Q:
The building my daughter has lived in for about a year had an infestation of bedbugs several months ago. It occurred one floor up from her apartment. The manager of the building fumigated the suite but not the adjoining suites, contrary to the professional advice given at the time. (It appears the manager was acting on the owner's advice, not his own initiative.) My daughter woke up recently with several bites on her arm and on inspection, the manager informed her that her suite now had a serious infestation of bedbugs.
The manager also told her she has to throw out her mattress and boxspring as they were "too far gone". In addition, she had to vacate her suite for over a week so that the manager could properly fumigate her suite and several adjoining suites - the professional advice given previously. Fortunately, she was able to secure accomodation with a friend for that time frame, but now finds herself without a mattress or box spring.
She has enquired if there was compensation available for replacement of her mattress and box spring, but was told that was not the case and that she would have to purchase her own replacements.
What is the landlords liability in these circumstances? I have suggested she request a contribution towards a new set, but she is afraid to "cause trouble" for the landlord.
As an added twist, my daughter suffers from scoliosis, so she requires a good quality mattress to reduce her pain. Not just any mattress will do.
Thank you for your timely reply.
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| A:
Bedbugs! The landlord is obliged under the legislation to provide rental premises that meet health, safety and housing standards required by law. The Act states that the "...landlord must provide and maintain residential property in a state of decoration and repair that (a) complies with the health, safety and housing standards required by law, and (b) having regard to the age, character and location of the rental unit, makes it suitable for occupation by a tenant." The Tenant’s responsibility is to keep the joint reasonably clean. The legislation directs that the "... tenant must maintain reasonable health, cleanliness and sanitary standards throughout the rental unit and the other residential property to which the tenant has access."
But now there are bugs, and boy are they tough to get rid of! See the archives on this site for 'bedbugs' and 'insects'. The problem is compounded when not everybody in the rental unit, block, premises, etc. are on-side with fumigation procedures. Some landlords are spending tens of thousands of dollars per year fumigating downtown apartment blocks. Problem is, people move around, they bring in insects on bedding, furniture, clothing, etc. The bugs find a conducive environment and reproduce to beat the band. The landlord recognizes a responsibility to keep the joint in a state or repair that complies with health, safety and housing standards 'required by law', and which is often interpreted differently by different landlords. While the manager may have told your daughter her boxspring was 'too far gone' it is evident she pitched it out. A claim for a new boxspring likely wouldn't get too far, especially given that the landlord could show he was responding reasonably to the situation. As for compensation for vacating the premises while the landlord fumigated, your daughter would have to show she was compelled to vacate to accommodate the landlord's efforts, and that she has lost use of quiet enjoyment because of some failing on the landlord's part. A dispute resolution officer might not grant her much, if anything, in relief. Sorry if this response isn't what you'd hoped for but it appears to me that the landlord is responding reasonably to a difficult situation and can't be faulted, in which case a claim for compensation is very likely fail. |
