Bed Bug In New York City — Landlord or Tenant? As an owner of rental property, you may have been forced to deal with a bed bug infestation; an increasing problem in metropolitan areas across the United States.  Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects that feed on human flesh. They prefer to sink their spiked teeth into people but have no qualms about biting other warm-blooded animals. Bed bugs also harbor disease and can cause allergic reactions in many people. For all these reasons, landlords should be aware what is expected of them when faced with a bed bug infestation. Proper extermination usually requires both pest control technicians and structural experts to eradicate the infestation. There is a reason why bed bugs are making landlords in New York City more and more nervous and that is because they are required to be financially responsible for infestations that occur on their property. The responsibility of keeping and maintaining a rental property falls squarely on shoulders of the landlord. Landlords need to do their best job at maintaining their properties when it comes to issues like bed bugs whether they inherited the responsibility or not.

Bed Bug Nyc Landlord Responsibility

The law requires you to maintain your building.

Landlords are required by law to maintain their buildings in a safe and habitable condition. This includes exterminating bed bugs, mice and other pests. If the city finds that you have not been maintaining your building in accordance with the law, they can issue your landlord with a violation. Violations are expensive – they can cost thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees!

This includes the extermination of bedbugs, vermin and other pests.

You are responsible for making sure that your property is free of bedbugs, roaches, rats, mice and other pests. Bed bugs and their eggs can be found in places like mattresses and box springs; therefore, you must inspect these areas regularly for signs of an infestation. If you discover a problem with an insect or rodent issue at your property, it’s important to act quickly by contacting a professional exterminator as soon as possible. If you don’t take care of the problem yourself, New York City will do it for you – but they won’t do it cheaply! You could get fined up to $2,000 per violation (for example: if one tenant has bedbugs while another does not). And what’s worse – tenants can sue you if they contract any health issues from living in an infested apartment building!

If you fail to do this, a tenant can call 311 and the city will issue you a violation.

It’s important to get rid of bed bugs before they spread to other apartments. If you fail to do this, a tenant can call 311 and the city will issue you a violation. If the tenant keeps calling 311, eventually you will be fined by the city for not taking care of your pest problem. The fine could be anywhere from $100-$5,000 depending on how serious your infestation is.

Landlords are also at risk for being sued if they don’t take care of their pest problems quickly enough or adequately enough. For example: let’s say that there is an apartment building with 20 units and one unit has bed bugs that have been reported by the tenant who lives there (let’s call him Bob). In order for Bob to get his landlord (let’s call him Mike) sued over this issue he would need evidence proving that Mike knew about these bugs yet failed to do anything about them within reasonable time frame after being notified by Bob (or someone else).

This violation could cost you $1000s of dollars in legal fees and fines.

Bed bugs are a serious problem that can result in a costly legal battle for landlords. When tenants report bed bugs to the landlord, it is their responsibility to exterminate the infestation and eliminate any risk of being sued by their tenants. If you don’t take action to resolve the issue, you could be sued by your tenant and face some serious consequences including:

• Expensive legal fees
• Fines from the city or state health department
• Loss of potential tenants who do not want to rent from someone with a history of bed bug infestations

NYC landlords are responsible for eradicating bed bugs and other pests on their properties

As a tenant, you are responsible for your own actions. However, NYC landlords are also liable for the safety and condition of their properties. When pests like bed bugs enter a building, it’s up to the landlord to take action and eradicate them before they spread to other apartments in the building.

• Landlords may be required by law to exterminate bed bugs if they appear on their property.* If a landlord fails to comply with this standard, he or she may be fined by the city government (and/or face legal action).
• If you discover that there are bed bugs present in your apartment or home:
• Contact your landlord immediately—don’t try anything yourself! You could make things worse if you don’t know what you’re doing.* Letters from both parties should be kept as evidence of when these conversations occurred.* Remember: even though tenants are responsible for taking precautions against preventative measures such as using strong insecticides or mattress covers (which cannot guarantee protection from infestations), most property owners have an obligation under law because it is usually easier than evicting someone over an issue like this one