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Dear Brownstoner,

Need advice on my rights as a landlord regarding bedbugs. Here is the situation.

In early May, my tenant on the top floor says she thinks she found a bedbug but she would monitor to see if finds any more. A week later she emails and says she hasn’t seen another one. Fast forward to early-June, she emails to tell us that now she is finding 3-4 bedbugs a night on the walls although she hasn’t been bitten.

She claims the source of the bedbugs must be from the neighbors to the right coming through the brickwalls underneath the sheet rock. This is debateable as she has had numerous international guest over the past year and we have heard that bedbugs travel mostly this way on luggage and people. Also the tenant below her and our duplex apartment have not had any issues.

Regardless we agreed to pay for an exterminator within in a week of her informing us about the bedbugs. After working around her schedule and rescheduling 3 times, the exterminator comes two weeks later, June 24th.

Now the tenant is screaming that conditions are unlivable and she is having health issues with the extermination residue. As she only has one month left on her lease and had planned to move in mid-July back to Europe, she is refusing to pay for July rent and wants us to give her deposit back in full. She is planning to move all her stuff out by July 1st and couch surf till she goes back to Europe.

Would appreciate any advice or experience you have had on the best next step. Although not ideal in anyway, in most cases a residence is livable after a bedbug extermination treatment otherwise the company would advise tenants to vacate afterward. The tenant didn’t inform us that she was highly sensitive to chemicals but according to her doctor that she saw yesterday she should not be exposed to the residue now.

We have only tried to be responsive and good landlords do I have any rights here? Could I be sued if I don’t return the deposit?

Thanks again for any advice you can give.