Tenant Bed Bug Rights and Responsibilities: California Assembly Bill 551
The California Assembly Bill 551 (AB 551) can be difficult and time-consuming to read through. Here is a simple breakdown of the bill. It details tenant bed bugs rights and responsibilities.
According to California Law, Landlords must provide tenants with safe housing, free of pests.
Landlords cannot evict tenants, increase rent, or decrease services due to bed bug infestations, provided the tenant has reported the infestation in accordance with this law.
Landlords are not allowed to rent dwellings they know to have bed bugs, but they do not have to inspect for bed bugs without notice of an infestation. That’s why it’s important to let landlords know there may be a problem.
Landlords need to give new tenants written information about bed bug identification, biology, prevention, reporting, and treatment options.
Tenants need to cooperate with dwelling inspections to help in the detection and treatment of bed bugs.
Within two days following a professional inspection, the landlord shall notify tenants within inspected dwellings, in writing, of the inspection findings. All tenants shall be notified if bed bugs are found within common areas.
For more information on the bill and your rights and responsibilities regarding bed bugs please visit the Resources page.
Have you taken the Stop Bed Bugs course yet? It’s another easy way to understand tenant rights and responsibilities.
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