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mlee19841

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

signed a lease beginning of this month and on the lease it states if tenant can not move in within five days due to property damage. all the money will be refunded and the lease will be broken. now i have not moved anything in the apt. at all and it is June the 13th and i signed the lease June 1st. Is a roach infestation considered property damage.. thanks for all of your input
 


mlee19841

Member
i have fogged the place twice, i paid for and exterminator to come out. also the landlord did as well. still the problem exsit. he said he did not know about any roach problem untill i brought it up. which was funny to me since it does not appear over night. also i thought they cannot rent or show the place in that type of condition. it is funny to because for the people to move out to get the security deposit back the landlord would have to check out the property and he saying he didnt know about the problem lol. it is a duplex and the owner only owns just upstairs and the down stairs apt. they do not own the house that is connected next door
 

BL

Senior Member
Most State Laws reflect that anything written into a lease that goes against State Laws are unenforceable .

Here the lease clause seems to reflect a habitability issue ,as in damaged .

Roach infestation is also a habitability issue ,and if the property is not ready to rent ( as in habitability ) when the rental term begins ,a lease is usually voided .

However , if you took possession with keys in hand , your options now would be , run it by the LL , request exterminations of the roaches,or call code enforcement .

If this is a type of muti rental building with many Apts. it will have to be professionally controlled .

Why did you sign a lease with an infestation of roaches ?
 

atomizer

Senior Member
If you have a gf that lives in the apartments, then you knew there was a roach problem right?

Borax roach powder works. spray all along the walls and wait a week or so.
 
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mlee19841

Member
My girlfriend went to see the place with the ll. And she said there were no roaches but the couple of days when I went to c it bingo they r there. Baby sacks,n shells n dead roaches under neath the fridge n on walls n floors , plus place has wall to wall carpet no telling what's under there.
 

atomizer

Senior Member
I just found this on some website...

Calm yourself and pay attention to your Uncle Cecil. There are two proven approaches to dealing with la cucaracha: (1) borax, and (2) arson. Assuming your landlord objects to the latter line of attack, hie yourself down to the basement and mix up the following recipe: 4 parts borax, 2 parts flour, and 1 part cocoa powder.

Now, you may regard borax as "pansy-ass," my boy, but that is because you are young and ignorant and have not yet grasped the subtleties of Total Insect Warfare, which requires fanatical dedication. You must mix up oodles of this stuff and apply it with the enthusiasm of Robert S. McNamara dumping Agent Orange on the Mekong Delta. Pour it in a continuous line along the walls. Put an extra dose under sinks and around kitchen cabinets. Hell, fill your damned house to a depth of one foot with the stuff. The little *******s will die piteously, I promise.

Incidentally, should you also be happen to be troubled by rats, I have here an ingenious formula for inducing rat death: Mix equal parts cement and flour. Place a pan of this powder out next to a pan of water. The rats eat the cement, then they drink the water, and by the next morning their bowels have turned to concrete. Sadistic, eh? I knew you'd love it.
 

atomizer

Senior Member
Roaches aggravate and will bring on asthma attacks. She should not move in with you until the roach problems is resolved. It your LL's responsibility to get rid of the roaches, but you should not have taken possession of the apartment.
Continue to work with your LL and find a resolution. If communication breaks down, then calling code compliance is an alternative.
 

mlee19841

Member
I do have the keys , and the LL didn't return my email when I asked for the owners number since he is just a person that works for her
 

BL

Senior Member
I do have the keys , and the LL didn't return my email when I asked for the owners number since he is just a person that works for her

i have fogged the place twice, i paid for and exterminator to come out. also the landlord did as well. still the problem exsit

You should NO have to pay for extermination .

Contact the LL's " Agent " again and make sure the pros are exterminating/treating the entire structure .Just not your unit alone .

It could take several treatments to see a difference .

Advise your LL there is a spray method , I believe it's called Dead Kill or some such .They are crystals and the exterminator mixes it ans sprays the ENTIRE structure .

All occupants must leave the premises for one hr. or longer .

With that method you should see a difference in no time .

Check with the exterminator however to make sure that method is allergy friendly .

Meanwhile use the home remedies.

Powdered next to walls Extra in BR & Kitchen .

Spread it out all over the floors , next to entrances Etc.

Request compensation for the time you have not occupied the unit .The LL may or may not oblige.
 

mlee19841

Member
That's the thing they don't own the connected property, and it can take months for the infestation to be threaded I just want to end the lease and get the money back and just continue to live at my old place, like I stated in the lease it says in the lease that if a tenant can't move in with in 5 days due to a uninhabited living space the lease will.be voided and money refunded. And its been about 13 days and I still didn't move anything in so can I end the lease and get the money back
 

BL

Senior Member
That's the thing they don't own the connected property, and it can take months for the infestation to be threaded I just want to end the lease and get the money back and just continue to live at my old place, like I stated in the lease it says in the lease that if a tenant can't move in with in 5 days due to a uninhabited living space the lease will.be voided and money refunded. And its been about 13 days and I still didn't move anything in so can I end the lease and get the money back

While roach infestation is a habitability ( pest ) issue , it's not a serious or potential serious/hazard habitability issue .

I mean how bad is it ?

If it were that bad , there would have been visible signs at viewing .

Was the place clean or left filthy from the prior tenants ?

Often times when a Unit is empty as you claim it still is , there may be little signs of roaches if the place was properly cleaned ,then once a tenant moves in the roaches come in for food & water sources.

Code inspection may force both owners to exterminate .

Again ask about kill dead or dead kill ,what ever those crystals are called .

Makes for quick kill.

I do not believe a court would side with you unless the LL had refused to address the issue . The LL needs to take extermination to the next level ,contact the other adjoining owner to also exterminate .

Again ,if this doesn't work out ,your recourse is code compliance.
 

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