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Insistent questions - can I trust PCO or will he tell landlord?
(6 posts)-
Hi all,
A few weeks ago I told my landlord that I found a bug and they needed to come and check the apartment. Then the questions started - have you brought in a mattress, have you stayed at a hotel etc. When the PCO they use called, he kept pushing these questions as well.
I am so terrified of getting this pest that I travel in plastic bags, we have a steamer that we use at least once a week and have a very organized household. I never buy vintage clothes or used furniture. Our bed is enclosed, as well as our pillows and our clothes are permanently in plastic containers in our closets. I would say we are one of the most responsible tenants anyone can have in terms of this pest.
But of course I can't know if I brought this in - I travel a lot through work. I would like the PCO to treat all my bags, but will he then start to blame me, and tell the landlord who will try to force me to pay?
I live in NYC.
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cilecto
senior member
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 514
Posted 1 month ago
Thu Oct 1 2009 19:21:33
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Welcome aboard. In NYC, LL is obligated to treat. AFAIK, you are under no obligation to share your life details with him or the PCO. No, I would not trust the PCO. Perhaps consult a legal advisor.
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Blue_Ox
member
Joined: May '07
Posts: 136
Posted 1 month ago
Thu Oct 1 2009 22:34:26
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You might try reading this http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/07/13/bed-bugs-and-the-law-in-new-york-city/
After reading what's on that link and your post, it seems to me they are trying to set up a case to prove you are a negligent tenant and then make you liable to pay. That's just a guess - I am no lawyer -- but I think you should start documenting everything and possibly see a tenant advocate.
This is from the link I provided (bolding mine)
Tenants have the right to reside in a comfortable, safe, and sanitary apartment. Landlords must provide heat and hot water on a regular basis. They also must control insect/pest infestation. If a landlord breaches this agreement, the tenant may sue for a rent reduction. The tenant may also withhold rent for recurring conditions, but in response, the landlord may sue the tenant for nonpayment of rent. In such a case, the tenant may counter sue for breach of the warranty. Any adverse condition caused by the tenant or other persons under the tenant’s direction or control does not constitute a breach of the warranty of habitability by the landlord. In such a case, it is the responsibility of the tenant to remedy the condition.
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Treat your bags?
There is nothing they can do to prevent you from getting infected. The best thing you can do is take precautions when traveling. Protect your bags from potential exposure and always check hotel rooms before you start moving into the room.
The best travel advice I can give you is here:
http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/Feb2007BBNewsletter.pdf
Outside of that PackTit'ing your bags when you get home is a good preventative.
Hope this helps.
David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited -
parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 866
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 2 2009 12:57:59
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Where I live, the PCO won't even treat unless he tells the landlord, and in a city near me a PCO told me there are rules that the PCO also has to notify the Board of Health about bedbugs. So disclosure is going to happen, and except for the "blame" factor, it is a good thing.
The questions they asked you might hopefully just be ascertaining more about the infestation--did it come from elsewhere in the building, could the building be re-infested once they treat it, etc. I would think the onus would be on the landlord to first provide tenants a protocol in writing that tenants have to follow --and then prove that a tenant didn't follow it--before they can overtly take action against a tenant in housing court. Of course things are not always above-board and they take covert actions against tenants all the time. But as for travel--do landlords refuse to rent to airline pilots? Pilots travel all the time. Do landlords refuse to rent to people with college-age kids who might be in college dorms?
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parakeets - 3 hours ago »
snipDo landlords refuse to rent to people with <insert risk of bed bugs>
Firstly sorry for the brutal edit but it raises a very valid point. If landlords want to exclude people who have had bed bugs sooner or later they will run out of people to rent to. In the short term however they will only rent to people who know nothing of bed bugs and thus have an increased risk of coming into contact with them by not knowing what to check for.
Thus as time goers on a landlord who does not become sensible and understanding of the bed bug issue will more likely have to suffer it through tenants who do not know what to do. Its one of life's little Karmic feedback loops assisting the spread of bed bugs.
If questioned by a landlord who asks about bed bugs tell them that you are aware of the issue and know to check places when you travel and to inspect you home on a regular basis. If you explain that part of your inspection of the property will include a search for signs of bed bug activity and offer to teach them what you know then it cant be a bad thing.
We can but educate people, its just a slow process one person at a time but some days that's what it takes.
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Have fun.
David
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