Tenant Rights regarding Pests day 1 of Move-in

[Michael Wang]

My son graduated from college (yeah!), got a job (yeah!), got an apartment (almost yeah!).  He signed a standard lease in a 400 unit complex and arranged for all of the delivery trucks, electrical, cable/internet installations for the first day of the lease. He never set foot in the apartment (saw a model) because when he looked at it the tenants were still there and it wasn't going to be available until the day he moved in. Within 5 minutes of stepping through the door, the workmen, and him noticed the place was infested with fleas. He immediately notified the manager and was told to put everything in the kitchen and they would 'bomb" the place. That night he stayed in the model. The management has sprayed/bombed/fogged every other day for a week. He has been unable to unpack (for fear of infesting his belongings, probably too late), or even live in there because of the fumes/odor, and the fleas STILL REMAIN. The workman, guests, friends and him all have photographic evidence of flea bites and he has had to pay for hotels 3 of the past 7 nights (the other nights he stayed at a friends house, the one who was bitten, not happy). We have been told by pest control companies, that this process can last months, that he must use borax in the carpet daily and vacuum daily for at least a month to get all of the eggs etc out. That is physically not possible for him, and he offered the following solutions to the management. Move me to another unit that is pest free, or let me out of my lease. Their response was no, the lease stands, live with it. Does the "implied warranty of habitability" apply here and how can he be released from the lease?- Thanks