A class action has been certified in Iowa against a lower-income apartment complex by about 300 residents. According to the Des Moines Register article the plaintiffs are asserting claims for “back rent, lost property and other hardships because of a bedbug problem stretching back to late 2007.” Bed bugs are brought in by a tenant and when discovered the landlord is required to treat the infected areas of the building. Costs can be upwards of $1,000 per apartment. Treatment is by chemical or 120-degree heat. Delaying treatment is really not an option. Companies that manage large complexes are checking for bedbugs at the end of a tenant’s lease. The check is made with dogs that sniff out their presence by smelling pheromones the bedbugs give off. For more information about bedbugs go to www.badbedbugs.com. 

It may be that checking at the end of each lease term will help identify the host tenant and we may see landlords suing the host tenant to recover the costs associated with cleaning up the building and for lost rents. A clean bill of health via a dog sniffing certification may be required to prove the case. 

Docket Number: 05771 CVCV008116

Caption Title: Residents of Elsie Mason Manor vs First Baptist Housing

Filing Date: March 15, 2010

Jeff Lipman for the Plaintiffs.

Attorney for Defendants, Mark L. Tripp of the Bradshaw Law Firm and Kevin Driscoll.

Judge Joel Novak ruling in the class certification.

Des Moines Register, Jeff Eckhoff reporting, Judge allows class action lawsuit in apartment bedbug case, November 11, 2011

The High Cost of Bedbugs, NY Times, July 10, 2009

Sleeping With the Enemy (Bed Bugs), Health, July 10, 2009

Elsie Mason Manor & Ligutti Tower Retirement Homes

Location :Des Moines, Iowa

Address :430 Grand Ave 50309

Telephone :515-243-8759

Fax :515-243-0188

Owner: First Baptist Housing Foundation