Bugged? Tenants must follow instructions from landlord or pest control operator
Q: I live in an apartment in downtown Ottawa. Things were fine until about eight months ago, when a new tenant moved in next door to me. Since then, I have had cockroaches in my kitchen three times. I reported each infestation to my landlord. I found that embarrassing even though I am sure the roaches are not my fault. My landlord gave me instructions to prepare my kitchen for pest treatment, which I followed. The pest control operator came in and treated my kitchen (and my neighbours’). My landlord even handed us each two sheets of paper about cockroaches and how to avoid them. The advice was to keep the kitchen clean and dry, to keep all food sealed up, never to leave dishes or pots dirty overnight and to avoid buying bulk food, such as 20 kg bags of rice or quinoa. But after each pest treatment, the problem came back. I think the problem is this new neighbour.
A: It seems that your landlord is doing most of what a landlord is supposed to do. Under Ottawa’s Rental Housing Property Management By-law, a landlord is required to have an Integrated Pest Management Plan. The plan needs to include:
• a schedule of preventive inspections that is reasonable for the age and condition of each rental property;
• educational information about the prevention of infestations to be made available to tenants;
• reporting processes for suspected infestations; and
• standing pest treatment plans to be applied in the event of an infestation of any other pests that are a problem at the property.
A landlord is also required to have an area treated for pests re-inspected between 15 and 30 days after the treatment, with a view to its being treated again if need be. (That might be an item where your landlord is not compliant.)
Ottawa’s Rental Housing Property Management By-law also imposes obligations on tenants. Those obligations are:
• to report an infestation, suspected infestation, or conditions likely to cause an infestation;
• to avoid knowingly causing conditions that may attract or harbour pests;
• to abide by a pest treatment plan provided to them by the landlord (primarily preparing their rental unit for treatment).
It may be that your new neighbour is not as diligent as you are in preparing for the pest control treatments and in keeping their unit clean. Or it may just be coincidental that they moved in shortly before the first pest control issue experienced in your unit. But in any event, it is critical that all tenants do their part to make pest control treatment effective.
In all pest control situations, tenants need to follow the instructions provided by the landlord or the pest control operator. That includes instructions for the time after treatment. Often residual earth, dust or chemicals are left around baseboards, which need to be left in place to do their work, not wiped away by the tenant who may feel the urge to clean their kitchen thoroughly. If in any doubt, landlords would be best to ensure tenants understand the specifics of all instructions.