New law requires NY landlords to notify tenants of bed bugs within 72 hours
- Tenants near a unit with a bed bug infestation must receive a written notification
- Legislators will have to approve Governor Hochul’s last minute changes to the bill
The law goes into effect Dec. 22nd, however the legislature still needs to approve some of the governor's changes.
iStock
New York City landlords will soon have to sound the alarm if a tenant reports a bed bug infestation, under a new state law.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that requires building owners to notify all tenants of an infestation within 72 hours of when they became aware of the problem, Gothamist reported.
While a previous version of the bill called for a 24-hours’ notice, Hochul struck a deal with state legislators to extend that period to 72 hours, plus a few other changes. According to Hochul, the law would require landlords to notify tenants near an infested unit in writing, and to include a notice in a common area, rather than giving all tenants a written heads up.
“I support providing tenants and lessees at risk of bed bug infestations with appropriate notice,” Hochul wrote in her memorandum. “However, as drafted, this legislation required certain changes.”
The legislature won’t be able to approve those changes until January when they return to Albany, even though the law goes into effect on Dec. 22nd. And it’s unclear how the law will be practically implemented, said Gil Bloom, an entomologist and president of Standard Pest Management.
For example, the governor’s memorandum doesn’t spell out what units would be considered close enough to an infested unit to warrant a written notice, nor does it define an infestation. Assembly member Chantel Jackson and state Senator Luis Sepulveda, sponsors of the bill, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Existing bed bug requirements
NYC landlords are already required to disclose whether a building has had any past bed bug infestations through a written notice given to new tenants. Property owners also must file an annual bed bug report with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) each year.
But in a handful of cases, landlords have lied on these bed bug reports, a Brick Underground investigation revealed. And there are few consequences for filing a false report or for lying on the disclosure form.
Sabrina Foglia, a former Flatbush tenant who had bed bugs in 2023, was troubled by the lack of consequences for the new law.
“If management companies are not threatened with action, they do not abide by the laws,” Foglia said. “Frankly, there’s no point to it.”
(FYI: To research your building’s bed bug history, check out Brick Underground’s guide here.)
The return of the ‘Scarlet B’
Bedbugs wrecked havoc on NYC in the early 2010s, but in the intervening decade-plus, cases have declined and treatments have grown more effective, said Gil Bloom, an entomologist and president of Standard Pest Management. Given more limited infestations, Bloom thought the law was “overkill.”
Bloom said he was worried that tenants would be discouraged from reporting bed bugs, fearful that their neighbors would find them out as the source of the infestation, or that they would rush through a bed bug treatment.
Someone “is going to end up with a 'Scarlet B' that’s going to bring back stigma to bed bugs,” said Bloom, who served on NYC’s Bed Bug Advisory Council from 2009 to 2010. “To rush and let people know all around them really starts to create a panic. And panic can sometimes result in poor decisions and poor treatments.”
Foglia, however, said she’d want to know about an infestation in her building so she could take precautions to prevent its spread.
“We have to get over the stigma behind bed bugs, because it’s way better to be informed and then to put precautions in place,” Foglia said. “I think it’s better to know.”
