We Have Bugs In Our Apartment! The Landlord Doesn't Care! What Can We Do?
We moved in our apartment 4 mons ago, the 1st day we moved in we seen a cockroach we told our landlord about it 3 weeks later the bug guy came out, then a few weeks later we seen more bugs and we told out landlord about it and a week later a bug guy came out , and like 2 weeks later we seen more almost everyday, and we told her about it and she said that nobody else has seen any more cockroach so the landlord is'nt calling the bug guy and it kinda seens like she saying we brought them in this new apartment........ we have 2 small kids ones 2 and ones about 7 mons who is about to start crawing about i dont want my kids around bugs... so what will happen if we just get up and leave? [Colorado Springs, Colorado]
Answer:
If you just leave, the Landlord can sue you for breaching the lease and claim the future rent, and keep your security deposit and black list you among landlords. Instead WRITE a letter to the landlord and deliver it (verbal stuff can't be proved). CAll the bug guy yourself, (a different company) and get 1) a good fumigation, and 2) their comments on why the buggies keep coming back. If you have an apartment, the answer is probably that the building is infested so they come back from other rooms in the building. At the same time that you write the Landlord, call and WRITE the local county health department and make a complaint. Tell the county that the building is infested and the landlord is refusing to fix the problem. ONce you've done these things AND CAN PROVE YOU DID THEM WITH PAPER, NOT JUST YOUR WORD, then you can move out and defend the LL's keeping the security deposit and suing you for lost rent.
