Landlord found bedbugs in carpet AFTER we moved out.... (apartments, lease, tenant)
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According to us, we never had bedbugs while we were living there. After we moved out, the landlord charged us for a bedbug fee. They had to replace the carpet and found bedbugs under the carpet after we left. We refused to pay for it because we deny bringing them in.
Let's say they took pictures of the bedbugs and they indeed did find bedbugs after we left. If they take us to court, who would be likely to win? I'm wondering if the bedbugs traveled from units surrounding us because they were UNDER the carpet, not crawling around on us. Aren't apartments responsible for bedbugs to a certain degree?
I was living there for a year. My roommate lived there a year before me, so she lived there two years total. I did sublease it this summer. I also got a used mattress and box spring in March. But we never had any bites so I highly doubt it's from either of the two scenarios. I also moved out in September and still have no bedbug bites.
If we brought it, I'm sure we would have been bitten by now. I know bedbugs can hide for a long time without food, but if we brought it and they're out in the open, why would they hide and not eat on purpose???
My boyfriend when visiting me a few years ago brought some bedbugs into my apartment that had stowed away in his suitcase while it was in the luggage hold of the bus he traveled in on. He was staying for two weeks. I immediately started getting red itchy bite marks all over. He did not experience anything. Thankfully, my LL was nice enough to do treatments with no charge.
Just because you aren't getting bitten does not mean that they weren't there. You might have both just been lucky enough to be immune to the effects of their bites. You may not ever see any either. I only managed to catch 3, and that was by getting up in the middle of the night, turning on lights and searching for them.
That said, they could have easily wandered over from the neighboring unit in the month since you vacated the property. Chances are, if there were bedbugs in your unit when you lived there, you would have brought them with you in your furniture.
"May a landlord bill a tenant for the cost of bed bug treatment?
Unfortunately, many landlords do not understand the law, and believe they may bill tenants for the cost of bed bug treatment. There is no legal authority that allows a landlord to require a tenant to pay for the cost of bed bug treatment, other than for the added cost of treatment due to a tenant’s delay in reporting or for treatment due to carelessness, misuse or neglect by the tenant. Anything in the lease that says otherwise cannot be enforced by the landlord against the tenant."
"May a landlord bill a tenant for the cost of bed bug treatment?
Unfortunately, many landlords do not understand the law, and believe they may bill tenants for the cost of bed bug treatment. There is no legal authority that allows a landlord to require a tenant to pay for the cost of bed bug treatment, other than for the added cost of treatment due to a tenant’s delay in reporting or for treatment due to carelessness, misuse or neglect by the tenant. Anything in the lease that says otherwise cannot be enforced by the landlord against the tenant."
That is all well and good but we don't write laws that allow people to do things we write them to prohibit things, drunk driving, murder, possession of narcotics, etc.
You need to find the law that says what a landlord must do regarding bes bugs in order to have any ground to stand on, and replacing carpet is not normal treatment.
This got taken care of. They're dropping the charges.
I'm just a little paranoid of my current situation. I hope I didn't bring any with me. I only had a bed, no couch or anything. And the carpet they replaced was my roommate's so they were in her room, on the other side from my room. If I had them, I would have been bit by now.. right?
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