Alternative Housing For Tenants During Pest Control

Ques. Are tenants entitled to alternative housing during pest extermination?
Ans. Good question, as your landlord has recently sent out a notice informing all tenants, their apartment complex is to be going to be fumigated for termites over the weekend. Since, tenants don’t have a choice in the matter, but to find alternative housing, most certainly, they would like to know, whether the landlord would be responsible for their overnight hotel stay. As well, what kind of accommodation are they entitled to i.e. motel or hotel?

While, yes indeed, tenants are entitled to compensation for the couple of days they could not stay in their rental apartments, however, they cannot turn the fumigation exercise into an opportunity for an expensive paid for vacation.

What is due you, especially if the rent you are paying is relatively modest, is the result of dividing your monthly rent by 30, multiplying the result by the number of days tenants sent outside the rental unit. There’s a slight catch here with the calculations, as what is due will not be able to cover even a modest hotel, or motel or meals. On the other hand, if the rent is sky high, you could chip in some and go ahead with a paid for holiday.

As well, tenants may approach the landlord and ask for the cost of staying at a hotel or motel comparable in quality to the rental unit, plus compensation for meals at restaurants, above what would have been spent for food prepared at home. This is a fairer method, both for the tenant and the landlord. If, your rental apartment comes with amenities and community features, such as, a swimming pool and exercise room, a good idea would be to find a comparable match in a nearby hotel or motel.

Which means, renters of ritzy penthouses in an upscale part of town might be quite justified in choosing a chic hotel or motel. However, for more utilitarian than stunning, rental units, moderately priced lodging is in order.

A word of advice! Don’t withhold rent or deduct your weekend costs from the next rental payment, in the event your landlord balks and refuses compensation. The safest recourse is going to the small claims court, where it can be pointed out to the judge that the termite infestation rendered your unit unliveable. Only a court has the power to order the landlord to compensate you for relocation expenses.

On that cautionary note, another fair bit of advice for both landlords and tenants, do avoid expensive landlord / tenant litigation! Landlords can do so, by taking necessary precautions, such as, screening tenants and conducting background checks on prospective tenants. A simple click of the mouse and one can visit www.e-renter.com for tenant screening and background check services. On the other hand, tenants can be on their best behaviour!