California Civil Code §1954.603 requires landlords to give every new tenant a written bed-bug information notice and to disclose any known infestation history. Tenants must cooperate with treatment, and landlords typically pay extermination costs absent tenant fault.
Effective January 2017, Civil Code §1954.603 mandates that every California landlord provide tenants a written bed-bug disclosure notice before lease signing, with the same notice posted in common areas of buildings with three or more units. Landlords cannot show or rent a unit they know is currently infested. Under §1954.604, tenants must promptly report suspected bed bugs and allow access for inspection and treatment by a licensed pest control operator. Treatment cost typically falls on the landlord because California habitability law (Civil Code §1941.1) treats infestations as substandard conditions, unless the landlord proves the tenant introduced the bugs.
Failure to disclose can support a tenant rent-withholding action, repair-and-deduct remedy, or habitability lawsuit under Civil Code §1942. LA Housing Department can also cite landlords under LAMC §161.604 substandard-housing rules with administrative fines per unit.
Los Angeles, CA
Pest control in Los Angeles is regulated by the California Structural Pest Control Board, with LAHD enforcing habitability for rentals and the LA County Vect...
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles enforces habitability standards through SCEP inspections, the California Civil Code implied warranty of habitability, and LAMC building codes. Un...
See how Los Angeles's bed-bug rules rules stack up against other locations.
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