Bed Bugs in my rental house. Need Advice

[Tracey Thornton]

I have owned a rental house for years and have never had a bug issue in the past, or with past tenants. But now I have a new set of tenants that moved in 7 months ago. They are now claiming that there are bed bugs in the house, and say they want to break the lease and leave.    My question is: Am I responsible for bug removal? I have already called a pesticide company and they estimated approx $900 to treat them with liquid and or $2000 to remove the bugs using heat.  Obviously I didn't bring the bugs into the house. And I know that my previous tenants never complained of any bugs. So it's obvious to me that the current tenants have brought the bugs in with them.  Anyone with advice about this would be appreciated.

[Adam Scheuermann]

It's easy for a pest company to prove whether you have them or not, so start there. It usually has nothing to do with the tenant being dirty or negligent, and more to do with traveling or picking them up in a bag somewhere. 

You should know that it will be traumatic for them and they will most likely have to replace furniture and go through great lengths to prepare their belongings for pest treatment. I'd try to show some grace and figure it out. If you don't, I can guarantee they will move out at the soonest chance they get, whereas if you resolve the issue and they like the house they might see that you care and could be more loyal. If they move out, you're going to have to pay for the treatment anyway and also deal with tenant turnover.