Bedbugs… and the Duties of the Housing Provider Joe Garcia, Director Fair Housing Center of NE-IA 2401 Lake St., Omaha, NE 68111

Frequently asked Questions Regarding Rentals & Bedbugs If your tenant calls stating they have bedbugs what’s the first step? Keep calm…the problem might not be bedbugs; it could be fleas or roaches. Call an exterminator to diagnose the problem. So the first step is to address the problem before it gets worse. You can always figure out the responsibility later.

Frequently Asked Questions (cont’d) Who is Responsible to Remove the Bedbugs? Responsibility should fall on whoever brought them in the house. An exterminator might be able to tell you how the bedbugs arrived. For example, if a swarm of bed bugs is found in the tenant’s luggage and he just got back from a business trip, then you certainly could hold the tenant responsible. But generally speaking, fault is difficult to prove, particularly in an apartment building. In this case, a resident of another unit could have brought in the bedbugs, and those bedbugs could have then traveled from the infested apartment to your rental through floorboards or small cracks in the walls. The question of who brought in the bedbugs is easier to determine if the rental in question is a single-family house. But even then, a maintenance person, not the tenant, could have brought in the bedbugs.

Frequently Asked Questions (cont’d) Who Should Pay for the Exterminator? If the bedbugs were present before the tenant moved in, the housing provider (HP) need’s to pay for an exterminator. If the HP does nothing about the bedbug infestation, the tenant can take actions against the HP, such as: Paying for an exterminator and deducting that amount from the rent Terminating the lease (with proper notice) Take legal action against the HP for not providing a livable dwelling under Nebraska Landlord Tenant Law 76-1419, “Landlord to maintain fit premises.”

Frequently Asked Questions (cont’d) Who Pay’s (cont’d) If the tenant brought in the bedbugs, and the HP can prove it, the tenant pays. As of November 2016, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures 22 states have laws addressing bedbugs. Bedbug infestations in rental properties, Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska and New Hampshire); Hotels (Alabama, California, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia); Institutional facilities (Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin); Schools (New York and Utah); Railcars (Illinois); Migrant labor camps (Iowa, Nevada and Pennsylvania).

Nebraska Bedbug Laws Neb. Admin. R. & Regs. Tit. 175, Ch. 2, § 004 Regulations and Standards Governing Boarding Homes- SANITATION Requires boarding homes to be constructed and equipped to prevent bedbug and pest infestations. Allows exterminators to be used to eradicate pests when necessary. Neb. Admin. R. & Regs. Tit. 175, Ch. 3, § 004.12 Health Care Facilities and Services- HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS – Insect and Rodent Control. Requires health care facilities to be constructed and equipped to prevent bedbug and pest infestations. Allows exterminators to be used to eradicate pests when necessary. 25 Neb. Admin. Code, Ch. 2, 005.02B(8)(a) Standards for Pesticide Applicators – Health-Related Pest Control. Applicators must demonstrate practical knowledge of environmental conditions related to pest control.

Unfortunately not as straight forward as in: Not Much Help!! Unfortunately not as straight forward as in: Maine which “Establishes landlord and tenant duties in the event of a bedbug infestation in rental property” and also provides for remedies. OR Florida which “Requires landlords to make reasonable provisions for the extermination of bedbugs in rental property.”

Bottom Line The Key is Proving it!! If the HP is responsible, the HP pay’s If the tenant is responsible, the tenant pays The Key is Proving it!!