I dislike when people are like, shit-hit-the-fan-but-I-can’t-talk-about-it-so-instead-I’ll-disappear-for-hella-days and I TOTALLY did that, so I’m poking my head in to just put an end to the vague blogging and assure you I’m fine (well, pretty much).
The short version of the shitty news from a couple weeks ago is that our tenant has bed bugs. The whole story is so much more complicated and frustrating than that, and I haven’t written about it yet because the mere thought of communicating an accurate representation of the situation is totally overwhelming. So here is the good news and the bad news (at least the portions I have the bandwidth to share):
THE GOOD NEWS
- As far as we (and a trained professional) can tell, they are isolated to his unit. None of us have been bitten (that we know of) and there are no signs of bed bugs in our beds or elsewhere in our unit.
- The fact that we don’t currently have any bed bug “activity” in our unit means we don’t have to do as much to manage our shit before treatment.
- We did get a refund on our taxes, which will help us pay for the treatment.
THE BAD NEWS
- Did I mention our tenant has bed bugs? Seriosuly. FFFUUUUCCCCKKKKK!!!!
- We will spending at least $2000 to treat our house (the first time, there may be more).
- We do not trust our tenant to properly manage his belongings to better ensure there is not a recurrence.
- Even if he were to take all the necessary precautions, there is still a good chance they will come back (bed bugs are are HARD to eradicate. REALLY. REALLY. HARD.)
- Upon entering his unit to be present at the inspection we were made aware that he has not actually been staying in the unit (FOR OVER A YEAR), and it is filthy and rodent infested.
- We are in a precarious positions as landlords because (a) we did not register our unit (long story I don’t currently want to get into) which complicates our rights as landlords and (b) tenants have a SHIT TON of rights in San Francisco and our options for getting rid of our tenant if he does not manage the unit to our satisfaction in the future are VERY EXPENSIVE AND VERY LIMITED (especially if we want another tenant in the unit after he leaves). Also (c) my husband works for the city so the optics of the situation, if it were to get messy, are important.
- We are opting to heat treat the entire house because (a) treating the entire house was not much more than only treating his unit, (b) the heat treatment it is cheaper and has a longer warranty than the chemical treatment, and (c) the heat treatment avoids introducing chemicals into either unit.
- The heat treatment is better in a lot of ways, but it is a massive pain in the butt because it requires we remove some pieces of furniture and other belongings that will be damaged by the high temperatures. These items need to be out of the house entirely (they cannot be stored in the garage) for at least 8 hours that day. Oh, and also our cat.
- We will probably have to pay to clean our tenant’s unit, or clean it ourselves, before the treatment.
- That big carnival our PTA puts on is this coming Saturday so I’m already REALLY FUCKING STRESSED OUT AND BUSY.
This past week was my spring break, but I’m going back to work tomorrow as stressed out and exhausted, if not more so, than I was going into it. That is not a good feeling, but I keep reminding myself that in a couple of weeks the carnival will be over, and the treatment will also probably be over, and things will be better.
The other good news is that there is no rain being forecast in the next week, which is SUCH A RELIEF. Last year rain was projected on the day of our carnival and I spent the whole week before obsessively checking my weather app. In the end it rained early that morning but was dry enough on the day of the carnival. This winter has been so wet; it has rained the majority of days since the new year. I was beginning to accept that the sheer mathematical probability of rain was high. We have a contingency plan for rain, but I’m very thankful that we probably won’t need to use it. I will definitely be checking my weather app every day, but hopefully only once or twice.
So that is where I am at, super stressed and overwhelmed and counting the days until these two big events are behind me.
Bed bugs!!!! ICK!!!!!
Tenant problems! Serious.
Can you pay him to leave? Costs money but this is second infestation he has appeared to have brought. Long run cheaper.
Rats and bed bugs!!!! oh yes! Pay him to go. Get legal document he signs prior to receipt of money.
SUPER sorry for you.
Empty for a while sounds good while you make certain the situation is clean and safe and pest free. and stays that way!
THEN, IF you put unit up for rent again; no more ‘social action rents’ and use inspection rights every 6 months at least. Among other reasons re rent increase you will have clearly significant expenses in returning the unit to a safe standard.
I AM SO SORRY!!!!!!!!
Fingers crossed for PTA weather.
Thank you for writing, I have been worrying and reminding self you have the right to not write without any pressure coming from me.
Absolute good wishes and hopes from me!!!!!
Yes, I would look into offering him a lot of money to leave.
Oh god I’m so sorry ! I really hope it goes as smoothly as possible. 🙁
Oh no. Bed bugs are bad. I would always worry when my husband traveled a lot that he would get them from a hotel room and bring them home. I hope that you are able to remedy the situation quickly- both with the bed bugs and the renter soon. I agree that paying him off to move may be the best option. Fingers crossed for you!
That really sucks. Appreciate you filling us in on what the issue was.
So has the tenant been paying rent even though he hasn’t actually been living there? Co-sign everything purple and rose said. Pay this guy to get him out of there and then if you do decide to rent again do it on a more professional basis going forward.
Can you get rid of tenant and use space for an aupair sort of person so you have help with school pick up and drop off and some babysitting? For rent slightly reduced from current market norm, (inspect property routinely)? Could you use it for an airB&B purpose min stay of 5 nights so the turnover cleaning wouldn’t be too awful.
Bed Bugs make me react like the pest L**E, I itch all over.
We won’t even touch the impact of rodents…….
Still sending sympathy!!!!!!!
Is this unit subject to rent control?
Yeah, this is a shitty situation. I can completely understand why you are so stressed, especially given that the burden of eradicating bed bugs falls on you (not your tenant).
As far as your tenant, given that he hasn’t been there for a year and that he’s the one bringing these into your home, I would seriously consider contact a lawyer who specializes in landlord-tenant laws. The California Apartment Association (https://caanet.org/) is meant to support landlords. I know your husband is a lawyer, but I’ve learned that you need to talk with those who specialize in order to get legal advice that is applicable for situations like these, especially given that doing nothing will likely result in this happening again.
Best wishes as you manage all of this. It’s beyond painful and I’m sorry you’re having to deal with such an awful infestation. And I wish this was grounds of eviction, but sadly you are correct that it’s not that simple.
Oh no, that sucks. I hope it gets sorted. It also sucks if you can’t get rid of the tenant, who is not even living in the house.
Is it unkind to say that between bloggers with bed bugs (or their tenants), and bloggers writing about ticks, I’m not sure I’ll ever visit the US again!
Hoping rodents, bugs now gone for good. And tenant change is underway ~ after all if he isn’t living there he need not be tenant…..
Sending you best wishes, support …. and hopes for lovely weather!
Oh my! Bedbugs would be my worst nightmare… I am paranoid about them when we are travelling & staying in hotels/motels. I’ve gone so far as to keep my suitcase in the bathtub to try to avoid them. Everything goes in the laundry as soon as we get home & I vaccuum out the suitcase for good measure., just in case. Good luck!!