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I am brand new to this forum so take it easy on me. I am in a bit of a situation with my apartment. I will try to keep this brief. Am currently renting an apartment in Toronto, Ontario.
Here is my log from the start:
1. Had a serious earwig infestation in my apartment (they even went on my curtains and in my bed).
2. Typed up a service request and gave it to the super.
3. He came over on Thursday, July 5th and I showed him the place, and what I've done to try and remedy the situation.
4. Told me he will get an exterminator for Monday, July 9th.
5. Ended up seeing an earwig crawl out of my oven the next day, so I called him back up. He was off duty so the other super answered.
6. Told him I needed something done quicker so he said he will get someone for Saturday, July 7th at 7:30AM.
7. Told him I wanted to be there (didn't sleep at home that night) to talk to the exterminator prior, and to remove my food and clothes from the apartment before they spray.
8. Woke up next morning and called him to find out it was already done and I was good to go back.
9. Got upset at this, so I drove with my father over to my place.
10. My apartment had heavy chemical fumes, and no windows open/ventilation.
11. We asked the super to come over. I presented him with a letter that I typed, saying that he got a professional exterminator and carried out the job as stated in the tenant act. He refused to sign.
12. Asked him for a copy of the extermination paperwork. He said he doesn't't have authority to do that.
13. Instead, he showed me his copy in person and I took a picture. He said I can't do that either.
14. Told me the chemical that they used was non toxic to humans. I Googled the chemical (called Prelude) and it is very toxic to humans if inhaled, and pets.
15. Argued with him because he did not let me prepare for this, and all my food is now garbage ($210 worth). All my clothing and linens, pillows, blankets were exposed to the spray.
16. They left a pool of the chemical in my washroom near the shower.
17. I have a cat and I have been staying at different friend's places every night because I have nowhere else to go.
18. Finally, we saw an earwig while the super was there, after the spraying, and he saw it too. He said they will have to spray again if it doesn't work.
Because everything is closed on the weekends, I am waiting for tomorrow (Monday) to take action. I am on a disability program because I suffer from chronic daily migraines and anxiety (with tons of history, my doctor has it all). I haven't been able to sleep at my place for almost a week, and barely have a set of clothes I can wear. I don't know if it's safe to wear the clothes in my apartment or even lay on my bed right now. I have missed days at work because I have had to deal with this issue.
How should I proceed here? Should I take this to the health board/tenant board? Get legal help? Can I break my lease?
I don't think you can break the lease. The laws may be very different where you are, but in Virginia (U.S.), we have to give 24 hours' notice of exterminators, but that's about it. He could easily argue he bumped it up at your request and therefore wasn't required to notify you fo the exact time since you are the one who asked for it to be done sooner. That's about it. At least here, you would not be justified in trying to dictate exactly when it is done, how it is done, etc., you would just be notified of when it's happening.
I think you have an argument of them not actually notifying you which led to you not being able to properly prepare for it. If the cat dies or something, you would certainly have a reason to sue, but without seeing the instructions for the chemicals used, I don't know if it is reasonable to claim the food is bad, you can't sit on the bed, etc. I know you said the chemical is toxic, but is that only while it's being applied? Is it safe after one or three hours? Is it still toxic if you can smell it at all? Is food fine unless it is sprayed directly? Those are very different circumstances.
You are understandably extremely upset, because bugs are gross.
A few things...The Super is a hired hand. He ain't signing s#!t. You need to talk to the property management company.
You brought up a concern regarding the bugs, and he had an exterminator out in a reasonable amount of time to handle the situation. It isn't reasonable to put the guy on the hot seat to treat extremely quickly and then complain when he gets someone out on a Holiday weekend that you weren't given as much notice as you want. If you were so concerned and knew he was getting someone in there quickly, why didn't you prepare for such an eventuality.
If the exterminator is a licensed and bonded exterminator, you likely have nothing to worry about as far as the safety of your linens and clothes. If it bothers you that much, take it to the laundromat.
So, you need to relax, calm down, and go on living in this apartment. Don't let this sour you to living there.
You asked to have the bugs sprayed. They told you when the exterminator would be there. You do not get to dictate the schedule of independent contractors. You don't get to request an emergency service call and then tell the landlord that the timing doesn't suit you and that the service man getting paid double time for weekends has to stand around until it is convenient for you.
I suggest that you request to be let out of your lease. Maybe they will be happy to see you go.
You could have paid $10 for a big spray bottle of ortho home defense and done the spraying yourself to suit your own schedule and saved yourself a lot of stress.
I don't think you can break the lease. The laws may be very different where you are, but in Virginia (U.S.), we have to give 24 hours' notice of exterminators, but that's about it. He could easily argue he bumped it up at your request and therefore wasn't required to notify you fo the exact time since you are the one who asked for it to be done sooner. That's about it. At least here, you would not be justified in trying to dictate exactly when it is done, how it is done, etc., you would just be notified of when it's happening.
I think you have an argument of them not actually notifying you which led to you not being able to properly prepare for it. If the cat dies or something, you would certainly have a reason to sue, but without seeing the instructions for the chemicals used, I don't know if it is reasonable to claim the food is bad, you can't sit on the bed, etc. I know you said the chemical is toxic, but is that only while it's being applied? Is it safe after one or three hours? Is it still toxic if you can smell it at all? Is food fine unless it is sprayed directly? Those are very different circumstances.
Hi there. Thanks for the response. I actually went to the tenant board today and they told me that the service request the super gave me was not filled out properly. He did not sign it, and they should have given me a new one to come Saturday morning regardless of it being last minute. He also did not get the exterminators signature on the paperwork so there is no written paperwork stating she was there.
They told me to file a T2 form which basically states that the super entered my unit illegally and made the unit unfit to live in. Mostly because the chemical interferes/makes my migraines worse. This is why I wanted to be there beforehand.
WASH the linens and dishes and wipe down any hard surfaces, which if you read the cans of bug bombs that you buy yourself.... is something you are supposed to do anyway.
Often the room/building where the spray is used needs to be closed off for a certain amount of time for the nasty stuff to work, often 4 hours. There SHOULD have been a notice on your door telling you this. Of course once you got a whiff you should have closed the door and went out for a few more hours.
YOU wanted it ASAP. The LL did just that.
Earwigs love damp places with food sources.... if this is an apartment complex THEY will be BACK unless the entire building is treated, just like roaches.
Get in there are DEEP CLEAN. Something is drawing them in, find it, get it fixed.
Perhaps you need to look at a different type of Housing if your medical conditions are so bad.
Can you break your lease? Sure, you can; but not without a penalty. Read your lease and your state’s landlord/tenant laws regarding early termination.
Letting the OP out of the lease may be best case scenario for the LL.
It appears there is an infestation of bugs that’s going to cost a good chunk to remove, and the manager or whoever may not have followed protocol.
If the OP story is true, LL has bigger issues than the lease being broken
Earwigs like damp, cool places. The basement is probably where they are coming in, and if your apartment is cool and damp, especially with food accessible, they'll be attracted.
The LL is doing everything appropriately. If you had a serious infestation, and the LL did not respond, that would be grounds for going to court to escrow rent to pay for extermination. But he did respond, got in an exterminator. You haven't got a leg to stand on to break your lease.
If you want out of there, ask nicely, and maybe they'll let you out. You can probably kiss your deposit goodbye.
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