Bed Bugs in a PEI Rental: Who Pays?

The Rental Office's landlord pest page says the cost of removing pests from a rental unit is the landlord's responsibility, and that you should investigate and clean up immediately when you are told. It tells landlords to contact a licensed pest control technician right away. Read the Rental Office landlord pest page for the wording.

That is guidance from the Rental Office, not a section of the Residential Tenancy Act. The Act does not name bed bugs. The official sources reviewed also do not give any section that lets you bill a tenant directly for treatment. What you can do when you think the tenant is responsible is covered below under the deposit.

Two pieces of law and one set of guidance are in play, and they are easy to mix up.

Source	What it says
Public Health Act Rental Accommodation Regulations s.9(c) (provincial)	The owner must take necessary precautions and undertake necessary treatment to prevent or eliminate infestations. Bedbugs are named in the list of pests.
Same regulations s.14(d) (provincial)	The tenant must immediately notify the owner and a public health official of any infestation in the unit, in writing.
Same regulations s.14(g) (provincial)	The tenant has a general duty to cooperate to keep shared areas clean.
Residential Tenancy Act s.28	You must keep the property in repair to the health, safety and housing standards required by law. The tenant is responsible for ordinary cleanliness and for undue damage caused by the tenant's actions or neglect.
Rental Office guidance	The landlord pays for pest removal and should use a licensed pest control technician.

The regulation text on the government site is marked as updated in 2016, before the current Act. The provincial program page confirms that the regulations are still the authority. The regulation is the place to read the exact wording.

1. Respond right away and keep a record. Date the report, and keep your replies.
2. Book a licensed pest control technician. The provincial Rental Accommodations page says professional pest control chemicals can only be applied by certified pesticide applicators on PEI, and that store-bought chemicals are not recommended for an infestation.
3. Give written notice of entry. The Act requires written notice at least 24 hours before you enter to carry out a repair or replacement or do work in the unit. Entry is also allowed with the tenant's permission given within the last 10 days, or in an emergency. Whether the "do work" ground covers pest treatment is not stated in the sources reviewed. Reading it that way is a reasonable reading, not a quoted rule.
4. Follow up. Keep invoices and treatment dates. See the PEI repairs and maintenance guide for the tenant-side view.

For entry rules in general, see our PEI guide on tenants who refuse entry.

Provincial Environmental Health lists pest infestations inside the dwelling as a health-related concern it investigates, on a complaint from a tenant or a property owner. It will not get involved if the landlord, owner or property management has not been contacted first. If it inspects, it issues a written letter with deadlines. Environmental Health does not do the treatment itself.

The Rental Office tenant page says a tenant who gets no action can call Environmental Health (902-368-4970). The Rental Office gets a copy of any letter sent to you. The tenant can then apply to the Rental Office for an order, and for a return of rent if the unit is unusable. The tenant is told to give the landlord a reasonable period to investigate and treat before escalating. See the tenant pest page and the program page. A landlord may also request an inspection through the inspection request service.

The Rental Office says that if you can prove the tenant is responsible, you may be able to retain a portion or all of the security deposit. The word "prove" matters. A tenant who brought bed bugs into the unit is not automatically at fault, and the sources reviewed do not set a test for how responsibility is shown.

The process is the same as any deposit claim. You must apply to the Director within 15 days after the tenancy ends, unless the tenant agrees in writing or a prior Director order for an unpaid amount exists. The Act's tenant duty on damage is limited to undue damage caused by the tenant's actions or neglect. Form 2(B) option (e) is the deposit claim and option (f) is compensation above the deposit. See our PEI security deposit guide and when a landlord can keep a security deposit.

The sources reviewed do not state any tenant preparation duties, such as laundering or clearing clutter, beyond the general cooperation duty. They also do not set an express consequence for a tenant who refuses access for treatment. The general routes are an order from the Director directing the tenant to comply, and a Form 4(A) notice for failing to correct a material-term breach after written warning (reason (i)). That is a reading of the sections, not an official statement about pests.

Ask the Rental Office about a specific case. Forms are on the Rental Office forms page.

This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.