According to court documents, an Illinois man filed a lawsuit against the apartment complex in which he resided for ongoing problems with bedbug infestation. The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court against 5812 Properties LLC and Naub LLC.
In his civil complaint, the man indicates the property owner and management breached the implied warranty of habitability in his apartment leasae. The man claims he rented an apartment on South Stoney Island Avenue, only to find it was infested with bed bugs.
He claims the property’s owner and manager should have known or knew that the apartment was infested, but rented it to him anyway. He additionally claims the defendants failed to maintain the premises and failed to keep the apartment in a safe and clean condition. There is no word on the amount of damages the man is seeking through his claim or whether he currently remains in the apartment.
Landlord negligence in keeping a property in a suitable and reasonably safe condition may lead to a claim based on a breach of the implied warranty of habitability. When a person signs a lease, contained within it is the implication that the apartment or property that he or she is renting is suitable, maintained and safe for its intended purpose. The warranty may be used against slumlords who fail to maintain their property to an extent that the tenants are subjected to unreasonable and unsafe conditions. People may first try to address issues with their landlord in writing, and if the landlord does not do anything, tenants may break the lease, withhold rent or, in some cases, file a lawsuit. In this man’s case, a bedbug infestation could have led to property damage such as a loss of furnishings that will need to be replaced.
Source: The Cook County Record, “Chicago tenant sues over alleged bedbug infestation”, Mark Reccek, Feb. 13, 2015