Bedbugs Are the New Mold, Vexing Real Estate Lawyers and Clients

At one time, home buyers fretted about toxic mold, but now they have a new worry—bedbugs.

The problem is so widespread in New York City that some lawyers have begun adding sellers’ representations about bedbug-free condo and co-op units into the sales contracts, the New York Times reports.

“Complaints about bedbugs have risen sharply over the last few years in New York, according to city officials, and no neighborhood in the city has been spared,” the story says. “While the pests do not pose a dangerous health risk, they inflict considerable psychological distress on their unwilling hosts. Moreover, the uninvited guests can be excruciatingly difficult and costly to evict.”

Eva Talel, a real estate lawyer at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, told the newspaper that her firm’s real estate group has been getting at least two calls a week from condo boards worried about bedbug infestations. Condo and co-op boards, she said, are becoming aware that bedbugs know no boundaries. “For a lot of years, people thought this was confined to rentals or housing projects or fleabag hotels,” she said.

One lawyer who represents home buyers told the Times it’s a good idea to check the condo board minutes for references to bedbugs, although the newspaper acknowledged that sometimes the minutes avoid mention of the problem to protect home values. The lawyer also recommended a good inspection.

A separate New York Times story explains how buyers are making sure their new homes are free of bedbugs. Pest control companies charge $75 to several hundred dollars for an inspection. Bedbug-sniffing dogs can be rented for $300 to $500, although they do produce some false-positive sniffs. A new bedbug monitor that lures the little critters out of the walls costs $649 and must be in place for two weeks to get a reading. Some buyers have gone so far as to hire people to sleep in their new units.