Landlords almost always are responsible for exterminating bed bugs. Infestations are a serious health issue. Landlords must normally pay to exterminate infestations the tenant didn’t cause, and also those which affect more than one residence.
States With Specific Bed Bug Laws
A few states have specific statutes and processes for bed bugs. The laws are not limited to treating infestations. They can include things like special disclosure requirements or instructions on cost sharing for treatments.
| State | Standard(s) |
| Arizona | Landlords must provide “bedbug educational materials” to tenants. They cannot rent a unit known to have a current infestation. Tenants must keep from moving personal materials into an infested place. |
| California | “A landlord shall not show, rent, or lease to a prospective tenant any vacant dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation.” |
| Colorado | Landlords must begin treatment of bed bugs, within 96 hours of receiving notice. There are specific requirements for treatment, costs, and other related topics. |
| Connecticut | Detailed notification and treatment process for bed bug infestation. Landlords must inspect within five days of notice about a potential infestation. |
| Delaware | Extensive requirements for suspected bed bug infestation. Landlords pay for treatment within 60 days of move-in or within 30 days of discovering another infestation in an adjoining unit. There’s otherwise a presumption that the tenant is at fault. |
| Florida | Landlords must treat “rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs.” They can’t charge rent while a tenant is out of a unit for pest treatment. |
| Maine | Extensive requirements and process for suspected bed bug infestations. Landlords must inspect within five days of notice. Upon finding an infestation, they must contact pest control within ten days thereafter. |
| New Hampshire | Landlords cannot rent a bed bug-infested property unless they are in a qualified remediation program. The landlord pays all costs, but can later bill the tenant for infestation that was the tenant’s fault. |
States Without Specific Bed Bug Laws
Most states don’t have specific bed bug laws. They address bed bug problems through general health and safety laws.
Bed bugs seriously impact tenant quality of life, and spread easily to other homes. Landlords must nearly always address bed bug issues as soon as possible.
Consequences for Failure To Treat Bed Bugs
Landlord failure to address a bed bug infestation is a serious housing violation. State laws vary widely, but if a landlord doesn’t provide extermination services after proper notice from the tenant, the following remedies are often available:
- Forcing compliance via court order
- Suing the landlord for costs of the violation (monetary damages)
- Reporting the landlord to housing authorities
- Ending the lease and moving out (for major violations)
It’s often also legal for a tenant to contract for repairs and deduct from the rent. However, the deductible amount often is too low to cover all costs of extermination, cleaning, and so on.
Sources
- 1 Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1319 (2022)
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Detailed requirements are laid out in Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1319 (2022). “The landlord shall not enter into any lease agreement with a tenant for a dwelling unit that the landlord knows to have a current bedbug infestation,” etc.
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- 2 Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.602(a) (2021)
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“A landlord shall not show, rent, or lease to a prospective tenant any vacant dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation…”
Source Link - 3 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-1001 (2023) et seq.
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Detailed requirements are laid out in the Colorado Bed Bugs in Residential Premises Act, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-1001 (2023) et seq. “A landlord shall not offer for rent a dwelling unit that the landlord knows or reasonably suspects to contain bed bugs,” etc.
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- 4 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-7a (2021)
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The statute provides detailed requirements for notice, treatment, and so on. “A tenant shall promptly notify a landlord orally or in writing when the tenant knows or reasonably suspects that the tenant’s dwelling unit is infested with bed bugs. Not later than five business days after receiving such notice, the landlord shall inspect or obtain an inspection… [and] must provide written notice to the tenant within two days indicating whether or not the unit is infested with bed bugs,” etc.
Source Link - 5 Del. Code Ann. § 5317 (2022)
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The statute provides detailed requirements for notice, treatment, and so on. “A landlord shall not show, rent, or lease to a prospective tenant any vacant dwelling unit that the landlord knows or reasonably suspects has a current bed bug infestation,” etc.
- 6 Fla. Stat. § 83.51(2)(a) (2022)
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“Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in addition to the requirements of subsection (1), the landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for: the extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs. When vacation of the premises is required for such extermination, the landlord is not liable for damages but shall abate the rent. The tenant must temporarily vacate the premises for a period of time not to exceed 4 days, on 7 days’ written notice, if necessary, for extermination pursuant to this subparagraph.”
Source Link - 7 Maine Rev. Stat. § 6021-A (2022)
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Detailed notice and treatment requirements laid out in the statute. “Upon written or oral notice from a tenant that a dwelling unit may have a bedbug infestation, the landlord shall within 5 days conduct an inspection of the unit for bedbugs… Upon a determination that an infestation of bedbugs does exist in a dwelling unit, the landlord shall within 10 days contact a pest control agent,” etc.
Source Link - 8 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 48-A:14(I) & (I-a) (2022)
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No landlord… shall maintain… rented premises in a condition in which… the premises are infested… and the landlord is not conducting a periodic inspection and remediation program.” N.H. Rev. Stat. § 48-A:14(I) & (I-a) (2022).
Source Link - 9 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540:13-e (2022)
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For details on bed bug infestation law in New Hampshire, see N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540:13-e (2022). “The landlord shall bear the reasonable costs of remediation of an infestation of bed bugs, but may recover those costs if the tenant is responsible,” etc.
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