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Renting bedbuggers WWYD?
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buggedmama
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 195
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Jan 16 2008 13:43:00
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When I reported that we had found bed bugs to our property manager, she wasn't going to do anything and told me to hire pest control myself. Not knowing the laws or how bad it could be to treat just 1 unit, I started calling them. After coming here, I contacted her again to tell her I thought she needed to have their PCO come in and do my unit and the ones surrounding it. A few mins. later, she called me back and said the same thing like as if it had been her idea in the first place. But, as I've mentioned, she also told me that I would be responsible to pay for the service since "there weren't bed bugs here before we moved in, so we must've dragged them in from outside." A week or so later, we received a letter to the same effect from the Sr. Property Manager in Toronto. I telephoned him in response to say that I knew the law in Ontario was that he would have to prove that we brought them, and that there was no way that he could, but he never returned my phone call. Nor did he return any subsequent phone calls for requests for repeat treatments. Luckily, a neighbour convinced him to re-treat 2 weeks and then 4 weeks later after the 1st treatment.
Today I received one of the promised invoices--the total block treatment came to just over $300 and they are asking us to pay the $85 (plus tax) for the treatment in our unit only. Though, since we had 3 treatments, I am expecting we will get 2 more identical invoices. If we do not get any more treatments, that will bring our grand total up to about $270. Not too bad. But what I am worried about is principle and precedent. I don't think tenants should have to pay for bed bug treatment in Ontario. I think that is a dangerous road to go down. If the law comes up on the side of landlords, tenants will just not report the problem and either a) try to ignore it until it gets so bad there's no telling where it started, or b) try to self-treat and we know how bad that can be.
So, I am just wondering what my fellow bedbuggers would do. Pay the $270 (and any additional charges for further treatments, if necessary) just to get it overwith, or "fight" it on principle?
Thanks for any input!
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junior member
Joined: Oct '07
Posts: 106
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Jan 16 2008 13:59:31
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I've been on both ends with my current apartment, and is a large part of why I'm moving.
When I first discovered I had bedbugs, I trapped them on an index card in a ziploc and took them to the manager immediately. He set up a time for the PCO to come and treat and inspect but said if they found no evidence of bedbugs in other units and received no reports, they would assume they were brought in by me and I would have to pay for half of the treatment -- or I could hire my own inspector at my own cost. So what can you do? I said okay, figuring I had gotten the bugs from a student at school. The inspector didn't find any evidence in any of the apartments he checked, but he did an incomplete job and failed to inspect the apartment diagonal from me (one over and one down).
It now seems increasingly probable that that apartment was the genesis of the bedbugs. Again, it is impossible to say, but they had over fifty on their mattress alone and set off multiple bug bombs which likely spread them to me and other neighbors. This has only come out in the past 3 weeks.
So now I AM fighting it. The PCO came again and treated the whole second floor and then dusted the borders of all apartments. Manager is convinced that the bugs are completely gone now and there will be no more treatments. So I feel like a rat jumping off a sinking ship, and even though I'm not 100% sure mine are gone, I haven't been bitten in about a month and feel comfortable moving what little I do have with the right precautions.
Anyway, I told the apartment manager I was leaving and he tried to tell me I'd have to pay for ALL of February since I didn't give 30 days notice (was more like 26). I wrote a long angry letter saying, basically, that I've been a wonderful tenant for over a year and didn't deserve to be treated this poorly particularly after having to live out of plastic bags for 3 months, lose furniture/sleep/sanity/friends/etc.And I won! That doesn't get me my money back from the initial PCO treatment that we split, but if I had to go back and do it again I'd INSIST on being there, at least in the building common areas, while the PCO treated my place and "thoroughly inspected" the other units. If I could go back in time knowing what I know now, I'd absolutely fight it.
Like you said, the landlord can't prove you brought the bugs in. Put everything in writing and keep copies of it -- that way if it comes down to it you can boost your case in small claims court.
Ugh, what's the deal with all of the deadbeat landlords anyway. I used to work at an apartment complex as a leasing agent for YEARS and never in my life would I have imagined that these ridiculous management scenarios happen so frequently.
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angie
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Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 399
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Jan 16 2008 14:44:14
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I would NEVER pay for my treatments if they asked me too. That is the LL responsibility cuz there is no way to prove you brought them in or they were there (as in my case). You need to call an attorney and ask them and then weigh your options. If they expected me to pay, they wouldn't have had a "nice" interview with the tv gal the other day, it would have been a slam on the crappy LL and his property!!
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