Ah, bed bugs. Those disgusting little creatures that can make your life miserable, creating a lot of work for both you and your tenant, and potentially costing someone a good amount of money to eradicate an infestation. New Hampshire does not require landlords to provide tenants with information about bed bugs upon the start of a tenancy, but it’s a good idea to discuss bed bugs with your tenant and how to prevent bed bugs from entering the premises.
Remediation costs and payment
Since “infestation of bed bugs” is defined in New Hampshire landlord tenant law as the presence of bed bugs, steps must be taken to eradicate the smallest amount of bed bugs sighted. Remediating the infestation is the responsibility of the landlord, even if the cause can be traced to actions by the tenant. The landlord must take actions to substantially reduce the presence of bed bugs in the unit for at least 60 days.
Reasonable costs associated with the remediation of bed bugs is the landlord’s responsibility, but the law allows the landlord to recover those costs if it is determined that the tenant was responsible for the infestation. If it turns out that the tenant is caused the infestation, the landlord can bill the tenant in writing for the reasonable costs of remediation of the infestation of bed bugs in the premises. The tenant must either repay the landlord or enter into a payment plan to cover the landlord’s costs within 30 days of the completion of remediation. Failure by tenant to do so is grounds for eviction for nonpayment of rent, as per RSA 540:2, II(a).
