ENROLLED ORIGINAL
AN ACT
_____________
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To require a housing provider to provide notice to a tenant of any bedbug infestation within the
last 120 days before the tenant signs a lease, to require a housing provider to obtain
services of a pest control professional within 10 calendar days of notification from a
tenant that bedbugs may be present in his or her unit, to require bedbug monitoring
services for 12 months after a pest control professional determines that no evidence of
bedbugs can be found in the unit, to require a tenant to grant a housing provider and pest
control professional access to the unit at a reasonable time noticed in advance by the
housing provider, to require a tenant to cooperate with recommendations of the pest
control professional in the event of an infestation, to allow housing providers to charge
the cost of inspection and remediation of bedbugs in a unit to the tenant in limited
circumstances, to require pest control professionals to report data to the Department of
Buildings (Department) annually and maintain certain records for two years, to
establish a process by which the Department handles complaints from tenants regarding
housing providers who do not comply with certain requirements of the act, to require the
Department to create an infestation history notification form to be used by housing
providers, to require the Department to create a pamphlet on bedbugs and conduct
educational and outreach activities to housing providers and tenants, to establish the
Bedbug Inspection and Remediation Assistance Program to be administered by the
Department to provide financial reimbursement to remediate bedbug infestations, and to
make conforming amendments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the Bedbug Control Act of 2022.
Sec. 2. Definitions
For purposes of this act, the term:
(1) Bedbug means a member of the Cimicidae family of parasitic insects.
(2) Department means the Department of Buildings.
(3) Director means the Director of the Department of Buildings.
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(4) Dwelling unit means any habitable room or group of habitable rooms
located within a residential building and forming a single unit that is used or intended to be used
for living, sleeping, and the preparation and eating of meals.
(5) Eradication means the elimination of bedbugs from the premises through the
use of traps, poisons, fumigations, heat, or any other method of extermination.
(6) Housing provider means:
(A) A landlord, owner, lessor, sublessor, or assignee;
(B) The agent of a landlord, owner, lessor, sublessor, or assignee; or
(C) A person entitled to receive compensation for the use or occupancy of
a rental unit within a housing accommodation.
(7) Pest control professional means a certified applicator, commercial
applicator, licensed certified applicator, pesticide operator, or registered technician authorized to
work in the District.
(8) Program means the Bedbug Inspection and Remediation Assistance
Program established in section 6.
(9) Reasonable notice shall have the same meaning as provided in section
531(a)(1) of the Rental Housing Act of 1985, effective February 18, 2017 (D.C. Law 21-210;
D.C. Official Code 42-3505.51(a)(1)).
(10) Reasonable time shall have the same meaning as provided in section
531(a)(3) of the Rental Housing Act of 1985, effective February 18, 2017 (D.C. Law 21-210;
D.C. Official Code 42-3505.51(a)(3)).
(11) Tenant means a lessee, sublessee, or other person entitled to the possession
or occupancy of a rental unit.
Sec. 3. Rights and responsibilities of housing providers and tenants.
(a) A housing provider shall keep his or her rental property free from bedbugs and shall
not offer for rent a dwelling unit to a prospective tenant that the housing provider knows or
reasonably should know contains bedbugs.
(b) Prior to the signing of a lease for a dwelling unit by a tenant, the housing provider
shall provide the prospective tenant with notice, on a form promulgated by the Department, of
any bedbug infestation in the building within the previous 120 days. The housing provider shall
use the form to provide the prospective tenant with the following information for the previous
120 days:
(1) The history of any bedbug infestation in any dwelling unit within the building
that has been the subject of eradication, including the floor where the dwelling unit is located;
(2) The history of any bedbug infestation in any dwelling unit within the building
that has not been the subject of eradication, including the floor where the dwelling unit is
located; and
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(3) Whether the dwelling unit to be leased previously had a bedbug infestation
and whether eradication occurred.
(c)(1) Within 5 days after a tenant finds or reasonably suspects a bed bug infestation in
the tenants dwelling unit or a common area of the building, the tenant should notify the housing
provider.
(2) A tenants failure to notify a housing provider pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection shall not constitute grounds to deny a tenants request for inspection or eradication of
bedbugs by a pest control professional or for a housing provider to recover possession of the
dwelling unit.
(d) Upon notification by a tenant pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the housing
provider shall:
(1) Acknowledge the complaint within 5 calendar days of notification;
(2) Obtain services from a pest control professional within 10 calendar days of
notification;
(3) Schedule inspections or eradication measures at a reasonable time for any
affected tenants;
(4)(A) Provide the affected tenants with reasonable notice of inspections or
eradication measures, which shall include the specific date and approximate time of an
inspection or any eradication measures.
