Bedbugs

[smorr]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts
My uncle owns property in Massachusetts (although he lives out of state). The property is two parcels, side-by-side. One parcel has a single home. The other parcel has a house that has three apartments in a row (not a triple decker). The tenant in the middle apartment has complained of bedbugs, and admitted to being on vacation and seeing them only after her return (the day after). My uncle will have the bugs exterminated, at his expense, but I'm reading on some research that it's not a matter of just one visit and that the tenant will need to help as well, by removing furniture which may retain the bugs even after extermination. I hear it's unlawful to withhold rent if the landlord is doing his part to exterminate. What other laws benefit the landlord in cases like this? Can a specific lease provision be put in place for future lessees to benefit the landlord, so he's not looking at hundreds of dollars of future repair/exterminations?

 

[Cvillecpm]

Resident needs to treat by cleaning ALL LINENS and probably their clothes...they should have been more pro-active early in the infestation so that it did not get out of hand.

If landlord treated 1x, that should be enough and if not, the tenant needs to organize for and pay for next extermination treatment...by making them pay, you may make them aware of how they can prevent in the future...

 

[smorr]

Thanks for your input, but is your response an opinion or fact? I'm actually looking more toward the legal aspects and implications should this get out of hand. Oddly enough, my uncle lives in Virginia (the out-of-state mention in my thread) and I happen to know that laws vary greatly between Virginia and Massachusetts when it comes to landlord/tenant issues. Unfortunately, I can't find any statutes that deal specifically with infestation of bugs and other critters, which is why I came here. I'm not sure if it comes under the habituality clauses or not. If it were up to me, I'd let the tenant know that she needs to correct situations that have to do wtih her own personal property. Her bed/mattress is NOT part of the tenancy - it's her personal property - she'd have to take care of that part herself, while I bring in a pest exterminator for ONE treatment - and given that she acknowledged she had been on a trip and stayed in a hotel and that this infestation happened "after" she returned, sort of says it all if you ask me. Bad part about that is... it's a verbal acknowledgment and I don't know if it can be challenged in court.

 

[Cvillecpm]

Bedbug infestation is PERSONAL to the TENANT and where they are in the USA is immaterial.

They are not a landlord's responsibility and you/your uncle should have found this out before the first treatment. Now that there has been a first treatment, advise the tenant IN WRITING to continue the treatment at their own costs SINCE THE LANDLORD IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CLEANING THEIR BELONGINGS....they should check their renter's insurance for coverage and start cleaning.

Continued pest treatment is worthless if the linens/clothes/fabrics are not cleaned properly!!

 

[treese]

Massachusetts landlord/tenant laws puts the responsibility on the landlord if there are two or more units.

http://tenant.net/Other_Areas/Massachusetts/whatarem.html

B. ****roaches and Rodents: The landlord of a dwelling of two
units or more must maintain your unit free from rodents,
****roaches, and insect infestation and shall be responsible
for exterminating them.

 

[LindaP777]

Massachusetts landlord/tenant laws puts the responsibility on the landlord if there are two or more units.

http://tenant.net/Other_Areas/Massachusetts/whatarem.html

B. ****roaches and Rodents: The landlord of a dwelling of two
units or more must maintain your unit free from rodents,
****roaches, and insect infestation and shall be responsible
for exterminating them.

I don't see where that says "bedbugs" or lice or crabs or any other personal insect infestation.

 

[ecmst12]

If the bugs were in all the units, then I'd say the LL was responsible. Since the problem is only in the one apartment, it should be the tenant's responsibility.

 

[Mr. Nice]

Someone paid $20 for an answer. http://answers.cbfl.net/answers/threadview?id=564880

They could have came here!

 

[Alaska landlord]

If you feed it, then its a pet.

 

[ncpropmgr]

Something that you might want to check on in the interim of your LL taking care of the issue is look into doing an "encasement" of your mattress and box spring. The bedbugs feed on blood, and after one feeding they can live for 500+ days without another feeding, so it's not an easy fix and one that won't happen overnight.

I highly suggest check the corners of the room where the wall meets the ceiling. Bedbugs leave black spots (their feces) in this area...this might help you make your case the LL as bedbugs are very hard to see.

good luck.

 

[AdamWe]

If you feed it, then its a pet.

I detect an untapped revenue stream. Maybe the LL can charge a pet deposit and fee. So when naming the pet do you individually name it or do you just name the swarm?

