Guide
Renter or landlord: who handles pests in California?
This is a plain summary of the law as written, not legal advice. For a dispute, speak to a tenant or landlord attorney or local legal aid.
Calls answered early morning to late evening
The general rule
California Civil Code section 1941.1 lists what a rental has to have to count as tenantable. One item covers the building and grounds at the start of the lease, and all areas under the landlord's control: they have to be clean and sanitary, without accumulations of debris, rodents and vermin.
How that applies to your situation depends on the facts, including what caused the problem and what the lease says. Read the lease and put your report to the landlord in writing.
Bed bugs have their own chapter
- A landlord cannot show or rent a vacant unit it knows has a current bed bug infestation.
- A landlord has no general duty to inspect without notice of a problem, but an infestation that is evident on visual inspection counts as notice.
- Tenants have to cooperate with inspection, including giving information needed to detect and treat the bugs.
- The landlord has to tell tenants of inspected units the findings in writing within two business days of getting them. Confirmed infestations in common areas mean telling all tenants.
A sensible order of events
Write it down
Note what you saw, where and when, and take photos.
Tell the other party in writing
Tenants tell the landlord or manager. Landlords give proper notice before entering.
Agree who books the company
Settle who is calling and who is paying before anyone comes out, if you can.
Prepare together
Ask the company for its preparation list and share it. Tenant cooperation matters for many treatments.
Seeing something now? Make the call.
Say what you found, where you found it, and your ZIP. The company on the line can tell you how it would handle the job and what a visit involves.
Calls answered early morning to late evening. Calls may be recorded. Referral disclosure