'The place was THOROUGHLY infested': Landlord ignores tenant's roach infestation problem, tenant gets her fined 3x the amount she could have spent to fix it

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 20, 2023 8:00 AM EST

Most landlords only consider temporary solutions without thinking about long-term consequences. Personally, I know the agonizing frustration of having a never-ending roach problem all too well. My first New York apartment was in an old building and by day two after my move-in, roaches started to show up. We got an exterminator, who did the bare minimum and nothing changed. We tried to talk to the landlord about it, but they just sent the same exterminator guy back, who this time informed us that our unit was not the only one with this problem. By the time we decided to contact the city and file a formal complaint, we learned that there had been dozens of similar complaints for our unit alone over the past few years, information that obviously was conveniently kept away from us when we were first looking at the apartment. 

Like this Redditor, who shared their story via this r/pettyrevenge subreddit, we did get our entire building looked at more closely but only after we had to go above the landlord. Keep scrolling below for the full story. For more, here is another post about a Karen's altercation at the front desk of a hotel.

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  • 01
    "Don't want to fix it? That's okay, I will."
    via Marla Prusik
  • 02
    Don't want to fix it? That's okay, I will. (Long post, tl;dr at bottom) In 2022, I graduated college and moved into my very first apartment. Everything was great for the first few months- cheap rent and good neighbors. That all changed at the drop of a dime one night.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 03
    I came home to a German cockroach in my sink. I am extremely afraid of bugs, especially fast moving ones. Immediately I began looking through the entire apartment (whilst sobbing) for more, and oh my god did I find more. The place was THOROUGHLY infested.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 04
    I called my landlord to notify her and see how we can get this fixed as fast as possible. She was just as shocked as I was, and said that she would've never expected this to happen at her complex (Keep this in mind, this is important later). She told me that she's going to handle this ASAP, and have a pest company come in to spray. Thank goodness!
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 05
    I stayed home that day to let the pest control into my unit for spraying. When they arrived, I asked a boatload of questions for some peace of mind. I received the opposite. They notified me that my landlord SPECIFICALLY requested that they only spray my unit, and not the other surrounding 19 units in the building. The pest company knew this was wrong, and told me that they made an effort to convince my landlord to spray the entire building- she still said "no thanks."
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 06
    It was an extremely lazy "solution" on her part, and she thought that she could get off easy, being cheap and only getting one of her twenty units sprayed. Like slapping a Band-Aid on a bullet hole.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 07
    In the following weeks -YEP! you guessed it!- The infestation grew much worse. It had gotten to a point where every aspect of my life was being affected by the roaches. I could not eat, sleep, or just simply relax in my OWN SPACE. So, I texted my neighbor across the hall. "Hey, by any chance, are you struggling with a roach problem too?"
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 08
    He responded yes. I asked for how long. He said "Since 2019, when I moved in." Oh! Okay!
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 09
    So the landlord knew D WELL about this infestation, and has let it grow for YEARS. Cue petty revenge.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 10
    I called and reported her to the Department of Health, who gleefully told me that YES, she is in EXTREME violation of many codes. They were SHOCKED at how poorly she handled the situation. Within the week, they were in contact with her, served her a handful of fines for neglect of tenants, and gave her a notice with a deadline to fumigate the ENTIRE building. By the following day, the pest company was back and spraying the whole building!
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 11
    Here's the kicker. By the following week- my lease had ended and I moved out. Slapped her with some fat fines and then hit the road. I'll never forget her, and I know she'll sure as Good riddance ya cheap never forget me.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 12
    TL;DR Landlord lied about her knowledge of a roach infestation, refused to fix it, and got hit with a fine 3x the amount of money she would've had to spend fixing the roach problem. Then I moved out a week later.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 13
    redneckerson_1951. 1 day ago edited 1 day ago In 1980 I moved into a generally decent apartment complex in Northern Virginia. First six months were fine, but walked in the kitchen one night and found the Richard Petty of cockroaches. It was a war for a few days between me and that fast , but eventually he slipped up and I Black Flagged him.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 14
    Another month goes by and there is another one but this time after Black Flagging under the sink in the kitchen, they began to show up, even in my vacuum cleaner. So I called the front office and next day they had an exterminator come in.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 15
    In casual conversation with the pest control tech I found out 15 of 16 apartments on all four levels were experiencing roach issues and they suspected that the hive was located in the 16th apartment. Unfortunately, the tenant was months behind on rent and would not allow anyone to enter for fear of being forced out. Pretty soon the tenants on the second level were raising, not only about the roaches, but the smell coming from the apartment. A few days later the sheriff showed up and the tenants
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 16
    The next day the exterminator showed up, told me he was treating all 16 apartments and the infestation should be over. As we were talking he told me of the conditions he found in the 16th apartment. He urged me to walk up with him while he treated it for the 3rd time in three days. When he opened the door the stench would bowl you over. I briefly entered and could see dead roaches lying everywhere. Kitchen counter, bath vanity,
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 17
    carpets, window ledges etc. Not just one of two, but like the Crimean War had been replayed by roaches. But the bathroom was the worst. There the toilet was full of dried waste. The utility had turned off the tenant's water months earlier and the tenants continued to use the toilet without flushing and then when it was full started using the bathtub.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 18
    A few days later a crew came in and removed the carpet. I never knew roaches could live under carpet, but they obviously did. You could not have stepped on the exposed sub floor without crunching multiple dead roaches. For the next 90 days the pest control tech came every two weeks and treated the apartments. As far as I could tell that was the end of the roaches.
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 19
    It was a long time before I could eat crunchy foods, as it was too reminiscent of the sound of roach carcasses crunching under the shoes in that apartment. 239 Reply Share
    via u/HotMilkBall
  • 20
    Hot MilkBall OP. 1 day ago oh my GOD. I read this with my hand over my mouth. That is just absolutely FOUL! I cannot even imagine. The PTSD from roaches is very very real. I'm glad you're able to eat crunchies again now! Reply Share 111
    via u/HotMilkBall

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