Matter of 91-31-04 195th St. LLC

In Matter of 91-31-04 195th St. LLC (docket No. WD110043RO) the tenant had complained about bedbugs and the owner had responded by providing the apartment with extermination services on three occasions. After extermination services were provided, the tenant filed a decrease in services complaint alleging that the apartment remained infested with bedbugs. An on-site inspection ordered by DHCR found "evidence of bedbug infestation in a mattress" and dead bedbugs in the bedroom. The on-site inspection found no evidence of a bedbug infestation in the walls, floors, cabinets, closets and entrance of the apartment. DHCR held that the finding of dead bedbugs by the inspector supported the conclusion that the owner's extermination service was effective, and that the owner could not be held responsible for "an infestation problem that exists solely in the personal property of the tenant's household" (id.).