QUESTION
Can they legally charge me to clean up bed bugs? How?
Asked on Jun 22nd, 2015 on Personal Injury - California
More details to this question:
I moved into a new apartment in Sept. with brand new furniture and from night one was bitten by bed bugs. I reported it to my complex and they want me to pay for the cost of treatments saying "You must have brought them in." It is a 400.00 treatment for my 600 sqft apartment. And will displace me one day a week out of my unit into a hotel. This may not sound difficult for some, but I suffer from PTSD and have Agoraphobia. I do not like new situations, or feeling displaced. This whole situation of having strangers come into my home, and having to go stay at a hotel has left me mentally taxed. I have family and I would like to move to now that my divorce is final. They want to charge me 1000 dollars to move and 400 to treat the unit. I am at my wits end, what can I do?
6 ANSWERS
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Madison, WI
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Richard B. Jacobson & Associates, LLC
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You may need to visit your doc and see if he or she recommends some medication to ease your mood and mind. I'd suggest you consult the Tenants Union in Madison, which has more experience than almost any lawyer in dealing with all kinds of landlord-tenant problems. You might also consult Community Justice, Inc. in Madison. Also you could try the Neighborhood Law Clinic at the Univ. of Wisconsin Law School. Good Luck. I think if you start taking positive steps to get help and have someone to respond to the landlord for you, you'll feel a lot better sooner.
Answered on Jun 23rd, 2015 at 11:29 AM
Business Law Attorney serving Bingham Farms, MI
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James T. Weiner, P.C.
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Bedbugs are an unsettled issue.. If you honestly believe they are from a different (adjoining) or preexisting you can sue your landlord to be let out of the lease and move.
Answered on Jun 23rd, 2015 at 10:36 AM
Ronald A. Steinberg
Get a lawyer. They are wrong.
Answered on Jun 23rd, 2015 at 8:56 AM
Contact your local VA center for help. You could also contact your local health department about the bed bugs.
Answered on Jun 22nd, 2015 at 5:07 PM
James Eugene Hasser
It depends on your lease terms and whether they can prove you brought the bed bugs in. Good luck.
Answered on Jun 22nd, 2015 at 4:12 PM
Unless you brought them in, it is their responsibility to pay for the cleaning and the hotel.
Answered on Jun 22nd, 2015 at 3:30 PM