The Nashua Telegraph reports that the rooming house at 23-25 Temple St. is still infested with bed bugs, but progress is being made and treatment continues.

In a follow-up inspection of the former YMCA building at 23-25 Temple St. on Thursday, city health and code enforcement officers found improved conditions, a flurry of work to spruce up the building, and only the occasional solitary bedbug scurrying up the side of a wall.

“They’re doing much better. It’s certainly not perfect yet,” said Heidi Peek, the city’s deputy health officer.

“It’s definitely better than what it was,” said Nelson Ortega, a code enforcement officer.

The building’s 117 rooms were inspected in early February, and 16 were found to be infested, including a number which were “badly” infested. The infested units were found throughout the building. Then, in late February, tenant Richard Jebb sued the landlord for interrupting his “quiet enjoyment” of his home by not getting rid of the problem in a timely fashion.

The article goes into some detail on the reactions of various tenants.

It was disturbing to read that Jeff Muscovitz was among the badly bitten, and he had moved into the building at the end of February, when management and press were already fully aware of the situation:

Jeff Muscovitz, 28, moved into the rooming house on Feb. 29. He had been living in Derry, but wanted to be closer to his job as a cook in the St. Joseph Hospital cafeteria.

Bedbugs introduced themselves to Muscovitz during his first night there, he said.

“As soon as I woke up the next morning, I had 12 to 13 bites on both arms,” he said.

To say the least, dealing with the bedbugs has been a hassle, Muscovitz said.

“It has been since the very day I moved in,” he said.

One concern is that he hasn’t been able to see his children, he said.

“I have two kids I see every other week, but I won’t ever bring them here,” Muscovitz said.

Not being able to see one’s own children certainly seems to infringe upon the “quiet enjoyment” of one’s home.

I wonder if Muscovitz moved into a unit that was known to be infested, or if he had moved into one where the previous tenant had no idea about bed bugs, and the inspection turned up nothing?

There was some suggestion that some tenants were not fully cooperating with preparation for treatment, while others were afraid to mention they were suffering from the problem. While landlords can be slow to respond, or may not always do so fully, tenants must also play their part by preparing for treatment, and telling landlords when they see or feel bites, or see bed bugs or other signs. If some tenants are unable to do the prep, for whatever reason, they may need assistance. Solutions need to be worked out in such cases–for the benefit of all tenants, and the management alike.

Hopefully treatment will continue until this problem is completely wiped out.

And I sure hope no one else moves into a bed bug-infested unit in the building until that happens!Similar Posts:

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Where can I read about bed bug lawsuits? Here are some cases discussed online. (Links which are internal to the blog have additional links to news reports and sometimes case information.)

General

Article about bed bug lawsuits in New York City (Sept. 2008)

New Furniture Purchase

Couple claims they were sold bed bug infested furniture by J. C. Penney in Cherry Hill, N.J. and wins $49,000 in jury trial.

Furniture Rental

Customer of Aaron Rents (they rented an infested living room suite) 2007

Summer Camp

Family sues YMCA Camp Storer claiming kid brought bed bugs home from camp 2008

College Students

This Fordham student sued the provider of third-party student housing in the New Yorker Hotel. (09/2007)

Hotel guests

Woman stays in a San Francisco Ramada and gets 400 bites in three days; settles out of court for $71K. October 2008

Winnipeg Howard Johnson’s motel sued by Toronto resident, Steven Lipson April 2008

Milford Plaza, NYC hotel guest sues hotel and hotel’s PCO for negligence, in progress, March 2008 (punitive damages dropped); Bedbugger and New York Law Journal

Ohio Hilton guest, 2007

Guest of Roger Smith Hotel, NYC, 2007

Siloam Springs (bed bugs in motel caused nightmares) 2007

NYC Opera Soprano at the Phoenix Hilton Suites 2006

Mandarin Oriental, London here and here and here. 2006

Barona Resort and Casino (Robert and Gloria Chisley suing for bed bug bites at resort; 2005, still pending as of 2008)

BURL MATHIAS and DESIREE MATHIAS, v. ACCOR ECONOMY LODGING, INC. and MOTEL 6 OPERATING L.P. (2003)

Tenants

Cleveland law student sues Reserve Square landlord after having bed bugs in two units (and gnats in a third) in one building (Nov. 2008).

Capricia Osirus of 23-25 Temple St. in Nashua, NH. (Aug. 2008)

Richard Jebb of 23-25 Temple St. in Nashua, NH. (Feb. 2008) Case lost, tenant counter-sued for back rent.

Presidential Towers in Chicago here and here and here. 2007

Maya Rudolph’s case: press is here. 2007

Six tenants vs. AIMCO 2007

Brooklyn tenant sues 2007

Peter H. Young (Ludlow Street, NYC)

See also:

Landlords talking about bed bugs and How to Avoid a Bed Bug Lawsuit (for lawyers)

Hotel lawyers talking about bed bugs here and here and here.

Your rights as a tenant and how to organize.

This won’t ever be comprehensive, but there are obvious gaps, so feel free to post comments below with additional links I might add.

Can you help me find a lawyer?

No, sorry. We are not a legal service, we’re not lawyers, and we haven’t sued.Similar Posts:

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