(B) If the housing provider knows that the tenant primarily speaks a
language other than English, the housing provider shall provide the notice in that language and in
English;
(5) Upon a determination of an infestation by a pest control professional, provide
eradication measures until such time as the pest control professional determines that no evidence
of bedbugs can be found in the dwelling unit;
(6)(A) Implement bedbug monitoring services in any affected units for a period of
12 months after a pest control professional determines that no evidence of bedbugs can be found
in the unit.
(B) If the unit is leased to a new tenant during the monitoring period, the
housing provider must fully explain the monitoring activities to the new tenant and continue
monitoring during such period;
(C) If a reinfestation that requires a pest control professional to conduct
new eradication measures occurs in an affected unit within the 12-month monitoring period
prescribed in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the 12-month monitoring period shall start
over; and
(7) Maintain a written record of complaints and eradication measures, including
reports provided by pest management professionals, for 2 years. Upon request by a prospective
tenant or the current tenant of a unit that has been subject to inspection or eradication measures
by a pest control professional, the housing provider shall provide a copy of any reports provided
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by the pest control professional for that dwelling unit within 5 business days of receiving the
request.
(e) Upon receiving reasonable notice from a housing provider pursuant to subsection
(d)(4) of this section, a tenant shall:
(1) Grant the housing provider and pest control professional access to the
unit at a reasonable time for purposes of an inspection or eradication measures;
(2) Carry out reasonable preparatory measures necessary for inspection or
eradication; provided, that if the tenant is unable to comply with any preparatory measures due to
a disability or physical limitation, the tenant may seek assistance from the housing provider, who
shall reasonably accommodate the tenants needs; and
(3) Cooperate with reasonable recommendations made by the pest control
professional.
(f)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a housing provider shall be
responsible for all costs associated with inspection for and eradication of bedbugs.
(2)(A) The costs associated with inspections or eradication measures may be
charged to the tenant when:
(i) The tenant knowingly interferes with, obstructs, or actively
hinders inspection for, or treatment to eradicate the presence of, bedbugs in the dwelling unit; or
(ii) Repeated eradications are necessary due to the tenants failure
to properly maintain the dwelling unit.
(B) When a tenants action under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph
results in the infestation of adjacent or adjoining units, as determined by a pest control
professional, the housing provider may charge the tenant for the cost of inspections and
eradication measures in the adjacent or adjoining units.
(3) If a housing provider charges a tenant for the cost of inspections or eradication
measures pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the housing provider shall provide the
tenant with:
(A) An itemized receipt of the charges, including the name and contact
information of the pest control professional, a description of the services for which the tenant is
being charged, and the dates on which the charges were incurred by the housing provider; and
(B) A written notice describing:
(i) The specific instances, including approximate dates and times,
in which the tenant knowingly interfered with, obstructed, or actively hindered inspection for, or
eradication of, bedbugs in the dwelling unit;
(ii) Evidence of the conditions of the tenants dwelling unit, caused
by the tenants failure to properly maintain the unit, which made repeated eradications necessary;
or
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(iii) Evidence of the presence of bedbugs during a visual inspection
of the unit by the housing provider and the tenant after the tenant terminates his or her occupancy
and evidence that demonstrates a lack of notice from the tenant.
(C) The notice provided pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this paragraph
shall also include:
(i) Language that offers the tenant an opportunity to pay any
charges through a payment plan over the remainder of the tenants lease, or over a period agreed
to by both parties in writing; and
(ii) The physical address, web address, and phone number of the
Department.
(D) If the housing provider knows that the tenant primarily speaks a
language other than English, the housing provider shall provide the itemized receipt and notice
required by subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph in that language and in English.
(g)(1) When a tenant knowingly interferes with, obstructs, or actively hinders inspection
for, or treatment to eradicate the presence of, bedbugs in the dwelling unit, or fails to pay charges
levied against him or her pursuant to subsection (f)(2) of this section, a housing provider shall be
entitled to terminate the tenants lease agreement for violating an obligation of tenancy.
(2) Lease agreements shall contain a provision acknowledging that a housing
provider may terminate a lease agreement pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection; provided,
that this requirement shall not apply to leases executed prior to March 31, 2023.
(3) Upon termination of a lease agreement pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection, a housing provider shall provide a tenant with a notice that contains information
required by subsection (f)(3)(B) of this section.
