Bed Bugs (Abatement)

TET-20134-11 (Re), 2012 CanLII 44831 (ON LTB)

2. The Tenant has brought the instant application claiming once again that the Landlord has failed to meet its maintenance obligations under section 20(1) of the Act by failing to address a new bed bug infestation and a mouse problem in the rental unit.

23. The evidence before me leads me to conclude that after the January 27, 2010 hearing of TET-02033-09, the Tenant remained silent on the issue of bed bugs in his unit until August 18, 2011. At a minimum, the Tenant did not report his concern through the proper channel until August 31, 2011 when he submitted a written service request. It is curious that the Tenant, who went to some effort to compile photographic and video evidence to support his current application, would not have logged his maintenance concerns in writing with the Landlord. Yet from the January 27, 2010 hearing up to August 31, 2011 there is no written record of the Tenant ever complaining to the Landlord about bed bugs. It is incumbent on the Tenant to promptly report his concerns using the established maintenance request protocol setup by the Landlord. This is especially true in the case of a multi-tenant residential complex.

24. The Landlord in my view acted reasonably during the month of September 2011 to initiate an investigation of the bed bug problem and to schedule a treatment of the Tenant’s unit. I also note that the Tenant interference with the generally accepted pest control protocol such as requesting the removal of the preventative dusting on September 22, 2012. The Tenant also delayed treatment of his unit by not having it properly prepared on September 22, 2012.

25. The Tenant claimed to have an ongoing problem with bed bugs in his living room and kitchen after the September 29, 2011 treatment. Yet there is no record of the Tenant complaining about the problem after this date. I note that the Tenant testified that he experienced bed bug bites during the month of December 2011. Interestingly, when the Tenant wrote to the Landlord on December 8, 2011 to request action about a mouse problem, he made no mention of having his unit re-treated for bed bugs.

27. The evidence reveals that the Landlord has not been so forthcoming to address the Tenant’s concerns about mice in the rental unit. The Landlord’s witness, A.G., testified that no complaint had been received from the Tenant regarding mice. The December 8, 2011 service request regarding mice which was tendered at the hearing suggests otherwise. Furthermore, video evidence taken by the Tenant on February 1, 2012 revealed the presence of rodent droppings in the under cabinet area next to the kitchen sink. While the Landlord did eventually dispatch a pest control company to the Tenant’s unit on February 8, 2012, this was two months after the problem was reported in writing and only after the Tenant involved municipal licensing and standards. A two month rent abatement in the amount of fifty percent is warranted to addresses the seriousness of the maintenance issue while at the same time recognizing that the Tenant was still able to make use of his unit.

V. Determination:

1. I find that the Landlord failed to meet the Landlord's obligations under subsection 20(1) of the Act to maintain the rental unit and failed to comply with housing and maintenance standards in relation to treating the Tenant’s unit for the presence of rodents.

VI. It is ordered that:

3. The Landlord shall pay to the Tenant a rent abatement of $179.00. This amount represents a fifty percent rent abatement for the period from December 8, 2011 to February 8, 2012.