I've been living in the same apartment for about 18 years now. My landlord had the apartment sprayed twice for bedbugs. He said he would cover the cost but I talked to his brother/other landlord and he said it's not their responsibility and they will not cover anything next time.
I don't think the problem is fixed and I think we are still infested. Are they allowed to do this? Saying they aren't responsible anymore...? Also, they are now trying to making us sign a new contract for the lease... is that legal?
Definite answers to your questions depend on your current lease and its specific language and/or applicable statues governing residential property. If your current lease contains any provisions regarding pest control, those terms would govern absent statute or case law requiring the landlord to handle the issue. If your current lease is silent on the matter or requires you to take care of pest control, then absent a statue or law that makes it the landlord's responsibility, you may not have much leverage to force the issue. It all depends on your current lease. I would advise you to have your current lease reviewed by legal counsel if things are unclear or if you require specific legal research in your area of concern and a landlord's obligations under law to provide habitable conditions.
With regard to "making you sign a new contract," that is of serious concern. If your current lease term has not expired and does not expressly allow the landlord to force you to sign a new lease, absent some factual circumstance that you have not disclosed, it is more than likely that no one can "make" you sign a new lease. It is likely that any new lease proposed by the landlord (especially if the term of the current lease is not expired) will heavily favor the landlord in terms and conditions. I would strongly suggest you do NOT agree to sign a new lease or agree to any new lease terms until you can review it, preferably with an attorney. Even if the terms of the new new lease are something you generally find acceptable, by signing it you may be waiving or releasing rights to challenge the landlord for any pest or other related breaches under your current lease. Assuming you are current on your rental payments and the current lease is not expired and does not allow the landlord to force you to sign a new lease, do not allow yourself to be pressured and take your time reviewing the same carefully, especially with an attorney's help, before deciding whether to sign. You may be able to negotiate better terms if you take your time and clear up the pest problem via negotiation as well if your current lease or the current applicable laws are not of direct assistance or help to your issue. If the landlord wants a new lease, it may be a good time to negotiate in some terms that benefit you and clear up any issues your current lease is silent upon.
Good luck.
Assly Sayyar, Esq.
www.vistalawyer.net
Generally speaking, unless the tenant caused the problem, the landlord is responsible for taking care of the bed bugs pursuant to Civil Code section 1941.1.
I assume you are currently a month to month tenant. Are you subject to rent control under the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance? If so, a landlord can make you sign a lease agreement or use your refusal to evict you.
It is ABSOLUTELY the landlord's responsibility to ERADICATE the bedbugs in the apartment building. See Civil Code sections 1941 and 1941.1. In an apartment building, a landlord cannot fix a bedbug problem by spraying only one unit--they travel through walls, ceilings, walk across the hall, etc. If the landlord sprays in one unit, they move to the surrounding units and, guess what, they will be back. The landlord makes the problem worse by having a single unit treated.
Also, a lot of landlords will try to exterminate themselves--they can't. Bedbugs can only be eradicated by professionals. The best treatment is heat treating the entire building.
In my office, we handle a lot of bedbug litigation where there are multiple units that want to get involved in the lawsuit and we seek injunctions to force the landlords to EFFECTIVELY treat the buildings according to a method testified to by experts. This MUST be done, or the problem keeps getting worse.
