Health Hazard

By selfaware74

I have notified my landlord, maintenance, attorney, and the housing authority regarding a fly infestation problem I am having in my apt.  I notified the landlord and maintenance on the 19th of August and maintenance did not come to look at the problem until the 31st of August.  Maintenance took pictures of all the dead flies on and below my window sills in my back bedroom.  He also sprayed around the windows outside that same day.  That seemed to help until I noticed on Saturday, September 5, 2009 that there were numerous dead flies on the window sills in my back bedroom and on the floor below.  I called and left a message for maintenance, but did not receive a call back that day.  In a few hours, the window sill in my bedroom and 2 window sills in my living room were covered with dead flies.  I called maintenance again on Sunday, September 6, 2009, but have still not heard anything and it is now 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.  I wrote an email to the housing inspector at lancaster county housing authority yesterday and printed out a copy of the email and mailed it to my attorney.  I have not gotten any calls from maintenance or the housing authority as of yet.  Will it hurt my receiving section 8 rental assistance if I call the state health department?  Thank you.  I am a graduate student and receive disability.

Edited on: Tuesday, November 26th, 2013 4:08 pm

One Response to “Health Hazard”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Landlord

September 10th, 2009 11:04 pm

Normally, such infestations are not the responsibility of the landlord. Infestations are typically linked to the way tenants live. IE: a dirty or unkept home will provide better shelter and hiding places for spiders etc. However, the fly infestation of your rental is probably not necessarily an indicator or your lifestyle.
I would urge caution when talking with the housing authority. If they prove the rental is unfit to live in, you will be forced to move AND all funding will stop until a new apartment is found. The health inspector will not communicate with the housing authority, so you should be safe to request an inspection from the health department. Although be prepared. By going to these extremes you may actually prove that the unit is still habitable and not the responsibility of management to spray for pest, or worse you can prove that the rental unit is not habitable which can require you to vacate immediately. Neither of those options seem good to me. Be careful, you may just be opening a can of worms!!


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