Law Would Force Landlords to Disclose Bed Bug History

From this view you can see the bedbug’s skin piercing mouthparts, used to obtain its blood meal.

There ought to be a law requiring landlords to inform prospective tenants that they may be moving into an apartment invested with blood sucking parasites—and Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal agrees. She's pushing legislation that would "grant prospective tenants and homeowners the right to a record of any bedbug infestation history within the property in question." Which would be appreciated, because bedbugs are appallingly resilient. Some species can live up to a year between feedings if necessary, and just when you think you've gotten rid of them, they paratroop down onto your bed from the ceiling for a refill.

"As the scourge of bedbugs continues in New York, I am committed to giving my constituents the tools to protect themselves both epidemiologically and financially from this plague," said Assemblymember Rosenthal... in a Facebook post. (Seriously.) The bill would require landlords to disclose bedbug history dating back five years.

A previous version of the bill required bedbug disclosure with apartment sales too, but a spokesperson tells Brick Underground that was amended to make it easier to pass. And a second bill proposed by Rosenthal would give bedbug victims a $750 tax credit to help with the cost of recovering from an infestation. Neither bill is scheduled for a vote at this time, because Albany lawmakers are currently too busy not passing a budget.

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By John Del Signore in News on May 13, 2010 4:22 PM

Comments [rss]

cucarachita

When you're checking out a new apartment, go to propertyshark.com. They have a list of complaints (I think you may need to upgrade from the free subscription to the paid, but possibly not, just check it out). If there has been an official complaint about the property, you can find it in the list. There's also usually a link to the official records from the health department for more updated complaints lists. I found that an apartment I was about to go see had bedbug complaints involving an entire floor of the building. I declined to go see the place.

Guess what made me look it up? The rent was suspiciously low for the amount of space. Yes, folks, if it's too good to be true, it might have bedbugs!

Tarrabyte

It took six months to get bed bugs out of my house. It wasn't quick or easy. Landlords and tenants need to work together to get rid of bed bugs. That's the only way it's going to happen. Getting rid of bed bugs in multi-family dwellings means a lot of cooperation. You can watch videos on how to inspect for bed bugs at bedbugsnw.com. Bed bugs reproduce like crazy so you need to have information to successfully eradicate bed bugs. Landlords should be required to disclose bed bugs as they are not your typical nuisance. Most pests want to stay away from you, but not bed bugs.

dadoc

But it's not the Bedbugs, it's the owners!!!!

just saying

After carefully reading your link to "Defeating Bedbugs Through an Integrated Approach," I've decided to simply blow up my apartment if I get bedbugs. It'll be easier.