California Civil Code §1954.603 requires LA County landlords to give every new tenant a written bed-bug information notice and disclose known infestation history. LACDPH Vector Management investigates complaints in unincorporated areas; cities run their own habitability enforcement.
Effective January 2017, Civil Code §1954.603 requires every California landlord, including those throughout LA County, to 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 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. LACDPH Vector Management investigates complaints in unincorporated LA County; incorporated cities enforce through housing or code agencies.
Failure to disclose can support tenant rent-withholding, repair-and-deduct, or habitability lawsuits under Civil Code §1942. LA County code enforcement and LACDPH may cite owners in unincorporated areas under Title 11 substandard-housing rules with administrative fines per unit.
See how Santa Monica's bed-bug rules rules stack up against other locations.
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