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Should our landlady reduce the rent because we have bed bugs?
Ok here is the issue. I recently found bed bugs in our couch. The reason we have them is because of our nasty neihbors downstairs. The land lady has known they were a problem for many years and not until recently has she been working to evict them. She and her sons seem to be good people and seem concerned and have sent exterminators out last weekend for the bed bugs. We asked the landlady to reduce the rent because of the bed bugs (and other problems) but she said we could have brought them in ourselves so no way. Well, come to find out I over heard the neighbors tell the exterminator they have had bed bugs for several months and like the pigs they are they never reported them. I feel that the landlady has been neglectful and should be held responsible for these people and should reduce the rent until the problem is gone. Also, we had to trash the couch and spend several hundred dollars on preperation for the exterminators. Please advise in New York….
The problem with moving is we are likely to take the bugs with us when we move.
I could tell that the last two people were land people as I was reading their answers. The lower tenants have let them go for so long that they have worked their way up into my apartment. That is an infestation. I have bites on my neck and chest. Thats very serious!! We had to throw out the couch because they had infested it. No amount of spraying will rid the problem entirely. They can hide anywhere. The reason I claim neglegence is because they know these people were very nasty for at least 2 years. They have caused problems with other infestations like roaches and flees. This was the last straw for me. The land lady should have evicted them before this became an issue. You as owners are responsible for keeping the complex safe and free of vermin. If you have a tenant that is causing problems then they need to be evicted. Also, we spent 200.00 washing all clothes thats how we prepared for exterminators plus the stress of dealing with these nasty blood sucking bugs.
And Debbie, roaches are much different from bed bugs. Bed bugs are natoriously hard to get rid of plus they bite, suck your blood and leave red marks all over your body. (which I have and they f’n hurt) One bug or one egg left behind can produce more bugs because they can live up to one year without food (blood). The exterminator supported throwing away the couch. Sometimes with these bugs, thats the only thing you can do. The problem with some land people is they treat these situations like they are just a minor nusance. I bet if you had them you would not be so nonchalant about it. It’s like having crabs or lice except all over your house. How would you like to come home and try to relax after a hard day of work but you can’t. Or try and sleep at night knowing that you will be biten. We should be compensated for the stress and sleepless nights alone. Again, it was becasue they did not evict the other tenants that lead to this situation. I should not have to suffer.
The people below us are very nasty. I and the land lady have seen and smelled their apartment. Gabarge every where etc. She has acknowledge the situation and actually was the one that told me how nasty they were in the first place. The landlady told me they would not let her come in and spray because they have cats. I don’t understand why she could not force them out considering the situation. I have been very sympathetic toward her situation. However, the problem has now effected me and frankly, again, it is the land person’s resposibility to take control of the situation which she has not done for the 2 years we have lived there. Because she has allowed them to reside in her building we are paying for it. I do not want to deal with her problems I have enough of my own. This is an ethical issue. The right thing to do is to compensate your tenants for their major inconvience and pain. I feel that you are defensive do to the fact that you are a land person.
Best answer:
Answer by Jennifer B
It sounds like you need to contact a lawyer to deal with your landlady, and put your rent into an escrow account until she gets things fixed.
What do you think? Answer below.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Nasty! Why would you want to stay and pay less? Next time you may end up with them in your bed. Move.
Ok, Your GOOD hearted Landlord was finally notified of bedbugs by lower tenants. Your GOOD Landlord took appropriate measures by hiring exterminators when she found out. She IS NOT at fault here and has no obligation to pay for a new couch or to reduce your rent. If the tenants below reported the bugs months ago (you said they didnt) and the Landlord did nothing until now, THEN she would be negligent. Just because the lower tenants are problem tenants, obviously the problems were not serious enough (even if you think they were) to evict them then and now that there are bedbugs that are their fault, she is evicting them. And I certainly do not know of any legitamant reason you would have to pay for any preparation for the exterminators. There is nothing for you to do except let them in to spray and maybe move a few things out of the way. That does not cost anything. There is nothing that needs to be paid for other than their bill for extermination, which goes to the landlord, who in turn can sue the lower tenant. IF you decided to go to a motel, then that was your choice. Landlord is not responsible to pay for your motel bill. That is what renters insurance is for. She owes you nothing.
I have already been through this 3 times. All three times, the tenant brought them in themselves from other locations. In your case, they came in from downstairs through the walls or on you from a common area you share with downstairs, such as a stairwell. Not your fault, and not the landlords.
If you want to you certainly can sue the lower tenants for your couch. All you need is a report from the exterminator and your landlord stating that the bedbugs originated from the lower tenants. Then sue them in small claims court. As GOOD as you say your landlord is, she will help provide you with a letter and a forwarding address for the lower tenant (if they give one). You can bet the landlord will be taking them to court too.
More comments: Part of the problem here is the LL cannot be so quick to blame the tenant for bugs. Roaches and Fleas can be unintentionally brought in. Granted it is unusual that the lower tenant is responsible for all of the different bugs. But the apt would really have to be bad. I mean garbage everywhere, unwashed dishes, and unwashed clothes.
BUT. Each time the landlord did address and corrected the problem. You seem to think the landlord can just kick anyone out. Landlords have to be VERY careful how they kick someone out. Now granted, the lower didnt report it for months. That in itself is a violation of any lease and the landlord is kicking them out.
Washing your clothes comes after the spraying of the apartment, not as preparation. This is normal and not your landlords responsibility.
However, you certainly did make a mistake is saying you never really get rid of bedbugs. This is totally untrue.
If the exterminator did his job correctly and used the correct application, then they will be gone within a week or two at the most. The live ones are already dead with the spraying, the rest are eggs that will soon hatch and die. All you need to do is vigorously vaccuum your carpet, your couch, in between your mattresses, and on top of your mattress. Do this every day and make sure you get in the creases of the mattresses and all along the floor boards. This picks up any dead ones and the loose eggs. Make sure you empty the vaccuum bag every time and take it out of the house. You only need to wash clothes once.
I dont think you are actually seeking advise from someone who knows about this type of situation, I think you just want someone to commiserate with you and tell you that you are right. Just because we are landlords doesnt mean we dont feel for you, but to unjustly try to take money from a landlord that has addressed the situation, not of her making or yours, when the blame lies elsewhere is wrong, Regardless of how YOU FEEL she has handled the lower tenants. If you are sooo unhappy there, then you should move. But if it happens again in this way, where its another tenants fault, you are still not going to find a landlord to pay for your couch or washing your clothes. My advise, get Renters insurance.
The whole United States is having bed bug problems. people are bringing them to high end Hotels in their luggage. They are on airlines, in movies…and it’s is easy to do…they are small and hitch rides. They live in the cracks of the woodwork.
Use Roachproof. Use boric acid. Spray, spray, spray. Also bugs hate the smell of moth balls and cedar. They don’t like bay leaves either.
Your landlord addressed the problem by getting the exterminator. The bugs should be gone. If not withing 3 weeks of the initial spray they should come back and do it again.
If you have roaches you don’t burn down the house ,,you just get rid of the bugs….you didn’t have to trash the sofa..just spray it. That’s on you not the landlord or the other tenants.