Who's Responsible the Tenant or Landlord?

[Peter Pezzano]

My tenants called me the other day saying they had maggots on their ceiling. I found out these types of maggots come in from grocery stores and are found in wheat and grain products. I have to have an exterminator treat the property. Can I charge the tenants for the cost of treatment or do I have to take on this cost?

[Mindy Jensen]

@Peter Pezzano , this is a disgusting problem. I'm gagging right now.

I've had those problems, too. I call them cardboard moths, because yes, they seem to come into the home from the grocery store in the cardboard boxes. I had to throw away a ton of food because of them, and lived with everything in ziploc baggies for months.

If these tenants just moved in, I'd eat the cost of the exterminator. If they've been there for more than 90 days, unless it's something dead in the attic, I'd bill them for it. 

Does your lease address extermination?