cockroaches and bed bugs

Hello. Can I get my deposit and rent back from my landlord if I only lived there four day and theres cockroaches and bed bugs.

Canada: Toronto

Bed bug infestation-rights and responsibilities

If a tenant has a problem with bed bugs or other insects or pests, they should immediately inform the landlord, superintendent or property manager, who is responsible for ensuring homes are pest-free. Tenants are responsible for cooperating with the landlord’s efforts to control bed bugs.

Landlords have the right to enter to inspect and maintain rental units. Tenants must be given notice in writing 24 hours ahead of time. Landlords can only enter the units between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Tenants can let landlords and pest control operators into their unit at other times, or without advance notice, but they do not have to, except in an emergency. Treating an apartment for bed bugs is not considered an emergency, so tenants should be given proper notice and adequate time to properly prepare the unit before application of pesticide.

Read more:
Bed Bugs - Toronto Public Health

You should consult a local lawyer, because that's the only way to be sure you've got the right answer for your area.

You are probably going to have a lot of trouble recovering money from your landlord for actual damage to your stuff. There are many places (including bed bug hotspots like New York City) where in most cases a landlord has an obligation to call in the exterminator and get rid of the infestation - and also to prevent things from being reinfested.

The problem for getting money for laundry bills, new furniture, etc. is that most laws or codes dealing with bed bugs only talk about the responsibility for paying to get rid of them. They usually don't discuss what happens when the tenant has to spend money on other stuff - laundry, etc. Assuming you're in the United States, you are probably stuck with using your state's "tort law" - the general ability to sue someone for being negligent and damaging you in some way. But your landlord may be right that it is impossible to tell exactly how the bed bugs got into your place. You might have brought them in without knowing from traveling somewhere (they often sneak in through people's luggage). They might have been there when you moved in, from the previous tenant. If you're in a multiple-unit property, they might have crawled in through the walls from someone else's apartment. The basic point is that if you want to get paid for your laundry and furniture, you will probably have to be able to show that it was the negligence of your landlord that caused the bed bugs to be in your rental property.

Click the link below for more info...
Does my landlord have to pay for my damages from having bed bugs?

When a landlord has a duty to act, and the landlord would if the infestation predates your tenancy, according to the Attorney General's Office, "Failure to provide heat or hot water on a regular basis, or to rid an apartment of insect infestation are examples of a violation of [the warranty of habitability]."

Insect policies within the various New York counties depend upon local regulation. New York City provides the Rent Guideliness Board to answer some FAQ quoted below...

NYC Rent Guidelines Board

Infestation (Mice & Insects) I have mice in my apartment. What should I do? Can my landlord demand I be present to let an exterminator in - it would mean taking a day off work? Is my landlord required to exterminate on a regular basis?

Q: Is my landlord required to exterminate on a regular basis?

A: According to the City of New York's Housing Maintenance Code (HMC), eradication of rodents or other pests means elimination through the use of traps, poisons, fumigation or any other method of extermination. The HMC states that an owner is required to keep premises free of rodents, and when the premises are subject to infestation, shall apply "continuous eradication measures."

When the department charged with enforcement, in this case the Department of Housing Preservation and Development/ Office of Code Enforcement (via the City's Citizen Service Center by dialing 311), determines that any premises are infested by rodents, it may order "such eradication measures as the department deems necessary."

Contact information for the HPD is also found here:
HPD - Contact HPD - Contact Us

Other cities and counties are less demanding of the landlord. For example:
Nassau County Department of Health

Q: Who is responsible for extermination in rental dwellings?

A: In one and two family dwellings, the owner/landlord and the occupants are both responsible for the extermination of pests like mice, roaches and other insects, and both will be required to do their part. In multi-unit buildings, the owner/landlord is responsible for extermination and cleanliness in all common areas, and the owner/landlord and occupants are both responsible for extermination of the apartments. In all cases, occupants are responsible for keeping their dwelling free of attractants like food and accumulated trash. The owner/landlord is responsible for pest-proofing the dwelling.

You need to keep proof of the infestation - save insect carcasses and take pictures of your bites.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Hello. Can I get my deposit and rent back from my landlord if I only lived there four day and theres cockroaches and bed bugs.

If you discover the problem as soon as you move in, and the LL cannot fix it reasonably soon--like immediately--then you can deem it uninhabitable and move out in many jurisdictions. But, you have to give them a chance and the problem really has to be severe frankly.

Do you mean you lived there for 4 days, discovered roaches and bedbugs, and immediately moved out? And you are now demanding your deposit back? Did you have a lease? If you had a lease, you won't be getting your deposit back if this is what occurred. (You actually will owe rent until the unit is re-rented, advertising fees, agent fees if the LL uses one to find a new tenant, and any other unreimbursed monies he has to pay because you broke the lease without notice.)

You have to notify your LL in writing that you need immediate extermination. You can't just move out and not allow him a chance to try to handle the problem. You must notifiy the LL of the problem and allow him time to cure. If he makes reasonable attempts to cure by sending in the exterminator on a regular basis, you cannot terminate the lease. Send him notice of the problem, mail it certified, return receipt requested, and keep a copy. Ask him to contact you within the next few days to tell you when the exterminator will come. If he does not respond, call the health department or the city building inspector. They will cite him for his failure to respond. If he still does not respond, you may then have just cause to break a lease if your area's laws allow that remedy. You cannot just find a problem in your unit and move out wihtout allowing the LL to know what the problem is and letting him try to fix it.

hmmm...left after five days.

oh my gosh! i am having the EXACT same problem! i just moved in 4 days ago and my apartment is infested with bed bugs ..please let me know what you decide to do, and if you get any of your money back.