Quick history to start:
They live in the upper and I live in the lower of a double in North Buffalo.
I bought the house in January 2015.
These tenants were already in the house at that time. (Since Aug 2014)
Have not had any issues with them. They have been great tenants and I have a good standing relationship with them.
Now to the bed bugs.
There were no bed bugs when I bought the house and they did not come into play until a few months ago. So they were provided with a bed bug free apartment.
They originally mentioned it to me but didn’t outright ask for me to take care of anything. It almost seemed like they were bringing it up expecting me to jump in and address it. However, I did not contribute to the bed bugs being in the house so I let them try to take care of it. My assumption here was that the responsibility should fall on the party who introduced the bed bugs to the dwelling. And since my apartment does NOT have bed bugs it’s a pretty safe bet that one of them did. They have tried several DIY methods and actually got rid of their old mattresses and clothes. I think a big issue is that the entire apartment is carpeted.
The question is: who is responsible for getting rid of them? I’m reading a lot of mixed reviews online especially when applying this to an owner-occupied situation. At moment I’ve been able to talk to them and make sure they realize that I did not bring the bed bugs in and that they are going to pay for it. We’re having an exterminator come in this week to give an estimate on professional extermination.
I want to make sure this is the right thing to do. Are landlords in NYS responsible for extermination even when the tenant obviously introduced the problem? I did see some laws pertain specifically to NYC but none that would imply a shared house where the landlord also lives. I don’t mind addressing it immediately if that’s the law. I just want to be sure I’m not screwing over my tenants for no reason, or possibly screwing myself if I just paid for it.
Has anyone dealt with this before?
Sidenote: I did tell them that if it’s crazy expensive that I’ll pull the carpets and re-finish the floors now to help get rid of the issue. (I was planning on doing it when they moved out anyway) So hopefully the issue goes away for hood once this is dealt with.
Really sounds like if the tenant is responsible for introducing the infestation they’re also responsible for the cost of removing it. NY only has one statewide bed bug law and it pertains to infestations at schools.
Didn’t see that one. The important take away in that article are the laws set up in specific states. You’re right that NY does not have anything explicit about bed bugs so responsibility would go to whoever brought them in. Seeing as how I live in the house and don’t have them in my apartment, it’s easy to show that they introduced them into their own apartment.
So I’ll continue on with what I’m doing and have them pay for it. I’m thinking that just getting rid of the carpets now may be a safe long term bet, though.
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I would have the place exterminated and it would come out of their security deposit.
What is the cost of bombing the place? If they have been good tenants to date (which it sounds like they are), it might be good business to just eat it as a one time cost to you, and explain to them that if it were to happen again, the cost is on them…
Pending cost, I agree with Joe. I think moving up the timing of removing the carpets would also be a prudent decision.
Need to take care of it now to avoid the chance of spreading them into your apartment as well. I assume the laundry is in the basement and even if the washer and dryer aren’t shared, dirty clothes are down there.
Bite the bullet and take immediate and complete action. Could even split it with them as a show of good faith.
I should find out more this week, but it could be over $1000 depending on the situation. So “Eating the cost” out of good faith is a lot to chew. I’ve already done a few things for them out of good faith (fixed some things that were obviously their fault, gave them a new dryer when nothing was included normally, etc) so I think this is on them. Also, I think jumping ahead with carpet removal is a good middle ground for now.
@Paulo this is something you really should have covered when you wrote out your lease man. Extermination / infestation is a clause you definitely want in there.
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Ultimately none of us can really tell you what to do because none of us know what you & your tenant agreed to in the lease.
I didn’t write my lease. They were in the house already when I bought it. The lease does state that they will be responsible for any infestation they bring in. However, leases between tenant/landlord do not supersede state law so I wanted to be sure.
Sorry I’m just trying to figure it out, but did you sign anything with them? Do they have a lease signed with someone who doesn’t own the house anymore? Or did you clone their old lease with the previous owner and have them sign a copy with you?
Yeah you can’t supersede the law and put something outrageous in there that breaks the law, but you can definitely outline a process by which things like this are resolved. That way in the future there is no question of what to do.
If you have a lease signed with them that says they’re responsible for an infestation then give them the notice required by the lease, get someone in the house to clear it, then depending on the lease take the costs from their deposit or add it to their rent as additional rent charges.
And I understand wanting to be helpful but don’t just do things “out of good faith” for them because people WILL take advantage of that.
I think we’re on the same page here. I’m not clearing the house out of good faith. And I’m also trying to avoid fronting the cost because it would make it a pain trying to receive payment if it exceeds their deposit. Which it likely will.
When purchasing a home with existing tenants the lease gets transferred with the sale. You can’t just re-write it because you bought the house.
Anyone ever use Advanced Exterminating? They just quoted me $650 for the whole house. Two treatments 3 weeks apart. They are definitely the cheapest I’ve come across so far. Buffalo Exterminating said they START at $1000.
Eh, you could have made it a condition of sale that the previous landlord break their lease with the current tenants and then you could have resigned with them if you wanted to. Or I’m pretty sure there is primary residency loophole, if you were moving into their unit. But the previous owner probably “sold” the idea of existing tenants as a positive characteristic of the house.
Just trying to make sure you’re not getting screwed man :tup:
Does the lease mention additional rent and conditions where you can apply it? Maybe offer it to the tenants to pay the extermination costs directly so that you’re not even involved. But if not you could tap the deposit or break it up and add it monthly as additional rent.