Over on the Red Hook Waterfront blog, Gregory O’Connell Jr. has a post about the scourge of bed bugs from a landlord’s point of view. His point is that while landlords are often/usually/always blamed for infestations, tenant responsibility is typically overlooked. Here’s a snippet: “In 2009, New York City adopted Local Law 14, which created a “Bed Bug Advisory Board” to guide the city in addressing bed bug infestations. This advisory board made “Recommendations for the Management of Bed Bugs in New York City” [PDF] in April of 2010. Please feel free to view this file. The recommendations made throughout seem logical and if implemented would, dare I say, improve this situation which has rendered LANDLORDS defenseless against “Bed Bug” outbreaks within their buildings. …The issues that need to be taken seriously by those with control over the regulation of “Bed Bug” matters are…. what happens when the TENANT is negligent? What happens when the TENANT is uncooperative and does not allow the LANDLORD to properly expedite the issue and treat the problem? What happens if the TENANT never notifies the LANDLORD of the infestation? What if the TENANT does not follow proper procedure in order to remove the infestation? At what point does the LANDLORD stop assuming responsibility? If “Bed Bugs” can infest any area and travel over extreme distances on someone’s person, why is it automatically the LANDLORD’s fault that they exist in that LANDLORD’s building? How can a LANDLORD basically force a TENANT to live a certain way/notify/allow access/throw things out etc. etc. without any sort of consequence or defense?” Any readers who are also landlords care to weigh in?
The “War on Bedbugs”: From the Landlord’s Perspective [Red Hook Waterfront]
Photo by Shira Golding


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

1 2 3 11