CHICAGO BUILDING CODE RE: PESTS
CHICAGO BUILDING CODE RE: PESTS
13-196-630 Residential buildings – Responsibilities of owner or operator.
Every owner or operator must:
(a) Comply with the requirements imposed on him by this chapter;
(b) Maintain in a clean, sanitary and safe condition the shared or public areas of the dwelling or premises, and maintain and repair any equipment of a type specified in this Code which he supplies or is required to supply;
(c) Exterminate any insects, rodents or other pests in any family unit, if infestation is caused by the failure of the owner or operator to maintain the dwelling in a ratproof or reasonable insect-proof condition, and he must exterminate such pests in any family unit in the dwelling, regardless of the cause of infestation, if infestation exists in two or more of the family units in the dwelling or in the shared or public parts of any dwelling containing two or more family units; and
(d) Supply and maintain the facilities for refuse disposal which are required of him by Section 7-28-220.
July 16,2010
My son has mice and the mouse drippings are all over the place. He has incessantly complained to the landlord and they no absolutely nothing about it. He has bought various things to get rid of them and the mice still persist.
Sincerely,
Ms. Lynette M.Grossman
In Chicago there are laws that allow people to use their rent to hire an exterminator. The law allows you to spend the greater of $500 or one half months rent to correct the problem. That may be sufficient to fix your problem. The is process starts with a letter to the landlord. There are sample letters on our be page please follow the link http://www.tenants-rights.org/apartment-conditions-repair-repair-and-deduct-sample-letter/.
I have bedbugs in my building. More than two of us have complained with very little response. They spray a little, and that’s the end of it. I have been living there since April, am a senior citizen, and think we deserve better. I know how to get rid of them and so do they, I know that it is a comprehensive approach with spraying, steaming, and caulking the crevices in the wall. I had someone in the alderman’s office talk to the property manager, and the next day a staff member came up with a little steamer and steamed my couch. He did a really nice job and it lasted a few weeks because in spite of me vacuuming and spending $50 a month on vacuum bags, doing laundry every day, they did not steam the carpet or any of the rest of the steps that you have to take, so I am being bitten up again. I want to deduct a portion of my rent, as I can not afford to move, and I have done this before, but I can’t find a sample of the letter that you send to the property manager. Can you help me?
Here is a link to some sample letters regarding repairs. http://www.tenants-rights.org/category/landlord-tenant-faq/apartment-conditions-repair/