Tenant brought roaches refusing to pay

[Rory M.]

My tenant complained they saw a bug in their unit. I paid an exterminator to come in as there were no bugs two months ago when I lived in the building (a duplex).

The exterminator said there is evidence that the lower unit tenant brought/is the cause of roaches. There was droppings, rotten food, and garbage all over the floor/tables. Pictures were taken for our records.

Per our lease if a professional can tell the cause of bugs/infestations it is that tenants responsibility for remediation costs.

I tried to talk to the tenant about the exterminators findings, however they have been avoiding/ignoring us. I have delivered a formal letter, provided notice via Cozy.co, left a voicemail, and spoke to them in person. They paid their rent but not the extermination fee.

We’ve had issues in the past with these tenants for cleanliness (I.e garbage bags in yard, overflowing waste bins, open intoxicants scattered around multi-family property). We don’t intend to resign a lease with them come August.. but that’s still 7 months away.

How much would you guys push to get the tenants to pay this fee? Should I add late payments to try and drive home the point? I have a security deposit, but I’d rather not allocate a portion of that to a lease violation.

Thanks in advance!