Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

I am currently renting an apartment in Richmond, VA and am having an issue with bedbugs. My roommate and I moved in about a month and a half ago. As I was moving in, before I had moved any of my furniture in, I saw a few bugs crawling on the walls, but they were sparse enough that I wasn't too concerned. I now know that what I was looking at at the time were budbugs.

A couple of weeks after moving in, I notified the leasing office/maintenance team of the pest-control issue because I had seen a few bugs camping out in my ceiling. Once we found out what the problem was, my roommate and I asked to be moved to a 'guest apartment' within the same complex, where we stayed for about a week until the exterminator could treat the apartment. We have been back in the apartment for a week and I have already seen another live bedbug in my room.

Is it reasonable for me to request compensation for the rent during the time that I was out of my apartment? Also, should the property manager pay for any moving costs if I choose to leave this apartment? The people working in the office have never dealt with this issue before, but I'm sure there have to be laws laying out their responsibilities in this manner.


Asked on 10/01/09, 4:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

If you were in a guest apartment, the answer is no(it would not be reasonable--in my opinion).

If you choose to prematurely terminate the lease and move out without the property manager's consent, not only will he not be paying your moving costs, but he'll very likely be summoning you into court to pay the balance owed under the lease.

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Answered on 10/06/09, 6:04 pm


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