Bed Bug Problem

[regis22mx]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking for advice here.

We have a property that was infested by bed bugs. The property is in a multi unit complex where many of the units have been affected by the pest.

After 3 months of having the property vacant and having the pest control people spray the unit countless times, we understood the problem had been solved and the property was ready to rent.

We rented the place only to find out by our tenants that the bugs were still there. The tenants are now furious, they claim their furniture is ruined (but they were willing to take it with them to another one of our properties, which we refused) and they now want to sue us for the damages caused to their belongings.

Our lease agreemnt specifies that we are never to be responsible for damages occured to their property while in our unit. Can they really sue us for this?

On the other hand, we understand what they are going through and we really want to help them out. What do you consider appropriate?

Thanks!

 

[ChrisDavies]

QUOTE (regis22mx @ Mar 10 2009, 11:47 AM) Hello Everyone,

I am looking for advice here.

We have a property that was infested by bed bugs. The property is in a multi unit complex where many of the units have been affected by the pest.

After 3 months of having the property vacant and having the pest control people spray the unit countless times, we understood the problem had been solved and the property was ready to rent.

We rented the place only to find out by our tenants that the bugs were still there. The tenants are now furious, they claim their furniture is ruined (but they were willing to take it with them to another one of our properties, which we refused) and they now want to sue us for the damages caused to their belongings.

Our lease agreemnt specifies that we are never to be responsible for damages occured to their property while in our unit. Can they really sue us for this?

On the other hand, we understand what they are going through and we really want to help them out. What do you consider appropriate?

Thanks!

Hi there.

The simple answer is you`ve done everything in good faith, and employed professionals in a timely manner to fix the problem. You should have no issues, and I`ve suffered the same threat.

The province you`re located in will have a big impact though. Where is the building?

 

[regis22mx]

Thanks for your reply!

The property is in Edmonton, AB

 

[Brianrpaul98]

Perhaps you should ask them if they know who brought them into the building!

 

[REINteam]

The legalities of bed bugs is very "scattered" at best and there are no by-laws in AB around the subject. Odds are they would rule in favor of the tenant and it would probably be easier to settle this out of court anyways. The "blame" could easily be passed off on the building management, the pest control agency, you, etc.

Bed bugs are very tricky to treat, especially in a multi family complex as they can travel from one unit to the next via walls, plumbing, etc. If this is something that is affecting the majority of the building it might be time for the strata board to get involved as you`ll need cooperation from every unit.

Some options at this point:

1. Get all units infested together to get a plan together for control, it may be beneficial to have a dog come in to do the inspection after treatment...any good pest firm should be following up with bed bugs automatically and dogs (Orkin in Edmonton) can detect these pests much better than humans can.

2. While I can`t verify the validity of heat or cold treatments they might be something to look into - at least for your tenants furniture (treat their belongings so you don`t have to replace them). A few members swear by heat treatment, it was the only thing that finally solved the problem, but I don`t know if they were multi unit and I have yet to see scientific data on this method.

3. How thorough has the company been? Is there a guarantee? With bed bugs you must be extremely thorough with the inspection and the treatment and it is very helpful if residents a) clean up and de-clutter b) launder all curtains, clothes and linens while the treatment is being applied c) all units need to participate d) all units need information on how to ID bed bugs and how to deal with them.

These are nasty little guys and we will be seeing more of them across the country. If you have questions let me know.

Regards,

Ray Reuter
Client Services
Real Estate Investment Network
1-888-824-7346

 

[regis22mx]

Hi Ray,

Thanks for your reply. The information was very helpful. I will look into the heat treatment for their belongings. Do you know of a good company who does this? Orkin perhaps?

Thanks again,

Regina

 

[Nir]

interesting topic. scary the long list of little things that can happen to us landlords