 

[smorr]

Wow! That's a lot of responses! Thanks everyone!

Thanks To:

Cvillecpm - (your second answer) Agreed - wholeheartedly!

Treese: I saw your info too on a Mass. website - it's part of what prompted my question here and wasn't sure exactly what they mean by "insect". I'd assume bedbug comes under that, but to what extent? They don't make it easy to understand. Bedbugs just don't appear (at least I don't think so), they're brought in by some one with some means of transport (luggage from a trip?).

LindaP777 - It does look like bedbugs may come under insect infestation, they are an insect after all, but as above, to what extent.

ecmst12: I agree with you - it should be tenant only - it really seems like the tenant was the reason the bedbugs are there due to the trip they took.

Mr. Nice: Hmmm... $20 huh? That's more than three cans of RAID!

Ncpropmgr - I've suggested to my uncle to tell the tenant to remove the mattress/box spring altogether. I also told him to have his atty send them a letter about this. I read that they'll continue to infest, so long as the bed remains. They'll need to clean their apartment and clothes too - the tenant, not my uncle!

AdamWe: Ahahahahaaa! I'd probably name the swarm rather than individually! LOL!!

Thanks to all who replied! I'm hoping my uncle listens to the advice I'll take from these responses. Very much appreciated!

 

[Cvillecpm]

Sorry - bedbugs are like LICE - they have HUMAN hosts to travel...tenant got the bedbugs on vacation - especially if the vacation was in Mexico or islands somewhere - and brought them BACK in their luggage. Tenants need to take steps so that THEIR infestation does not EFFECT other residents.

 

[treese]

I personally believe that the tenant should be fully responsible for the cost to exterminate, however MA laws are tough and their courts tend to be very tenant friendly. I just put the info per MA laws out there ...

http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/housing/pdfs/bedbugflyer.pdf
http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/CoS_Content/documents/BedBugsEnglish.6.05.pdf
http://www.allstonbrightoncdc.org/pdfs/BedbugsBrochure-English.pdf

I once had a tenant bring ****roaches into a multifamily rental. The premises had not had one single incident of roaches in the 5 years prior that I owned the property.

Now, roach eggs can be brought in with paper grocery bags, in cardboard boxes and on shoes after visiting someone with a roach infestation. Anyone can bring them in at any time.

This tenant went so far as to let me know that her Grandmother, who lives in a high rise in NYC sent her a package. She admitted that the grandmother's apartment was infested and had been for years, so that was likely where the roach that was seen had come from.

I had two other apartments to consider and moved quickly to get an exterminator out before it became a problem or spread throughout the house. Luckily, in my case, the tenant was willing to pay for the treatment and there were no further incidents - and have not been for the 8 years since.

However, if she had not taken responsibility and I had to drag her to Small Claims court I know that I would have lost the case because the local "powers that be" regularly rule against landlords in such cases.

 

[AdamWe]

I personally believe that the tenant should be fully responsible for the cost to exterminate, however MA laws are tough and their courts tend to be very tenant friendly. I just put the info per MA laws out there ...

http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/housing/pdfs/bedbugflyer.pdf
http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/CoS_Content/documents/BedBugsEnglish.6.05.pdf
http://www.allstonbrightoncdc.org/pdfs/BedbugsBrochure-English.pdf

I once had a tenant bring ****roaches into a multifamily rental. The premises had not had one single incident of roaches in the 5 years prior that I owned the property.

Now, roach eggs can be brought in with paper grocery bags, in cardboard boxes and on shoes after visiting someone with a roach infestation. Anyone can bring them in at any time.

This tenant went so far as to let me know that her Grandmother, who lives in a high rise in NYC sent her a package. She admitted that the grandmother's apartment was infested and had been for years, so that was likely where the roach that was seen had come from.

I had two other apartments to consider and moved quickly to get an exterminator out before it became a problem or spread throughout the house. Luckily, in my case, the tenant was willing to pay for the treatment and there were no further incidents - and have not been for the 8 years since.

However, if she had not taken responsibility and I had to drag her to Small Claims court I know that I would have lost the case because the local "powers that be" regularly rule against landlords in such cases.

The poster is from MA but the property she is asking about is in Virginia. I think I remember CvilleCPM saying something about VA being pro landlord.

So you can't say ****roaches? What about ::blank:: a doodle doo?