How does the free market deal with bed bugs?

[libertybrewcity]

Soooo, my sis moved into this apartment in NYC for about a month and realized the entire building was infested with bedbugs. She was completely covered head to toe in red bumps and bites. Apparently, the place she was moving into next was also infested with bed bugs. It is state law or city law BTW that a landlord or property owner has to tell a renter or to renter-to-be if there are bedbugs in the building. She would have signed a one year lease of NYC rent without knowing.

I don't know if you've ever had bed bugs, but it really messes with you physically(bites) and mentally.

Is there any way for the market to help the consumer here? It's not like you can stay a night and make sure the room is bed bug free. There must be some sort of contractual agreement that could take place.

[dannno]

Move.

Check the next place for bed bugs before moving in.

[MRK]

Interview residents.
Review internet postings.
Ask to examine the unit prior to moving in. Contract someone to assess the condition of the unit if you don't know what to look for.

I live in Indiana and I've heard a lot of stories about bedbugs all across the country, but especially NYC. I know this isn't a practical option for most, but I would consider the bedbug scenario before accepting a job offer there, for example.

Lastly, you can ask the landlord if they have heard of bedbugs being in their building. If they deny it and residents have reported it to them, they have fraudulently described the condition of their unit. When landlords are fraudulent, word gets around. Internet reputations are hard to escape, and serve as a deterrent to dishonest leasing if a landlord wants to protect his business.

[dannno]

Courts are for fraud/theft/injury/damages. If it wasn't in the contract, then there isn't much grounds imo. I take a more buyer beware attitude, I'm not big on the idea of using courts to settle things that the buyer should have looked into first that aren't in the contract.

[Kludge]

I wouldn't expect many contracts to be signed in a free market. I very much doubt free market courts will be objective if they have any substantial power at all unless from itself becoming an oppressive government. Without gun controls, I believe renters would also be MUCH more sympathetic to the idea of giving their renters full disclosure of the property's status. Should a renter fail to disclose something like bed-bugs to a renter prior to having them sign a one-year lease, it may be the last contract he ever enters into. I wonder how Bernie Madoff would have fared without the many police escorts he was given. I don't think he'd fare very well.

[dannno]

Should a renter fail to disclose something like bed-bugs to a renter prior to having them sign a one-year lease, it may be the last contract he ever enters into.

Wow, I'd really hate to be your landlord :eek:

[Kludge]

Wow, I'd really hate to be your landlord :eek:
Nah. I simply would never enter into a contract. Considering hundreds (even thousands, sometimes) city folk live in a single apartment complex, and probably the majority is lower-income, statistically increasing the chance of there being quite a few suicidal/homocidal drug-abusers, I wouldn't want to be THEIR landlord - and I especially wouldn't want to hide important information which will make them miserable and piss them off.

[Kregisen]

Ask them if they have bedbuds before signing the lease...if they say no and there are, you can take it to court.

[dannno]

Well my answer to "big city" problems in the free market is that the main reason cities keep growing and trying to become more dense is because our banking system creates wealth out of thin air which turns into capital that is primarily released in big city centers, which magnetises people out of smaller rural towns through lay-offs and bank foreclosures, pushing more people into the city centers over time.

So there will be less big city problems to deal with, and since there will also be more wealth and savings, that will increase people's versatility and ability to adapt to different environments if they need to change locations, jobs, etc.

[Anti Federalist]

Soooo, my sis moved into this apartment in NYC for about a month and realized the entire building was infested with bedbugs. She was completely covered head to toe in red bumps and bites. Apparently, the place she was moving into next was also infested with bed bugs. It is state law or city law BTW that a landlord or property owner has to tell a renter or to renter-to-be if there are bedbugs in the building. She would have signed a one year lease of NYC rent without knowing.

I don't know if you've ever had bed bugs, but it really messes with you physically(bites) and mentally.

Is there any way for the market to help the consumer here? It's not like you can stay a night and make sure the room is bed bug free. There must be some sort of contractual agreement that could take place.

Sure there is "not suited for use intended".

She's entitled to break the contract and sue for damages as the property is clearly untenable.

BTW, do not let her into your house until all her clothes are hot washed and fumigated.

[Icymudpuppy]

Hire a pest control professional.

or suggest it to your landlord.

We can always use more work.

I don't do bugs, but I have many colleages who do.

[SimpleName]

The situation insinuates that individuals have the right to information, that people can force others to supply them with information. Despite that, of course a contractual agreement can be worked out for sure, but that is rather basic. For wide-scale consumer aid, the landlord could try to get a stamp of approval by a private organization (or a voluntarily public one) who inspects every once and a while. Obviously the consumer would have to pay more for the certified apartments, but it is completely up to the renter to determine what they value more (cash or safety).

[Elwar]

Easy, as my mother always used to say.

Good-night, sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite.

[pcosmar]

How does the free market deal with____????

We would have to have one to find out.

[osan]

Apparently it keeps voting them back into office.