Colorado Landlords, what are you doing about HB19-1328 Bed Bugs

[Sarah Humbargar]

Hey there Colorado landlords! How is everyone planning to address the impacts of the incoming law HB19-1328? My understanding is it hasn't become law yet but is just awaiting the governors signature. 

Here is a link: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1328

What concerns me is the response period requirement and the requirement that the landlord is responsible for all costs!

" Not more than 96 hours after receiving notice of the presence or possible presence of bed bugs, a landlord:

• Shall inspect or obtain an inspection by a qualified inspector of the dwelling unit; and
• May enter the dwelling unit or any contiguous unit for the purpose of conducting the inspection.

If the inspection of a dwelling unit confirms the presence of bed bugs, the landlord shall also cause to be performed an inspection of all contiguous dwelling units as promptly as is reasonably practical.

Except as otherwise provided, a landlord is responsible for all costs associated with inspection for, and treatment of, the presence of bed bugs. "

What are the best approaches to handling this? Can we and should we be charging a new "bedbug fee" to cover the future costs? Are there other states with similar laws? 

[Sarah Humbargar]

@Taylor Roeling Yes, no one wants bed bugs and I think most landlords and tenants are reasonable when it comes to these types of situations. The concerning thing is that the bill language states it is the landlord's financial oblligation to remediate, but does not specify anything different if the tenant brought the bedbugs to the premis. I assume this means that regardless of who brought in the bedbugs, it is the landlords financial responsibility.  To me, its seems like you almost need to prove there were no bedbugs present when the tenant moved in, and even if you do that I'm not sure this information will prevent the landlord from being responsible for the cost of future mitigation. Maybe I'm just reading into the bill more than I should, but this seems like a major overstep that could cost landlords thousands of dollars when the issue is most often caused by a tenant bringing in an infected item.