What to Do: Bedbugs in Your Apartment
What happens when you find bedbugs in your apartment? It’s a question that no one wants to have to deal with, but one that everyone should know answer to. If you’re living in an apartment like so many New Yorkers do, you should inform yourself about recent laws passed protecting renters like yourself from bedbug infestations. For a little background, in 2010 New York City passed a law mandating that new tenants be given a one year bedbug infestation history for the individual rental unit. Note that this history does not include the building’s bedbug infestation history. More recently, in May of 2017, the city passed another law which requires building owners to file bedbug histories for the building with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (and on its website). Furthermore, this history must be posted in a prominent place in the building or distributed to tenants upon lease signing or lease renewal.
While the right to a bedbug-free space is on the list of insects which a landlord is legally obligated to eradicate within 30 days, the law, unfortunately, does not specify how they must do this. This is an important caveat to remember if you’re dealing with a bedbug infestation in your home. If possible, you should inform yourself of your rights concerning bedbugs when looking for apartments. You can go to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development website and check an address for bedbug violations and history. You can also check with the Bedbug Registry. If you are a current renter and find or suspect an infestation in your apartment, you might want to hire a bedbug expert to do an assessment and tell you what’s needed. From there you can communicate with your landlord about your bedbug extermination needs.
Remember, the best thing you can do is inform yourself as much as possible. There are many resources available, so do take advantage of them.