(h)(1) A tenant may file a complaint with the Department when a housing provider
violates subsections (b) or (d) of this section. Complaints filed by a tenant shall be processed by
the Department pursuant to section 5(a).
(2) Housing providers shall have 15 days from the receipt of a notice of infraction
issued by the Department pursuant to section 5(a)(2)(B) to file an appeal with the Office of
Administrative Hearings.
Sec. 4. Responsibilities of pest control professionals.
(a) A pest control professional shall report to the Department annually the following
information:
(1) The total number of bedbug inspections conducted in the last 12 months;
(2) The total number of eradication treatments completed in the last 12 months;
(3) The street address of any dwelling unit inspected or treated in the last 12
months; and
(4) Any additional information considered necessary and relevant by the
Department.
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(b)(1) A pest control professional shall keep records of inspections and eradications
conducted in a dwelling unit or rental property in the District for 2 years after the completion of
the inspection or treatment measures.
(2) Upon request by the tenant whose dwelling unit was subject to inspection or
eradication measures, or upon request by the housing provider who owns the unit or rental
property, a pest control professional shall provide the tenant or housing provider copies of any
requested reports made by the pest control professional for the affected unit or rental property
within 5 business days of receiving the request.
Sec. 5. Responsibilities of the Department.
(a)(1) The Department shall notify a housing provider of a complaint from a tenant within
10 business days of receipt of the complaint. A housing provider shall have 10 business days
from the date on which the housing provider receives the notice to respond and submit any of the
following applicable information:
(A) Documentation and communications with the tenant that demonstrate
a good faith effort to reasonably accommodate the tenants needs to comply with any
preparations necessary for inspection or eradication measures;
(B) Documentation and communications that demonstrate that the housing
provider has made a good faith effort to schedule an inspection or eradication measures, or
documentation of any extenuating circumstances that resulted in the inspection or treatment
measures being delayed and rescheduled;
(C) An inspection report by a pest control professional demonstrating that
the dwelling unit does not currently have a bedbug infestation;
(D) A report by a pest control professional demonstrating that eradication
measures to eradicate bedbugs are in the process of being completed or have been completed; or
(E) If that a pest control professional has completed eradication measures
in the dwelling unit and determined that no evidence of bedbugs can be found, evidence of
monitoring services currently in use in the dwelling unit.
(2)(A) If the housing provider fails to respond to the Departments notice within
10 business days of receipt or does not provide adequate documentation pursuant to paragraph
(1) of this subsection, the Department shall:
(i) Order the housing provider to take specific steps to
accommodate a tenants needs, schedule an inspection, or schedule eradication measures; and
(ii) Issue a notice of infraction.
(B) A housing providers violation of this paragraph shall be a Class 4
infraction subject to a fine under section 3201.1(d) of Title 16 of the District of Columbia
Municipal Regulations (16 DCMR 3201.1(d)).
(3) The Department shall include, with the written notice required by paragraph
(1) of this subsection, information on the Bedbug Remediation Assistance Program established
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in section 6 and an application form for the Program. Proof of application to the Program shall
toll further actions by the Department until a decision is made on whether the owner property is
entitled to financial assistance.
(b) The Department shall create and publish a form, to be used by housing providers, for
purposes of notifying tenants of any history of bedbug infestations in a building within the last
120 days.
(c) The Department shall conduct outreach efforts to housing providers and tenants for
the purposes of educating the public about bedbugs and create and publish educational materials
for tenants and housing providers, including a pamphlet that contains, at a minimum, the
following information:
(1) Specific facts about the bedbug, including its lifecycle, appearance, and
breeding habits;
(2) Behaviors that are risk factors for attracting and supporting the presence of
bedbugs;
(3) Measures that may be taken to prevent and control the presence of bedbugs in
a dwelling unit or rental property; and
(4) The responsibilities and rights of tenants and housing providers under this act.
(d) The Department shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Energy and
Environment to access and collect information on licensed pest control professionals in the
District.
(e) The Mayor may, pursuant to Title I of the District of Columbia Administrative
Procedures Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code 2-501 et seq.),
issue rules to implement the provisions of this act.
Sec. 6. Bedbug Inspection and Remediation Assistance Program.
(a)(1) There is established a Bedbug Inspection and Remediation Assistance Program to
be administered by the Department, the purpose of which is to provide financial reimbursement
to certain individuals who remediate bedbug infestations.
(2) To be eligible for financial assistance, an applicant shall:
(A) Be a resident of the District;
(B) Own the rental property or dwelling unit to be trea