Who Pays for the Bed Bugs

Bed bug liability in rental housing

Bed bug laws in West Virginia
Who pays for treatment?

Habitability law only

No bed bug statute, but a strong warranty from both statute and a landmark 1978 case — and it cannot be waived, so a lease clause making you responsible for pest control is unenforceable. West Virginia is unusual in that the duty to pay rent is legally DEPENDENT on the premises being habitable, which is the doctrinal basis for withholding. But be careful what you read elsewhere: the Supreme Court of Appeals expressly declined to adopt repair-and-deduct, over a dissent that called the refusal strange. Several commercial guides list repair-and-deduct as available in West Virginia. It is not.

Who pays for treatment
Landlord — the duty cannot be waived
Landlord response deadline
Prompt and proper; commonly 7–10 days in practice
Disclosure before lease
No

What the law actually says

No bed bug provision. W. Va. Code § 37-6-30 — the landlord must deliver the premises in a fit and habitable condition and thereafter maintain it, and comply with applicable health, safety, fire and housing codes. Implied warranty of habitability: Teller v. McCoy, 253 S.E.2d 114 (W. Va. 1978). THREE THINGS THE OPINION ESTABLISHES. First, the covenant to pay rent is dependent on the premises being habitable — breach of the implied warranty is 'a material covenant upon which the duty to pay rent depends', which is the doctrinal basis for withholding in West Virginia. Second, the measure of damages is the 'difference in value approach', adopted in part, with the Court expressly recognising that a residential tenant's loss is not merely financial — it named the tenant 'forced to worry about the health of his children endangered by rats, roaches, or other undesirable pests' among the intangible harms, which is directly useful for an infestation claim. Third, and contrary to what several commercial guides state, THE COURT DECLINED TO ADOPT A REPAIR-AND-DEDUCT REMEDY; the dissent objected that the majority 'fails to accord the tenant the right to repair the defect and deduct this cost from his rent, a remedy that is almost universally accorded in this situation' and that the rejection was 'rather strange, particularly since there are no reasons given why this remedy should not be allowed.' Do not advise repair-and-deduct in West Virginia on the strength of a secondary source. NON-WAIVABLE: no person may legally waive the right to live in a fit and habitable condition, Teller v. McCoy at 130 — so a lease provision making the tenant responsible for maintenance at their own expense is unenforceable, which reaches tenant-pays-pest-control clauses. Procedure in practice: a written complaint stating precisely which provisions of the law or rental agreement are violated, allowing a proper time for action, commonly around 7 to 10 days, with the landlord required to investigate and correct promptly and properly. Related: § 37-6-5 (one month's written notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy); § 5-11A-5 (fair housing); § 48-28-5 (domestic violence). Background reading: 'West Virginia Landlord and Tenant Law: A Proposal for Reform', West Virginia Law Review, which analyses Teller and § 37-6-30 and argues the state's framework is overdue for statutory modernisation. A useful consumer guide is published by the Ohio County Health Department.

Hiring someone in West Virginia? Check they are actually licensed for structural pest control before you pay a deposit. Verify a West Virginia 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.

West Virginia Legislature — WV Code →

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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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.

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