Recent innovations in the medical science of dealing with bedbugs have been promising. Some states are enacting laws to help the issue, as well. A bedbug infestation in a rental is a problem for both the landlord and the renter. One of the biggest issues to them is that they seem almost impervious to pesticide and they can live for up to a year with no food. A number of resources have been provided to help people with this, from a Bed Bug Registry, to the new laws about inspection and remediation. According to the National Conference of State Legislature site, more than 20 states now have laws on the books in respect to bed bugs.
New Hampshire is one such state doing something about this growing issue. Though the state is not one of the top ten cities dealing with this problem, they’re handling it in a proactive way. Key provisions in the law involve responsibilities to landlords to not only inspect premises for bedbugs, but also to remediation of the infestation. This means that effective steps to eliminate the pests have to be taken within 60 days.
This law also gives landlords the right to make an emergency entry for repairs. To qualify, the landlord has to enter the premises within 72 hours of notice that bedbugs are or may be a problem. Tenants are not permitted to willfully refuse landlord’s entry in these cases. If a tenant reports the issue, landlords will have to respond to that within 7 days or face penalties. This law does specify that the landlord must handle the cost of eliminating the infestation but steps may be taken to recoup the losses if it can be proven that the tenant caused the infestation.
Housing codes have also been updated in light of this, though it simply insures that bedbug protections and remediations are not seen as less strict than other insect issues.
Photo credit: Gluu.org
