Question by Paula:
Can a landlord charge for Bedbugs?
The location of this ordeal in in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
My friend noticed she had bedbugs 3 months ago and notified the landlord and the local health department. Health Department came and retrieved a sample and confirmed that indeed she was dealing with bedbugs.
Landlord told her they would come in and fog the house to get rid of them ( Anyone who spends 5 min researching Bedbugs would know foggers don’t do anything!)
She lived with the bedbugs for about a month and a half and thankfully her lease was up so she decided to get out of there since the Lanlord wasn’t doing anything.
The unit is a townhouse in a strip of 6. Several neighboring units also have bedbugs and have had them for awhile.
The landlord is not giving her her security deposit of 800 back claiming the costs of bedbug removal. They replaced the carpet stating it was necessary to eliminate the bugs and now states she owes an additional 300 bucks.
Can they charge her for the bedbugs?
Best answer:
Answer by Adam L
She would be responsible if the bedbugs were her fault. I’m not exactly sure if that is the case or not.
She is not responsible for normal maintenence or wear and tear, but she is responsible for other damage. For example, if a tenant’s dog brought fleas into the unit, the tenant would be responsible.
–>Adam
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I agree with Adam. If she can prove that other tenants had or have bedbugs, she might be able to get her deposit back. But she should have gotten it back. Because its supposed to be for repairs. I wouldn’t consider a bedbug problem a repair. She could take the landlord to small claims court to get her deposit back if he continues to refuse.
It sounds like your friend is liable for the repairs unless she can prove the infestation is not her fault.