Help! Bed Bugs

[Jason Jones]

I have an A class SFH with a new tenant (3 months). The home was built in 2000 and has mostly hardwood floors and tile with the exception of the bedrooms and living room where I put in brand new carpet before the tenants moved in 4 months ago. The house was very clean before move in.

The tenant has been complaining about bugs and I had an exterminator investigate and he tells me there are bed bugs in the house. The tenant is asking for this to be remediated ($2000 cost) but all pest control falls under tenant responsibility per the contract. The tenant was told this and I'm certain there was not a bug problem before move in.

The tenant is now saying his wife is having nightmares and has been sick due to bug bites. They are asking for either the remediation of the bugs or to be allow to break the contract and move out. My PM tells me we can use his deposit to offset costs but that will still leave me in the whole $1000. Otherwise, we let them move out and I'll lose more in lost rent for a month.

Has anyone had a similar situation? Any advice on how to handle?

[Kevin Farrell]

Jason,

I am a Pest control professional in Indianapolis. What I have done in cases like this is to arrange to do the extermination and have the landlord pay out of the deposit with tenant agreement. Also, it is important to let tenant know that they can not "move away" from bed bugs. It is best to get them exterminated prior to moving.

One more thing. Get more quotes. I do a 3 bedroom home in Indy for $700 with a written guarantee. Shop around for a better price.

All landlords should take note: if you have not dealt with bed bugs yet, you will.