Are there any federal, state or local guidleines regarding pest infestations and habitability of rental homes?
I moved into my apartment in November to discover there is a major roach problem! I’m extremely clean and know thatt it isn’t possibly a result of my lifestyle. I’ve requested several times that the problem be taken care of. The landlord has sent an exterminator twice and the problem still isn’t resolved. I’ve done all that I can to help including purchasing pest control products, moving my kitchen trash can outside and even refraining from cooking in my own home!!!! It’s so bad that the other morning i woke up my two year old to get her dressed for daycare and when i unzipped her pajamas there was a tiny roach in them!!!! I cried and my skin nearly crawled off my body. I haven’t even be staying at home and it just doesn’t seem fair that I’m stuck in this lease and have to pay the full rent every month.
June 4th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Your landlord has done everything reasonable to get the roaches removed by having the exterminator come over twice. The problem is that the spray only lasts for 4-6 weeks and then buggers come crawling over from somewhere else…like from the neighbors home.
A massive infestation is a good enough reason to get out of the lease though. I would discuss it with the landlord to see if he’ll let you out. If not, you might opt for a free legal consultation to see what your options are.
I studied about bugs and roaches. We use the spray around the foundation to keep bugs and roaches out. We have the huge, what we call tree roaches.
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June 4th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
“…he landlord has sent an exterminator twice …:
That meets all state guidelines, there are no federal ones.
You need to be proactive, spray yourself and put boric acid on the corners and edges of things.
I studied about bugs and roaches. We use the spray around the foundation to keep bugs and roaches out. We have the huge, what we call tree roaches.
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June 4th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
It CAN legitimately take several visits from an exterminator to clear a bad infestation, especially if they are only treating you unit 7 no the entire building. As long as they are doing something to try to take care of the problem then you have no case to legally get out of your lease. You can typically only break your lease over repair/ habitability issues if the landlord does not try to do anything about it.
I’m a property manager
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