Roaches and Breach of Contract

I moved into a Tower in Park La Brea on April 5, 2010.  Shortly after moving in, I began noticing cockroaches in my dishwasher, hiding in drawers with my silver ware, and coming out of my sink.  I don’t actually do that much cooking, so my time in the kitchen is quite limited but I ALWAYS make sure that it’s clean and never leave any food out.  I had the apartment fumigated twice (which is a giant pain because it requires you to remove every single pot and pan from the area).  I also had several sets of bait stations installed and most recently had a PI fogging agent sprayed in the drains.  The bait stations are useless because the roaches are coming from the drains and the gaping hole in the wall covered by the dishwasher.  I have reported each and every incident to the service department and still have roaches.  My lease expires in two months and if I have submitted an ultimatum to the PLB lawyers- clean up the surrounding units and solve the problem by June 1 or we are going to have to negotiate a new contract.

I have been reading a lot about tenant rights since I too am in a pickle with my lease. And as far as pest control. Your rights as a tenant state that you have the right to live in a safe and habitable environment along with your family. As far as pests you are too notify the landlord my suggestion via email or deliver it personally with a witness who can state that he received it then he has 7-14 days to come up with a solution to the problem and if he doesn’t respond in the allotted time then you can terminate your lease. Do not take my word for this. If I were you I would google tenant rights for whatever state you are in and go from there to find the forms. A website I find helpful with forms is http://www.propertydo.com You can also report your landlord to the better business bureau online. They will respond to you within 2 days have an agent guide you through this and they say that most their cases are resolved in 30 days. They will also notify you of the landlords response to your claims. My biggest advice to you is to start documenting everything. From whenever you make contact with your landlord to emails that you have sent him. Document Everything! Good luck to ya. You, your daughter and your unborn child should not be living in that environment. roaches carry many disease and bacteria. And teh pesticides used to kill them are just as harmful…