Abstract
The resurgence of bed bugs in major urban centres in North America has resulted in conflict between landlords and tenants. This is commonly focused on attribution of blame for source of infestation, on responsibility, on costs for preparation, treatment and losses, and for compensation as rent abatement and/or alternative temporary housing. In Ontario, Canada, these issues are often decided by adjudicators at the Landlord and Tenant Board hearing claims, counter-claims and defense by legal representation (lawyers and paralegals) as well as through mediation. Evidence in these hearings may include photographs, invoices for costs as well as testimony by tenants, landlords and “expert witnesses” who are most often pest control firms representing their landlord clients. A total of 44 Landlord and Tenant Board adjudicated cases available online were analyzed. The analysis included elements of the decisions such as adjudicator, claimant (landlord or tenant), basis of claim, review of evidence, amount of claim, amount awarded, and evaluation of the quality of the evidence. The results of the analysis of these findings are discussed. Recommendations for improvement of adjudicator decisions on the basis of knowledge of bed bug biology and Integrated Pest Management best practices are presented as well as the importance of education of tenants and landlords to a process of mutual trust, support and accountability.
Highlights
Landlord and tenant conflicts and rights in relation to responsibilities of each party in lease agreements and/or understandings are a familiar part of life considering that in many urban areas, the majority of homes are in multi-dwelling structures
Data was found by a search on the Canadian Legal Information Institute website [23] for cases in Ontario handled by the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) with the key search words “bed bug”
We evaluated the basis of adjudicator decisions in relation to the biology of bed bugs, and known factors of their spread, of detection, and of their control and prevention
Summary
Landlord and tenant conflicts and rights in relation to responsibilities of each party in lease agreements and/or understandings are a familiar part of life considering that in many urban areas, the majority of homes are in multi-dwelling structures. In Toronto, 56% of housing is multi-dwelling, and 11% of all housing is publically funded low-income housing [2]. Other urban centres with smaller populations experiencing landlord tenant conflict on bed bug issues such as Columbus, Ohio, show similar high levels of multi-dwelling properties [3]. As society shifted from rural to urban habitation, multi-dwelling properties became much more common. Tenants of single family detached dwellings were expected to handle most aspects of property maintenance, with the shift to multi-dwelling units with common elements, the landlord became more accountable for maintenance [8]
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