A Law Passed In California May Slow The Spread Of Bedbugs
A Law Passed In California May Slow The Spread Of Bedbugs
Bedbugs may always be around to pester humans, but hopefully they will be less of a problem in the future. These bugs are becoming so problematic in highly populated areas that landlords and tenants are fighting legal battles over infested houses and apartment units. California has recently passed a bedbug law in order to assist the public with bedbug related issues. The law describes several guidelines concerning how landlords should disclose bedbug related information to potential tenants. This new disclosure law will take effect starting July 1st for new tenants and January 1st for current tenants.
The new law does not specifically state how a landlord needs to respond to a bedbug report from a tenant. However, there is already a law on the books in California saying that landlords are responsible for making sure their properties are fit for human living. The law is necessary since bedbug eradication treatments may be too costly for some tenants. It is also not at all uncommon for new tenants to experience a bedbug infestation immediately after moving into a house or an apartment. Sometimes, apartment units and houses are already infested with bedbugs.
This law was passed after many tenants in California complained about bedbug infestations. Although bedbugs do not spread disease, they can still cause numerous itchy welts on a person’s body. One woman moved into her San Francisco apartment five years ago only to discover that bedbugs had already lived there. The woman claimed that the infestation was one of the worst experiences of her life, and that it was “worse than childbirth.”
The new law requires landlords to eradicate bedbug infestations at their own expense unless proof can be provided that the tenant was responsible for the infestation. The most important aspect of bedbug management is proactive inspection on the part of landlords. This way, landlords can prove their properties were free of bedbugs upon renting a property to a tenant/s.
Have you ever moved into an apartment that was infested with bedbugs, or termites? If you have, then was the landlord willing to pay for pest-control services?
