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I've owned the building for 9 years. The upstairs tenant has been there for two years. The family under him have only been there three months. He gave them one of his beds...!! and then they started to see the bed bugs.
The company who did the extermination said that the largest quantity by far, of bedbugs and eggs, were in the upstairs' apartment.
The stuff of nightmares, lol. I've heard that roaches are easier to deal with!
Are your tenants required to have renter's insurance? I would think they could re-coup their dry cleaning through rental insurance -??
Nope.
A renter's policy has a list of perils (causes of damage to personal property) that does not have damage caused by insects on the list. If something isn't on the list, then it's not covered.
How long have these tenants lived there? If they've lived there more than a month and only just now noticed bed bugs, it's most likely they brought them in.
Bed bugs aren't like roaches. They come in with people - in clothing, or suitcases.
I think the contract with the 'pest control company' is your legal shield against all future litigation. Make copies of that contract and post them at the property.
It is the job of the pest control company to fix the problem.
I'd tell them no. That you have taken care of the bedbug problem, so there is no need for the mattress covers. But, to please let you know if they see another bedbug and you will call the pest control guys to come check it out again.
The only time I had bedbugs was with a group of international roommates who didn't deal with me honestly as far as who was on the lease or not. They never complained about bedbugs, but after they left, the subsequent tenant did complain.
It's quite possible they actually brought the problem in with bringing in used furniture, etc., or from traveling from a country that had bedbugs or from being exposed in hotels with bedbugs. But, your only responsibility is to provide a habitable apartment. Not to give them mattress covers that aren't necessary - if you have gotten rid of the bedbugs.
I had to read my lease before replying. The last pest control section is 4 pages, whew. The paragraph relating to management liability reads:
Except in those situations where Management has been grossly negligent, and/or as provided by law, Owner, Management, and it's employees, officers, and/or directors are not liable to Resident for any damages caused by pests, including, but not limited to, personal expenses, replacement of furniture, and/or other personal items, including clothing, medications or medical expenses, or for the costs to treat, clean, replace and/or protect Residents personal belongings.
There's more but you get the drift.
When I rented my apartment, the manager went over the past control issue thoroughly. I didn't know but, apparently, Arizona does have a bed bug issue, I suppose due to the climate. I/we are warned about buying used furniture, etc. Another reason I am so glad I brought my furniture when I moved here from Minnesota. Not that there aren't bed bugs there but most are brought in from people traveling and sleeping in hotel/motel rooms.
It really sounds to me that it's the tenants fault as he is the one who gave the mattress to the neighbor and it was his apartment that was the worst. I'm sure it wasn't intentional but he picked them up somewhere, thus it is not your responsibility to provide or pay for mattress protectors. Why did he buy them for the neighbors anyway? That's kinda creepy.
A lot of leases now say that the tenant is responsible for paying for bedbug eradication. It's really very difficult to get rid of them. The first step is to encase the mattresses and put "climb ups" under the bedlegs and move the beds away from the walls, so that the bedbugs cannot get at the people. Then spray effective (always changing) insecticides around the beds, and hope that the bedbugs are drawn toward the beds, walk through the insecticides, and die.
Two treatments may not do the trick, if the tenants aren't cooperating with treatments and precautions.
A lot of leases now say that the tenant is responsible for paying for bedbug eradication. It's really very difficult to get rid of them. The first step is to encase the mattresses and put "climb ups" under the bedlegs and move the beds away from the walls, so that the bedbugs cannot get at the people. Then spray effective (always changing) insecticides around the beds, and hope that the bedbugs are drawn toward the beds, walk through the insecticides, and die.
Two treatments may not do the trick, if the tenants aren't cooperating with treatments and precautions.
It's true that a lot of leases say tenants are responsible to eradicate bedbugs, but that isn't always legal. In CA, for instance, landlords are responsible to keep a rental in a habitable condition, which includes it being pest-free.
Now, how on earth can a landlord prove a tenant brought in the infestation? Not likely. So, if a tenant actually fought a landlord, the tenant would likely win.
Because, the bottom line is, the landlord is responsible to keep a rental pest-free - at least in CA.
It would probably be easier to blame a tenant for cockroaches - IF - the landlord had given some notices about not leaving garbage out, or cardboard boxes (where they like to breed), etc.
But, how can a landlord warn a tenant about how their behavior might create a bedbug infestation? I guess, if a tenant was regularly bringing in free furniture off the side of the road that might have bedbugs, there MIGHT be a case there.
But, otherwise, what can you possibly require them to do or not do? Don't travel? Don't stay in hotels?
It's just not realistic in any way I can think of, for a landlord to successfully be able to blame a tenant for a bedbug infestation, and get them to pay for it - IF - the landlord is otherwise required to provide a pest-free unit.
We had a bedbug infestation that started in a unit that had a lot of visitors from India originally, but it wasn't reported until a new tenant who had been traveling, who was originally from Croatia moved in. So, where did the bedbugs come from? The visitors from India? The new tenant who had stayed in hotels who was originally from Croatia? Who knows?
But, in the end, the owner had to foot the bill and didn't try to charge either tenant, because he'd never be able to prove it either way, and the main thing was to eradicate them before they spread to other units anyway.
A lot of leases now say that the tenant is responsible for paying for bedbug eradication. It's really very difficult to get rid of them. The first step is to encase the mattresses and put "climb ups" under the bedlegs and move the beds away from the walls, so that the bedbugs cannot get at the people. Then spray effective (always changing) insecticides around the beds, and hope that the bedbugs are drawn toward the beds, walk through the insecticides, and die.
Two treatments may not do the trick, if the tenants aren't cooperating with treatments and precautions.
OP is in NY State, which stipulates that the landlord is responsible for pest eradication, under the warranty of habitability. Any portion of a lease that would state it is the tenant's problem would be found to be null and void.
Quote:
Under the warranty of habitability, tenants have the right to a livable,
safe and sanitary apartment, a right that is implied in every written or
oral residential lease. Any lease provision that waives this right is contrary
to public policy and is therefore void. Examples of a breach of this
warranty include the failure to provide heat or hot water on a regular
basis, or the failure to rid an apartment of an insect infestation.
Link in my 1st post in the thread.
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