Source: https://pestcontrolzone.com/my-apartment-has-bed-bugs-what-are-my-rights/
Timestamp: 2020-08-05 01:35:34
Document Index: 98610498

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 420', '§ 36', '§ 33', '§ 40', '§ 32', '§ 4', '§6021', '§ 004', '§ 333', '§ 3731', '§ 16']

Bed Bug Laws in 50 States
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last updated on July 2, 2020 by Miles Perrine
“Stan, are you listening to me? My apartment has bed bugs! I woke up this morning feeling itchy and found a nest underneath my mattress. Some of them were even roaming on the carpet. Get this fixed.”
“Daniel, it’s your furniture, which makes this your problem and not mine. So, deal with it.”
And your landlord disconnects the call.
To answer your question, “My Apartment Has Bed Bugs. What Are My Rights?” – not many states offer tenants any rights when it comes to apartments being infested by bed bugs. Depending on where you live, you need to read up on the laws so that you have a solid case when you complain to your landlord.
State Laws on Bed Bugs
As mentioned earlier, not all states have strict laws when it comes to your rights regarding your apartment being infested by bed bugs. The following information will tell you which state holds what responsibility when it comes to these critters:
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Alaska.
Implied warranty of habitability applies.
There aren’t many bed bug laws in Alabama.
According to the Alabama State Board of Health, the Administrative Code § 420-3-11 (Construction, Maintenance and Operation of Hotels) – Subsection 12 (Insect and Rodent Control) states:
“Guest rooms and other areas of the hotel found to be infested with rodents and/or insects, including but not limited to cockroaches, bed bugs, fleas, lice or mites, shall be subject to immediate closure until treatment of the room or area has been deemed effective in elimination of the vermin.”
This rule only applies to hotel rooms. The Alabama Department of Public Health will only investigate complaints made in public lodgings such as hotels, BnBs, and motels.
There are a few bed bug laws in Arizona that apply only to hotels and rental properties.
According to the Arizona Revised Statues § 36-601 under Public Nuisances Dangerous to Public Health, if a populous area has an infestation that can cause a disease to the inhabitants, then they have the right to demand restitution.
The law specifically mentions bed bugs in sleeping accommodations. Under § 33-1319, the landlord cannot lease an apartment if it has infestation and he has to provide all the educational material on bed bugs if the apartment later gets infested with them. Moreover, you won’t be held responsible for any damage caused to the property by the bed bugs.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Arkansas.
Implied warranty of habitability does not apply.
Connecticut has the best bug laws in the country.
According to the Public Act No. 16-51 – The Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords, both the landlord and tenants have certain guidelines they can follow. You need to inform the landlord right away that the apartment is infested.
Within the next 12 days, the landlord has to inspect the house, inform you that there is indeed an infestation, and then get the apartment treated.
As the tenant, the responsibility falls on you to supervise the fumigation. If the pest control expert recommends getting rid of furniture that is destroyed beyond repair, then you have to comply with what they say.
There are a few laws in California that offer tenants protection from bed bugs.
According to the California Code of Regulations, Title 25 under Division 1 Housing and Community Development § 40, any rental property provided by the landlord should be safe and clean. The bedding should be free of bed bugs or any other kind of infestation.
Recent changes made to the Civil Code also state that the landlord cannot evict the tenant to silence them and a property already infested cannot be leased out.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Colorado.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Delaware.
There are quite a few good laws in Florida that offer tenants protection from bed bugs.
According to the Florida Landlord and Tenant Law Section 83.51 (2) (a):
“The landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for extermination of rats, mice, ants, wood destroying organisms, and bed bugs.”
As a tenant, you will have to exit the property for four days, during which time the fumigation will take place. This is standard practice for extermination and is included in all bed bug laws in 50 states.
The good news is that you will not have to pay rent for as long as your apartment is inhabitable and the cost of the treatment will be covered by the landlord, even if you are responsible for the infestation.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Georgia.
There are laws in place where hotel and motel owners need to keep their establishment clean and free of pests. However, these don’t apply to tenants or landlords.
There’s a possibility that the laws pertaining to bed bugs might change in the future. Some legislators believe that bed bug extermination should be included in repairs.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Hawaii that apply to tenants.
Like Alaska, the beg bug laws in Hawaii only apply to hotels.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Iowa that apply to tenants.
Although the landlord has to make sure that the apartment is habitable, other than that, they have no responsibility.
However, the law stands for migrant worker camps. Whoever is running the camp needs to make sure that the accommodations are free of bed bugs.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Illinois.
However, in Chicago, there are specific ordinances regarding bed bugs. You have a window of 5 days to inform your landlord that there is a bed bug infestation in your apartment. The landlord pays for the cost of extermination and if they make any delays, they will be fined $1,000/per day.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Idaho.
There are a few bed bug laws in Indiana.
According to the Indiana Code Title 32 – Property § 32-31-8-5, it is the responsibility of the landlord to offer the tenants an apartment that is clean, safe, and in a habitable condition.
If it turns out that the infestation was negligence on the landlord’s part, then they have to pay for the cost of extermination. However, if you are responsible for the infestation then the landlord can gather proof and make their case in court.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Kansas that apply to tenants.
However, there are a few laws in place for hotels and food service industry.
According to Kansas Administrative Rules § 4-27-2 Lodging Establishments, bed bugs are considered an imminent health hazard. If these critters are found in a hotel room, the establishment should notify the authorities immediately, within 12 hours. For the service industry, Kansas has the best bed bug laws in 50 states.
