Bedbugs, which are becoming more widespread, risk costing landlords dearly, because the law says that they must pay the costs of their elimination: this is shown by some recent judgments of the Court of Appeal.
The first, delivered on March 15, 2023 by the court of Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), orders owners to pay their former tenant a total sum of 5,535 euros, including 3,045 euros for disturbance of enjoyment, calculated as follows: 812 euros (75% of the rent amount) multiplied by five months (from October 2018 to February 2019).
The lessors, however, argued that, as early as October 2018, informed of the problem by various letters, they had an estimate drawn up. And that they were ready to rehouse the couple of their tenants for the duration of the work. But he refused to leave when the company announced that his intervention could last for ” three days “ has ” three weeks “, After ” decapitoning of all walls “.
The court considers that the tenants, “ in view of their age and state of health » [l’homme devait décéder au début de l’année 2019]could refuse the work, “ without any fault of obstruction being held against them.”
Lth September 6, 2023, the same neckr of Aix-en-Provence orders the owners of furnished accommodation to reimburse their tenants 800 euros for loss of enjoyment over two months (therefore less than the rent, of 750 euros per month), but also 300 euros for bodily injury (for the bites and itching, which required medical treatment), as well as 1,621 euros for replacing the bedding.
She admits that “the infestation of bedbugs, an attack on the decency of the accommodation, can only be blamed on the lessor if it comes from the accommodation itself and has not been imported by the tenant”. But she starts from the observation that there were no bedbugs in the tenants’ previous accommodation. She concludes that “proof is provided of the infestation of the rented premises prior to their move in” in the furnished apartment.
Lth September 13, 2023, the Court of Appeal of Lyon (Rhône) sanctions the lack of responsiveness of a lessor company, by ordering it to pay 800 euros to its tenant, for loss of enjoyment. As of June 13, 2022, she complained of an invasion of bedbugs. On June 16, 2022, she indicated that this spread was undoubtedly due to the fact that her next-door neighbors had left an old mattress on the stairs.
You have 48.16% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.