I Found Bed Bugs In My Apartment

What should a renter do if they find bed bugs in their apartment? The first thing you should do is review your lease agreement. Your lease may have instructions regarding pest control and bed bugs, look for a bed bug addendum and review it carefully. The second thing you should do is notify your property management of the issue.

We get calls from apartment tenants who have bed bugs every day. They are calling around to pest control companies looking for the least expensive option for bed bug treatment. We always require them to notify property management about the bed bug problem. The tenants want to know the cost of the treatment before they notify their property manager because they assume they will have to pay for it. They are afraid that if they notify the property management about the bed bugs and they can not afford the treatment, then they will be evicted.

It is not likely that a tenant will be evicted for reporting bed bugs in the apartment. The answer to this question will vary from state to state, and from lease to lease. This is not legal advice. Review your lease and seek legal counsel if necessary. Your legal counsel will be able to tell you if your lease is in compliance with your state’s laws and can advise you on what actions to take.

Every state’s laws are different with regard to this matter. Each property management company will have different policies regarding bed bugs that will be spelled out in the lease. In some states, the property management company is required to pay for bed bug treatment. In other states, the management can force tenants to pay for the extra cost of bed bug treatment.

If the lease says that the tenant is responsible for the cost of bed bug treatment, it doesn’t mean that the tenant can choose their own company to provide the service.

You may or may not be able to choose your own company to provide the bed bug treatment. Refer to your lease agreement about the steps you should take if you find bed bugs. The property management may require you to use their vendor, or they may allow you to use a vendor of your choosing.

You have to notify management about bed bugs becasue you don’t own or manage the property. You are bound by the terms of your lease agreement that you executed. Even if you do not have a lease, you still must notify property management if you want to get professional bed bug treatment. In addition, pest control companies in most states are required to have permission from the property owner before they can apply pesticide. Pest companies must also provide documentation of all pest control work to the owner or property management, and the tenant.