Who Pays for the Bed Bugs

Bed bug liability in rental housing

Bed bug laws in New Hampshire
Who pays for treatment?

Bed bug statute

The smartest statute in the country on the question this whole site exists to answer. Instead of guessing who brought the bugs in, New Hampshire makes the landlord pay up front and then gives a court four specific factors for deciding whether the tenant is actually responsible — including whether bugs were already elsewhere in the building, which unit they turned up in first, and what the landlord had done about it before. It also protects tenants who physically cannot prepare their unit: preparation instructions need 72 hours' notice, and disability accommodations can be requested verbally.

Who pays for treatment
Landlord up front, recoverable only if tenant proven responsible
Landlord response deadline
7 days to investigate and remediate
Disclosure before lease
Not required

What the law actually says

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:13-e (infestation of bed bugs; liability for costs of remediation), effective 1 January 2014 via HB 482 (2013). I(b) 'Remediation' means action by the landlord that substantially reduces bed bugs in a dwelling unit for at least 60 days. II The landlord shall bear the reasonable costs of remediation, but may recover them if the tenant is responsible. III The landlord may bill the tenant in writing for remediation of the tenant's OWN unit only; if within 30 days of completion the tenant has not paid or entered a repayment agreement, that is grounds for eviction for non-payment under § 540:2, II(a) — but the landlord must first show a reasonable repayment agreement was offered. III(b) In deciding responsibility the court shall weigh the totality of the evidence including: (1) the existence and extent of bed bugs in other units or common areas anywhere in the building before and during the tenancy; (2) which unit they were first discovered in; (3) whether and how far the landlord had previously remediated the tenant's unit and those adjacent to and directly above and below it; and (4) whether the tenant had bed bugs where they lived immediately before moving in. Prohibited practices, § 540-A:3: a landlord's wilful failure to investigate, or failure to take reasonable measures to remediate within 7 days, is a violation; so is a tenant refusing entry or wilfully refusing to comply with written preparation instructions under V-c, which must reach an adult household member with a reasonable opportunity to comply and in all cases at least 72 hours before remediation. V-d limits entry without consent to emergency repairs or a court order under § 540-A:4. These violations carry no direct statutory damages, though contempt remains available. Municipal codes: § 48-A:11, III requires local bed bug provisions to be no less protective than those for other insects, and premises are substandard where infested and the landlord runs no periodic inspection and remediation program. Disability accommodations for unit preparation may be requested verbally.

Hiring someone in New Hampshire? Check they are actually licensed for structural pest control before you pay a deposit. Verify a New Hampshire exterminator →

What to do, in order

  1. Photograph everything before you touch it

    Live insects, shed skins, dark staining along the mattress seam. Timestamps are the evidence.

  2. Notify the landlord in writing

    Email or certified letter, never a phone call alone. Written notice is what starts the clock in every state that has one.

  3. Do not throw out furniture yet

    Discarded items can't be inspected, and moving them spreads the infestation down the hallway.

  4. Let the deadline above run

    Escalating before it expires generally forfeits the remedy.

  5. Escalate to the housing agency, then to court

    An independent inspection report is worth more than your own photographs. Rent withholding rules vary sharply — check the section above before you try it.

Read it yourself

Everything above was written by reading the sections named in the citation, not by summarizing another summary. You should not take our word for it — open the statute and check. Look up the section numbers quoted above.

New Hampshire General Court — Revised Statutes →

The state's own legislature or code site. Search it for the section numbers quoted above — they are the whole basis for this page.

Last checked against the New Hampshire code: . Statutes change every legislative session — if you are reading this long after that date, open the cited sections yourself before relying on them.

Not legal advice. This is a plain-language reference to publicly available statutes, verified against the New Hampshire code. Liability turns on your lease, your local ordinance and your specific facts. Talk to a tenant attorney or legal aid before withholding rent or filing anything.

Other states

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming