The bed bug infestation in apartment 17


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HOLLADAY — Renters in a Holladay apartment complex want their money back after they found bed bugs living in their home when they moved in.

Caden Ottley and Jake Ryan moved into Crestwood Cove Apartments, 4888 S. Highland Circle, on May 1. A few days later they began to get bug bites and weren't sure where they were coming from.

"A friend that was staying with us for a couple of nights just thought he got bitten by a spider," Ottley said.

But when he and Ryan realized they were dealing with bed bugs, Ottley said he called the landlord to complain and ask for their money back.

The two roommates spent the weekend taking photographs and videotaping, and then moved out the following week. On Monday, the landlord sent the maintenance staff to the apartment.

"The inspector inspected our apartment, and they pretty much said there were not live bed bugs living in our apartment, and as of now the lease stood," Ottley said.

He said the landlord then told him to provide proof that there were live bed bugs.

"I was furious and outraged because I knew that there were bed bugs," Ottley said. "We have video evidence. We have photos. We showed them two bed bugs on our mattresses."

The previous tenants in Crestwood Cove's apartment 17 also complained of bed bugs before Ottley and Ryan moved in.

Lisa Starr, who manages all of the units at the complex, said there are at least three apartments that have bed bug problems. She said the maintenance staff is treating the problem.

In the case of apartment 17, Starr said maintenance outsourced the treatment job to Wasatch Exterminators.

"They had come twice, and they said those apartments are bug-free. And so we got the ‘green light' to rent the apartment," she said. "I wouldn't have rented the apartment had I known that there were still bed bugs in the apartment."

Wasatch Exterminators owner Erik Olsen confirmed that his employees did treat apartment 17 on March 18 and April 1, but he said the company never guarantees it can get rid of bed bugs.

While Ottley and Ryan want their money back, the law may not be on their side.

Utah Law requires landlords provide a safe and healthy environment for tenants, but bed bugs are not considered a public health hazard because they don't transmit diseases.

Still, renters do have a few options when dealing with a bug situation like this.

Ken Bresin with Utah Legal Services says the law requires tenants give landlords the opportunity to take care of the problem. They can do so by applying the Utah Fit Premises Act.

"(The Fit Premises Act) allows tenants to give the landlord written notice of deficient conditions, including bug infestation," Bresin said. "The landlord then has three calendar days to take substantial action to ameliorate the problem."

Bresin said if the landlord doesn't take care of the bug problem within those three days, then the renter can use up to two months' worth of rent to fix the bug problem, or simply stop paying rent and move out within 10 days.

"In other words, the tenant is saying, ‘The premises is so bad no reasonable person can live here, and I'm going to move out,' " Bresin said.

In a multi-unit apartment complex like Crestwood Cove, paying an exterminator to eradicate bed bugs could be difficult for renters, Bresin said, but it's also tough for landlords to prove renters are responsible.

"Bed bugs can be found under the rug, in the walls; they can get through conduits for air conditioning and heating," Bresin said. "A landlord attempting to prove that this particular tenant caused the infestation is very difficult."

Ultimately, Bresin said renters can pay to take care of the bug problem, and then try to reclaim their losses through small claims court or seek legal advice.

The only option Crestwood Cove management has given Ottley and Ryan is a discount on the rent.

"If the tenant decided that he wanted to come back, I could give him a break on his rent," Starr said.

But that's not good enough for Ottley.

"All we are asking for is our money back and the lease to be voided," he said.


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