Under K.A.R. Article 36, guest rooms need to be free of rodents, insects, and any other pests.
As for tenants, they can seek help under implied warranty of habitability.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Kentucky.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Louisiana.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Maryland.
Bed bug laws in Maine are a little better compared to those in other states.
According to the Maine Revised Statutes §6021-A – Rental Property, the responsibility of killing a bed bug infestation falls on the landlord. The law states the following points:
If a tenant informs the landlord about an infestation, they have 5 days to inspect the property
Pest control should be called for extermination within 10 days
The landlord is not allowed to lease an apartment if they know there’s an infestation
If the landlord does not adhere to these laws, then they will be fined $250 for damages.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Massachusetts.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Michigan.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Missouri.
There are a few bed bug laws in Minnesota. However, they don’t clearly specify who is responsible for handling the infestation.
According to the Minnesota Administrative Rules 4625.1700 – Insect and Rodent Control, hotels and motels have to kill bed bugs immediately when they find them. The same law applies to assisted living and other senior facilities for disabled people. Minnesota is the only state that has these bed bug laws in 50 states.
As for tenants, implied warranty of habitability applies.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Montana.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Mississippi.
There are a couple of bed bug laws in Nebraska but none of them offer much clarity for tenants.
However, according to Nebraska Administrative Rules & Regulations under Title 175, Chapter 2, § 004 – Regulations and Standards Governing Boarding Homes, the owner of a boarding school should make sure that the establishment is free of bed bugs.
There are other laws that apply to healthcare but none for tenants or landlords.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Nevada that apply to tenants and landlords.
Like Kansas, Nevada’s bed bugs laws apply only to hotels. According to Nevada Revised Statutes, 447.030 – examination of Vermin, hotel rooms infested with vermin such as bed bugs have to be fumigated, cleaned, disinfected, and renovated.
New Hampshire has one of the best and well put together bed bug laws in 50 states. According to the New Hampshire Revised Code under Chapter 48, HB 482-FN, a landlord cannot lease out an apartment in any circumstances as long as it has bed bugs.
It’s also the responsibility of the landlord to conduct periodic inspection so that they can catch an infestation in time. Your landlord will pay for the cost of extermination. If you refuse to exit the property in order for the pest control to do their job, then the landlord has the right to evict you.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in New Jersey.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in New Mexico.
Although New York has a few bed bug laws, they don’t specify who is held responsible.
However, there are strict laws for schools and other public places such as hotels, motels, etc. They need to be maintained at all times to remain open.
If an apartment does have a bed bug infestation, then the landlord has to foot the bill for extermination. According to the NYC Housing and Maintenance Code, it is written under Article 4, Subchapter 2 that bed bugs are included in the list of pests that a landlord has to deal with.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in North Carolina.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in North Dakota.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Oregon.
According to ADC § 333-030-0070 Organizational Camp Rules – Insect and Rodent Control,
“Camp grounds, structures and buildings used by humans should be cleaned and maintained to prevent infestation of rodents, insects and vermin.”
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Ohio that apply to landlords or tenants.
According to the Revised Code of Ohio Title 37, § 3731.13, every room in hotels and single room occupancy facilities should be regularly aired and disinfected.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Oklahoma.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Pennsylvania.
However, the state does have a law that requires labor camps for migrants to be free of vermin such as bed bugs. Pennsylvania and Iowa are the only states that have these bed bug laws in 50 states.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Rhode Island that apply to tenants.
However, according to the Rhode Island Administrative Code 25-3-24:7 – Rules and Regulations Relating to Pesticides, before taking any kind of commercial pest control measures, the applicators must be certified.
For tenants, implied warranty of habitability applies.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in South Dakota that apply to landlords or tenants.
According to the South Dakota Administrative Code 44:02:08:05 – Vermin Control, bed bug law only applies to vacation homes. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to make sure that the house does not have bed bugs, rats, mice, roaches, flies, and any other vermin.
If the house is listed as a vacation home for a long time then the law requires that the homeowner schedule regular professional extermination services.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in South Carolina.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Tennessee.
Bed bug laws in Texas are considered a public health problem. This is why anyone who is aware of an infestation in an establishment needs to report it immediately. As far as bed bug laws in 50 states go, Texas has a comprehensive set of rules, which is why they have the best laws in the country that are tenant-focused.
According to the Texas Health and Safety Code, Title 5 – Sanitation and Environmental Quality, under Subtitle A – Sanitation, it is the job of the landlord to get rid of the bed bugs.
Failure to do so can result in criminal and civil consequences, which include civil penalties, fines, and criminal misdemeanor charges.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Utah that apply to tenants.
However, schools are instructed to take preventative measures for infestation.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Virginia.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Vermont.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Washington.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Wisconsin.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in Wyoming.
There aren’t any bed bug laws in West Virginia that apply to tenants.
Like Nevada, West Virginia also has the same laws regarding bed bugs in hotels. In both states, hotels are held liable for the infestation. According to the West Virginia Code § 16-6-16 for Bed Bugs,
“In every hotel, any room infested with vermin or bedbugs shall be fumigated, disinfected and renovated until said vermin or bedbugs are extirpated.”
And there you have it ― a complete breakdown of bed bug laws in 50 states. If you’re getting pushback from your landlord I’d always recommend contacting an attorney. Take lots of pictures and save any receipts for anything you buy to take care of the problem if you’re not getting help.