Pesky Cockroaches Turn Apartment Neighbors into Pests

ROBERT GRISWOLD | STEVEN R. KELLMAN | TED SMITH
01-Feb-1998 Sunday

This column on issues confronting renters and landlords is written by Certified Property Manager Robert Griswold, host of "Real Estate Today!" (KOGO Radio AM 600, 1 p.m. Saturdays) and by attorneys Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenants' Legal Center, and Ted Smith, principal in a law firm representing landlords.

Q: I live in a large apartment complex and have a persistent problem with roaches. I have had my unit sprayed and treated by a professional pest control firm with bait traps five times during the last six months. I still have roaches because some of the tenants in my building apparently refuse to allow the pest control company into their unit. The roaches go to these units until the bait wears off and the manager claims that she cannot force these tenants to cooperate. I don't want to move, but what can I do?

A: Griswold: The landlord is responsible for pest control in the apartments; however, cooperation of all tenants is required to control many pests, particularly cockroaches.

The owner or manager should take an aggressive stance with the other tenants who refuse to cooperate or who are violating their lease requirement to maintain their unit in a clean, sanitary and habitable manner.

The first step the landlord should take is to voluntarily seek the cooperation of all tenants to perform a thorough exterior and interior inspection of all units with the pest control firm. The pest control firm
can identify the source of the persistent roach problem and develop a plan of attack.

This works as long as there is complete cooperation by all tenants. Of course, the landlord may need to serve uncooperative tenants on leases with a three-day notice to cure or quit for any violation of sanitary conditions.

For uncooperative tenants on month-to-month rental agreements, a three-day notice may work or the landlord always has the option of serving a 30-day notice to vacate to either get their cooperation or to get possession of the unit so that professional pest control techniques can be utilized.

The only way to solve this problem is for all of the tenants and the manager to work together. Good luck!

Smith: The way I see it, you should keep living there and work with the manager while she evicts the tenants next door if they don't cooperate.

I do not recommend that you withhold rent in this case, because that requires that there be substantial defects in the apartment. It depends on the extent of the roach problem. If the court rules that the roach problem is minor or trivial, then the landlord has not violated the warranty of habitability.

The law states that neighboring tenants must allow access to management to spray their apartment. If they don't, the owner will be able to evict them. Since you like living there, continue paying rent and cooperate with management to resolve the roach problem.

Kellman: Tenants ordinarily are not required to consent to having their units sprayed. Pesticides can be very uncomfortable for some individuals, not to mention the inconvenience of preparing for the spraying.

However, if the refusal to allow access to spray the unit causes an enhanced infestation in neighboring units, the right to refuse access will probably be lost.

You may wish to contact your neighbors who are refusing to cooperate and explain your situation. If they hear it from you and not the landlord, they may have a different view toward the spraying.

On this one, Ted and I agree: If the neighbors are proven to be causing further roach problems with their refusal to cooperate, it may be reasonable to evict them.

Q: Recently my landlord gave me the legally required 30-day notice to terminate our month-to-month rental agreement as a divorce forced him to find a place of his own to live. This unplanned move was very inconvenient as I had planned a vacation at that time. I spoke with the owner and he agreed to let me leave a week early since I had already found a new apartment and the owner verbally agreed that I would receive one week rent back with the return of my security deposit. I moved out as planned and received my deposit, but no rent credit. My calls are not returned, so I even left a self-addressed, stamped envelope and note on his doorstep. Still, I have not received any response. Do I have any legal recourse to get the prorated rent, which amounts to about $200?

A: Griswold: Yes, you can always file a small claims action if your phone calls and written notes do not generate a satisfactory resolution. Naturally, it would have been better to confirm your agreement for a rent credit in writing. However, you still should be able to prevail in small claims court.

The evidence procedures are very simple, and each party presents his own side with the commissioner or judge pro tem (a local attorney who serves as the small claims judge) ruling on the facts.

You could also seek an additional $600 if you can prove to the court's satisfaction that the landlord is guilty of "bad faith retention" of your security deposit. You have the burden of proof, and it is my experience in speaking with commissioners that the $600 is not often awarded unless it is very obvious that the landlord was malicious in withholding the security deposit.

Smith: First things first. The 30-day notice requirement is a two-way street. The landlord has every right to boot the resident, even though it may have been timed inconveniently for the tenant. The landlord had the right to keep rent up to the date the 30-day notice ended. He returned the security deposit to you. The two of you have a dispute regarding that other $200.

In this case, the law is on the landlord's side, and it will be your burden to prove the existence of a valid agreement to refund the $200 in rent. This is going to be a tough row to hoe for you, since everything was verbal.

Kellman: A verbal contract like yours is a binding one. If he promised to return the one-week of rent, then he owes you the money. His refusal to pay is a breach of the contract for which you can take him to small claims court. The problem is in proving the agreement since it was not in writing.

Ted is correct when he says that it will be your burden to prove such a contract. When you make oral agreements, you more or less trust the other person to honor his or her word, as you had honored yours, by moving out on a certain day.

Sometimes verbal agreements can be proven by other evidence, For example, in your case, you can certainly argue that this agreement was a logical one for a landlord anxious to move in to the unit.

There are other ways, however, to make your case without proving the contract. For example, if he moved in right away, it would be unfair, and thus perhaps not legal, to make you pay rent for the week if he were living there during that time. Don't give up on this one if you can spare the time to file and appear in the small claims court.

IF YOU'RE A TENANT OR LANDLORD, the authors stand ready to answer your questions in this column, although letters cannot be answered individually. Write them at: Rental Roundtable, Homes Section, San Diego Union-Tribune, P.O. Box 191, San Diego, CA, 92112. Or you may e-mail them at rgriswold@retodayradio.com

Back to 1998 Rental Roundtable Index

Robert Griswold and the Real Estate Today! radio show strongly support the intent and the letter of all federal and state fair housing laws. As a reminder to all owners and managers of real estate, note that all real estate advertised is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise "any preference, limitation, discrimination because of race, color, national origin or ancestry, religion, sex, physical disability, or familial status, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination." Additional state and/or local fair housing laws may also apply. Be sure to inform all persons that all dwellings offered or advertised are on an equal opportunity basis.

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Revised and Updated - Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Robert S. Griswold, CRE, CPM, CCIM, PCAM, GRI, ARM
Griswold Corporate Center
Griswold Real Estate Management, Inc.
5703 Oberlin Drive, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92121-1743
Phone: (858) 597-6100
Fax: (858) 597-6161
Email: rgriswold.ret@retodayradio.com