Apartment Complex and Bed Bugs
California has had some issues with bed bugs for a little while now. Bed Bugs are found where traffic areas are high, so the busier the place the more chances of finding bed bugs.
Recently an apartment complex in California had made an agreement with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. They agreed to pay $20,000 due to allegations of discrimination.
The apartment complex, Four Palms Apartments was accused of discrimination against it’s tenants. Tenants claimed that they were discriminated due to their national origins and familial status. According to the two complaints, the Latino residents had discriminatory statements made about them and their children were prohibited to play outside.
Discrimination Charges For Apartment Complex
The Fair Housing Act is pretty well known for protecting rental properties and the tenants from situations like this. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in rental, sales, or home lending transactions which are based on the person’s national origin or familial status. That includes discrimination of any kind which could be based on a person’s ancestry or where they were born as well as discrimination against their families or anyone under 18 years old.
Bryan Greene From HUD’s Statement:
A family’s right to enjoy their home shouldn’t depend on where they are from or whether they have children. HUD is committed to taking action to ensure the policies and practices of housing providers follow the law.
There have been two complaints filed through HUD from two different families. Project Sentinel also filed a complaint on behalf of the residents. The complaint said that the complex manager had repeatedly made several statements that he didn’t like having “Latino” tenants at the property due to them not being able to speak English. He also rudely accused them of bringing pests like bed bugs and rats onto the property.
Project Sentinel also said that the manager wouldn’t allow the children to play at the property, they also enforced restrictive rules that singled the innocent children out. He then terminated the lease to one of the families after their two year old cried as he walked past the door. Talk about ridiculous.
The owner will now have to pay a total of $20,000 under the conciliation agreement. The will also have to change the complex’s rules so that they comply with the Fair Housing Act. The manager will also have to complete a fair housing training.
Man Releases Bed Bugs
When you think of crimes, you don’t really think of bed bugs as a main source of revenge. However, ya never know!
The police told local news that the building had to have exterminators come in. The exterminators think that they killed all of the bed bugs before the building reopened on Monday.
Matt Nazar who is the director of City Development said that a man came into the city’s General Assistance office. This was on Friday and he was asking for help with a bed bug problem at his apartment. Matt said that the apartment was already being sprayed at the time so that wouldn’t qualify the man for assistance in finding other housing.
According to Nazar, the enraged man told the police that he wanted the government workers to experience what he was going through. Police haven’t said if the man will be charged or not.
It’s understandable that the man was angry, but you can’t really beg for assistance when whoever owns the apartment is taking care of the issue. Any place can get bugs, it’s what and how they handle the issue is the problem. However, it sounds like the apartment owner was doing things the right way. Hopefully the enraged man has learned his lesson to stay calm.
Bed Bugs in the United States
Bed bugs are evil little creepy crawlies that come out at night. The West Coast has seen a huge rise in bed bugs in just a few years. Usually, California just laughed about the bed bug issues because New York was always the one with the issues, however California is now top two of Orkin’s top 10 list for the most bed bug service calls. Los Angeles is number four on the list and San Francisco-San Jose are also on the top ten list. Not something to laugh about.
Bed bugs are tiny in size but huge in issues.
Orkin Entomologist and Director of Tech. Services, Ron Harrison’s Statement:
We have more people affected by bed bugs in the United States now than ever before. They were virtually unheard of in the U.S. 10 years ago.
Orkin’s Top Ten Cities for Bed Bugs in 2016:
Baltimore, Washington, D.C. , Chicago, New York, Columbus, Ohio, Los Angeles, Detroit,Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose.
The infestation of bed bugs has been gaining speed. It’s not surprising since bed bugs spread with ease. Bed bugs can travel on clothes, luggage, purses, just about anywhere really. They’re not prejudice when it comes to hiding out.
Daniel A. Gibalevich
DAG Law Firm
