questions & answers

Question: I have been living in my apartment for almost a year now. Three months sicnce i moved in i discovered bed bugs. In May 2016 they came to exterminate. I have not seen any bed bugs til recencently. I went to the office in January 2017 and told them they i still have bed bugs in my apt. They are trying to charge me 300 for coming out to exterminate again, are they allowed to do so? What can i do about this situation and who can i talk to?

Answer: The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (A.R.S. Title 33 Chapter 10) only prohibits landlords from knowingly renting out dwellings with current bedbug infestations (A.R.S. 33-1319). It does not specifically require that landlords pay to exterminate bedbugs discovered during the course of a tenancy. Landlords are, however, required to “do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition” (A.R.S. 33-1324). If you believe that another unit in the building may be the source of the bedbug infestation in your unit, you can always raise the issue with your landlord. You landlord also may be willing to negotiate if you propose to pay part of the cost of having the exterminators return to your unit. Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules about who should do what in these situations. If you wish to speak with an attorney, there are links to organizations offering free or low-cost legal services on this website.