When Can A Landlord Sue A Tenant For Bed Bugs In California?

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It may surprise you to know that a landlord can sue a tenant who brings bedbugs onto the landlords property in California. This applies to both residential and commercial tenants.

Tenants have a legal duty under California law to keep premises they rent clean and sanitary. Breaching this duty is considered negligence.

But even if the tenant breaches this duty, it does not prove that the tenant was responsible for the bedbugs. Bedbug infestations often go undetected. This can make it hard to prove when and how the bedbugs got there.

In order to win a lawsuit against a tenant who causes a bedbug infestation, the landlord must prove:

1. That the defendant was the landlords tenant; 2. That the defendant negligently brought bedbugs onto property owned or controlled by the landlord; 3. That the defendants negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff harm (causation); and 4. That, as a result, the defendant suffered damages.

Proving causation is the hardest part of a bedbug lawsuit in California. But the landlord only needs to convince a jury (or judge) by a preponderance of the evidence. This legal standard means that it was more likely than not that the tenant caused the infestation.

Ways the landlord might be able to show this include introducing evidence that:

The unit was clean and free of bedbugs when it was rented out.

This might be shown with photos and/or an inspection report from a reputable extermination company.

The tenant did not keep the premises in a clean and sanitary condition.

Again, photos might be helpful as might prior written communications about unsanitary conditions from:

An extermination companys report after an infestation.

A professional bedbug exterminator might be able to shed some light on where an infestation came from.

While not conclusive, when added to other evidence it might show that the tenant did not use reasonable care in preventing bedbugs.

The best prevention against bedbugs is to keep property clean and sanitary. But even this is not foolproof. Bed bugs can be brought onto property in luggage, on new furniture, and even on someones clothing.

Landlords (especially those in highly bedbug infested areas such as Los Angeles) can protect themselves by taking the following steps:

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When Can A Landlord Sue A Tenant For Bed Bugs In California?

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