BedBuggs!

[Steve T.]

I have a marginal tenant in a class c property who has just informed me that his single family detached house is infested with bedbugs, and it is going to take thousands of $$$ to get them eradicated. He took possession Feb 1st, and has had no problem until today. 

The previous tenants in all my property's had no problems at all with bugs, but to be safe we have every property exterminated professionally before a new tenant moves in. My lease clearly states that "all pest control issues are the responsibility of the tenant, property is delivered free of all vermin and pests" and the tenant acknowledges via walk thru and inspection.  I feel that he brought these in himself, unintentionally,  and is attempting to place the cause of the problem  on me.

What are others thoughts and actions concerning this?

[Steve Babiak]

They may not have had bedbugs at their last place, and yet they could still be the ones who introduced them in your rental unit. Bedbugs are good hitchhikers, they can attach to a backpack at school or at the gym and get carried in. Or the tenant might have brought in some "new to them" furniture that contained the bedbugs. There is this stigma of poor housekeeping associated with bedbug infestations, but due to these varied means of infiltration that  stigma has now been disproven (although poor housekeeping will allow for the infestation to have more hiding places).

There is really no way to be 100% certain of the source. Except maybe if you had a vacancy for a few weeks or more and had workers in there during that time without anybody noticing, and even then there isn't certainty. 

Research bedbug addendum so that you develop one of your own to implement for your rentals.