At the risk of over-echoing the rest of the responses, there’s something called the doctrine of quiet enjoyment. Essentially it means that absent any kind of default on the part of the tenant and provided he pays rent on time, etc., the tenant is entitled to quiet enjoyment of the leased space. Which includes the right to live there without the place being overrun with vermin.
It follows that it’s the landlord’s responsibility to ensure the tenant’s quiet enjoyment during the term of the lease, which includes regular maintenance, upkeep, and extermination, if necessary.
In my state, in my experience, I (as the landlord) was obliged to make sure that the place was pest-free when the tenants moved in. I had a roach spray done the week before they arrived. From then on, it was their responsibility.
At this point, it seems almost moot for me to even chime in, but what the hell.
Yes, the landlord is responsible. Kill the buggers. Tell the tenant that he needs to clean out his pantry, too, when the exterminator comes. Perhaps make light of it by saying something like, “Just making sure we’ve looked everywhere for those little buggers!”
When I lived in apartments, the management company was responsible for any critters. But with every townhouse I’ve rented, there has been a clause in the lease about the tenant being responsible for pest control (only inside the home: I recently discovered a hole in the exterior siding where bees were living, and my property manager/homeowner took care of that situation). Which makes me believe that if it’s not specifically spelled out as my responsibility, by default it’s the landlord’s.
I used to work in property management. In an apartment/duplex, we took care of it. In a single family home, it was the tenant’s responsibility. This was spelled out in the lease.
True, but in a lot of jurisdictions you can take the tenant to court over the exterminator’s bill to get rid of them.
As well, I have put into Leases a clause that says that the premises is currently pest-free, and it’s the tenant’s duty to ensure that it remains so by keeping refuse and yard waste to a minimum.
