are bit by a bat, you should contact your doctor for immediate treatment and have an expert take the bat for examination. If the bat is on the floor and crawling toward you instead of trying to get away from you, don’t touch it. Put a box with air holes on it and call for help. Healthy rescued bats will want to hide in crumpled paper or tea towels.
A bat trying to roost in a window frame or air vent may accidentally find its way inside the house. Don’t try to catch it. It may bite you, and it may exhaust itself trying to evade you. Instead, open windows and let it fly out.
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