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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    2

    Default Reasonable Access

    I have a question regarding how the courts regard "reasonable consent to access". (Relevant law is Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, mostly sections 55-248.18, 55-248.13:3, and perhaps 55-248.13 subsections A and C. -I'm not a lawyer but work in law

    The short story is that the landlord employs maintenance workers that I have seen in action and appear to be untrained and unprofessional. The landlord also has a contract with a pest extermination company that I have never seen, but I have no reason to trust or have confidence in them. The landlord schedules pest extermination treatments roughly every 6-8 weeks. I have never had an insect problem and have never requested an insect treatment. I also have a cat.

    The exterminations are scheduled for Tues. and Thurs. during regular working hours. I live alone and am unable to be home when my landlord allows strangers or maintenance workers into my apartment. I have called the landlord's office numerous times to voice my concerns about this and that I grant access to the apartment when I am present. I offered every other Friday as an acceptable time when I can be absent at work without penalty in addition to the weekends.

    In response to the latest announcement of an extermination treatment, I provided the landlord with a written notice that I have concerns about the safety of the pesticide as well as notice that I do not grant access to the apartment unless I am present. I also gave notice that some Fridays and weekends would be acceptable times to schedule maintenance. The landlord replied by informing me that, although they did not perform the scheduled extermination, they would be back on Thursday and would enter my apartment in order to perform the extermination.

    I spoke with the landlord who said that the extermination treatments were "mandatory" and that withholding access to the apartment when I was not home was indeed "unreasonable". She offered to work out a schedule with the exterminator to perform a treatment on a Saturday and pass the costs to me, however I strongly suspect they will continue to let people into my apartment on a regular basis and against my wishes.

    My question is whether or not I am unreasonably withholding access to the apartment? I had no part in negotiating a contract to perform treatments on Tues. and Thurs. during regular working hours and was never informed of such a schedule or policy when I signed the lease (which I find odd due to the sheer volume of extermination treatments they schedule.)

    I fully understand if there isn't a quick answer to this. I plan on contacting a lawyer but it would be great if somebody could answer this out of hand.

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Exterminator in Apartment

    Unfortunately, it does not work to only have an exterminator visit parts of an apartment building. The insects which infest the apartment will typically move to areas which are not treated until the poison dissipates, then they will reinfest the rest of the apartment building. Your landlord may well be trying to stay ahead of an infestation with regular visits from an exterminator, or may be treating an existing problem in other apartments (in advance of yours becoming infested as well.)

    The landlord appears to be trying to schedule the extermination to occur at a single time, which makes sense from the landlord's perspective - it is not as effective, and is certainly more costly, to have the exterminator come back several times to accommodate tenants different schedules. That will likely play a role in whether the intrusions are reasonable under the laws of your state and locality.

    What pesticide are they using on the apartment building?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    2

    Default

    Thanks for the quick reply!

    The pesticide appears to be some dark brown/black paste that is smeared into the corners of cabinets, behind appliances, etc. about every 6 inches. They have never told me exactly what it is. I'm honestly only about 5% worried about the safety and 95% worried about these unsupervised goons in my home on a regular basis.

    Your response makes sense. I really wish there were some sort of comprimise that could be reached, but I understand. It still strikes me as a little odd that they would work out a contract with the exterminator for Tues. and Thurs. if they have an ongoing pest problem - I could understand if it was a rare occurrence, but if they're regularly scheduled for every 8 weeks then I think it would be more considerate of management to do this on a day when working people would be more likely to be at home.

    Again, thanks for the reply.

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