Delaware bed bug law for landlords: 120 hours to respond, 14 days to treat, records for 2 years
Under 25 Del. C. 5317, a Delaware landlord inspects a unit for bed bugs before renting it, answers a complaint within 120 hours, brings in a pest management professional within 120 hours, and gets treatment done within 14 days of notification when an infestation is found. Who pays depends on timing: the landlord pays if the tenant reports within 60 days of move-in, and the tenant shares reasonable costs if later.
What must a Delaware landlord do before renting a unit?
The owner or property manager must visually inspect the unit for evidence of bed bugs. The statute names the signs: a living bed bug, a carapace, eggs or egg casings, or brownish or blood spotting on linens, mattresses or furniture. A landlord may not show, rent or lease a vacant unit that the landlord knows or reasonably suspects has a current infestation. Before renting, the landlord must also disclose if an adjacent unit or units are currently infested with, or being treated for, bed bugs.
The statute does not require inspections of units or common areas when the landlord has no notice of a suspected or actual infestation, but a visible infestation counts as notice.
What are the deadlines after a complaint?
The duty starts on notification by anyone who finds or reasonably suspects bed bugs in a unit or common area. The landlord must:
- Acknowledge the complaint within 120 hours.
- Inspect, or obtain investigatory services from a pest management professional, within 120 hours.
- On a finding of infestation, obtain and provide remedial services from a pest management professional within 14 days of notification.
- Inspect units directly adjacent, above and below within 5 days of notification.
- Give notice under section 5509 before entering a unit.
- Tell all tenants of affected units the professional's determination within 120 hours of receiving it, by email or portal if both sides can use one, with similar notice for common areas.
- Keep a written record of complaints, control measures, chemicals applied and reports for 2 years.
Example a made-up tenant in Wilmington emails a complaint on the 1st at 9 a.m. The acknowledgment and the first inspection are each due by the 6th at 9 a.m. (120 hours is 5 days). If bed bugs are found, treatment is due by the 15th (14 days from notification), and the unit above, below and beside must be inspected by the 6th.
Who pays for remediation?
If the tenant reports a suspected infestation in the unit within 60 days after occupancy, or within 30 days of a discovery of an infestation in an adjoining unit, the landlord is responsible for the costs of investigating and remediating. If the tenant reports later than that, the landlord is still responsible for investigating and remediating, but the tenant shares the reasonable costs of remediating the infestation in the tenant's unit. The tenant does not share costs in properties managed by a state or local government housing authority.
A tenant must not knowingly bring in furnishings or belongings that are known or reasonably suspected to be infested.
What belongs in a Delaware bed bug file?
- The date and time of each complaint and who made it.
- The date you acknowledged it.
- The pest management professional's inspection report and each treatment record.
- Notices to affected tenants and to adjacent units.
- The tenant's move-in date, since it decides who pays.
How DoorKeeping fits in Delaware
DoorKeeping keeps a Delaware bed bug report as a dated work order, so the tenant's notice, your inspection, the pest company's visit and the follow-up are on one record, and the owner sees each one. The record can be kept for as long as you choose, and the move-in date is already in the lease. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute, your local rules and your lease before you act.
Sources
Questions
- How fast must a Delaware landlord respond to a bed bug complaint?
- Within 120 hours the landlord must acknowledge it and inspect or obtain a pest management professional's investigation. Remedial services are due within 14 days of notification when an infestation is found.
- Who pays for bed bug treatment in Delaware?
- The landlord, if the tenant reports within 60 days after occupancy (or within 30 days of a discovery in an adjoining unit). After that the tenant shares the reasonable cost of remediating the tenant's unit.
- How long must Delaware landlords keep bed bug records?
- Two years, including complaints, control measures, chemical reports and pest management professional reports.