Q: I am a renter in an apartment building in Minnetonka. I'm at a loss about what I should do with an uncontrollable beetle situation in my place.
Last year, around the beginning of July, I started to find beetles in my carpet. These are not normal beetles, and I was told this type of beetle normally feeds off of dead carcasses.
Management has sent an exterminator out to my apartment four different times since I started finding these beetles. The exterminator is able to kill some of the beetles, but not all. Management has done nothing else to fix the problem.
I have told the landlord I would like new carpet, yet they tell me they need to ask the manager. They say they can deep clean my carpet, but I've told them that there will still be dead beetles, and possibly live beetles, living in the carpet after it's been cleaned since extermination hasn't eliminated them.
Meanwhile, the beetles have now moved into my couch. Management hasn't lifted up the carpet to look at the foundation yet, and actually failed to show up to a recent appointment to look over the carpet.
I have been trying to work with the management company for over a year, with no success. I like my place and would like to stay living here. I have documentation, photos and video of the situation. What should I do?
A: Minnesota law requires that all landlords provide a rental unit that is fit for the use intended, in reasonable repair, and in compliance with safety and health codes. Since there is a bug infestation in your rental unit, your place is no longer fit for the use intended and there is a repair issue that needs to be resolved.
You should write to your landlord giving them 14 days to resolve the beetle problem. If the problem isn't fixed in 14 days to your satisfaction, then you should file a rent escrow action in the county where you live. When you file this action, you should attach any proof such as your photos and other documentation, along with the evidence that extermination isn't resolving your beetle infestation since it's been done four times and there are still beetles.
