Hi - I''m not sure what your question is but I will give you some general information about your rights as a tenant. For additional information, you should check out www.ptla.org, which has a helpful landlord/tenant section.
When renting, you have the right to have a safe residence that is fit for habitation. If you believe that it is unsafe and that is the reason that your cats died, you would need to provide some proof, such as a report from a vet about the cause of death. If your apartment is unsafe, you could bring your landlord to court for damages you suffered by living in an unsafe place, such as a reduction in rent you have paid or the costs of caring for and maybe replacing your cats. A landlord is required to inform tenants of bedbug issues in the building before they move in, so if the bedbugs were there before you, you could sue your landlord for failure to inform you, which I think allows up to a $250 fine. A landlord must give you notice before coming into your apartment so if your landlord entered without telling you, you could sue your landlord for your damages (harm you suffered) or a $100 fine set by the state.
Bedbugs can come in on any sort of furniture, clothing, etc. so, if you brought in the bedbugs, you would not be able to recover damages from your landlord. The landlord also is required by law to treat the apartment once bedbugs are discovered so if the landlord used a reputable pest control service, it would be difficult to recover damages for that. Bedbug removal, from what I understand, is quite difficult and requires that everything in the apartment be sprayed and laundered so that spraying the mattress would need to be part of that process. If you were to bring any legal action against your landlord, I recommend small claims court. You can get the complaint form from the district court in Bangor or online at www.maine.gov, under judicial branch and then small claims. There is a guide to small claims process there too. For your claim, it is helpful to have evidence such as photos, letters you have written to the landlord about your concerns, receipts for costs of your mattress, pet care, etc. If you have not communicated with your landlord about this, I would do that first and keep a copy of your letter. Your landlord might be willing to work with you rather than spending the time and money going to court. Be sure to keep current with your rent through this as nonpayment of rent is grounds for eviction. Good luck. ...
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