"Bed bugs Massachusetts problems are similar to those found in other North Eastern states. One expert estimated that bed bugs infest one in four public housing units in Western Massachusetts. Luckily, the laws in Massachusetts protect tenants, lessors and others that live in apartments by requiring that landlords or building managers treat bed bugs."
Massachusetts bed bug law protects the tenant and requires that a landlord both treat and pay for extermination. ***below-paragraph-1.shtml
The site recommends that if you rent an apartment in Massachusetts and have bed bugs, you should:
You may want to research signs of bedbug infestation and point them out to the inspector if he doesn't see anything on his own.
If the landlord is not fixing the bedbug infestation, you have the right to stop paying your rent until the problem is fixed. You should save the rent in the bank. Please also see our brochure What to Do about Bad Conditions for more information on keeping your rent until the bedbug problem is fixed.
If there are dirty or cluttered conditions in your home which are contributing to the infestation, the Board of Health may also cite you. This does not happen often, however.
It is very important to call the Board of Health as soon as you see bedbugs. Later on, if you have to go to court, a judge might not believe you about the date you first saw bedbugs, especially if the landlord disagrees with you and tells the judge a different story. But a judge will always believe the inspector if the dated inspection report said you had bedbugs
There is also language that can be found in Massachusetts landlord tenant law regarding insects, which would directly apply to Massachusetts tenant bed bug problems. The section of law is listed below:
(B) The owner of a dwelling containing two or more dwelling units shall maintain it and its premises free from all rodents, skunks, cockroaches and insect infestation and shall be responsible for exterminating them.
masslawlib: (C) The owner of a rooming house shall maintain it and its premises free from all rodents, skunks, cockroaches and insect infestation, and shall be responsible for exterminating them.
See the rest here:
Bed Bugs Massachusetts