Condo Media - May 2013 - 25

by Rich Stevenson

T

Here
COMES
Trouble

heir size certainly wouldn’t lead
you to believe they are much of
a threat to humans or property.
After all, what trouble could
insects that you can barely see with the
naked eye or that measure only threeeighths of an inch in size really cause?
According to the National Pest Management Association, wood-destroying
pests such as termites and carpenter
ants cost consumers nearly $5 billion
annually to repair the damage they
cause.
As for bed bugs, they do not come
with a cheap price tag either. Numbers
vary, but research has shown more than
a quarter of a billion dollars is spent
annually by consumers to control these
blood-sucking pests.
Beyond the nuisance, inconvenience,
structural damage, and potential health
threat bed bugs, carpenter ants, and
termites cause for owners, tenants,
and property managers, there is a real
cost to consider. The cost of hiring a
professional pest management company
to eliminate the pests and repair any
damage they cause can also impact a
property manager’s or condominium
association’s budget.

and condo association boards need to
answer and communicate, but one that
falls into a gray area. Is it the tenant
who has the pest problem in their unit,
or is it the property management company or condo association?
Complicating the issue is the highly
mobile nature of pests. Pests easily
move in and around multi-unit apartment or condo structures using pipes,
heating, and air conditioning ducts,
shopping bags, and even clothes and
bedding as their means of transport.
This makes gaining control of the
infestation more difficult and identifying the actual source of the infestation
challenging. For example, bed bugs can
be transported — without a tenant’s
or owner’s knowledge — from unit to
unit in the cuff of dress pants or inside
a child’s backpack.
A pest infestation, if left untreated,
can negatively impact an entire complex, not just one unit. This is why pest
management companies look at the
entire building or complex — not just
one unit — when designing and implementing a pest management control
program.

Who Pays The Bill?

When property managers and condo
association boards consider treating a
multi-unit structure for bed bugs, costs
can soar into the high tens of thou-

Who is responsible for paying for pest
services or related repairs is an important question that property managers

Watch Your Language

Legal Ramifications of Pests
for Property Managers and
Condominium Associations

sands of dollars. It is vitally important
to review the language in a tenant’s
lease or owner’s association agreement
as to who is responsible for providing
and paying for professional pest management services. Unfortunately, this
information is seldom included.
Another factor that needs to be considered in the process is the resident’s
rights. Does the property manager or
condo association have the right to
enter a unit to have pest management
services performed or can the tenant or
owner deny them access?
As mentioned earlier, pests are highly
mobile and rarely confine their presence
to a single unit. A pest management
professional that does not have access to
units adjoining the unit with the infestation cannot do their job completely, and
are leaving a potential pest harborage
uninspected and untreated.
Another question that might come
up as a result of a sudden infestation of
bed bugs, cockroaches, or other pests
is whose responsibility it is to call a pest
management professional for service.
Due to the cost or inconvenience and
sometimes embarrassment, many tenants or owners go the do-it-yourself
route when it comes to managing
pests, a route that often leads to an
exacerbation of the pest problem.
Clearly established and written
protocols need to be in place and comCondo Media • May 2013

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Condo Media - May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - May 2013
