Landlords are likely to have to disclose bed bug infestations to tenants in apartment buildings under legislation approved recently by both the state Senate and Assembly.

Lawmakers passed A.9329/S..9227 during the closing days of this year’s legislative session. The bill require landlords and those leasing properties to provide notice to tenants about bed bug infestation within 24 hours of their discovery. Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson, D-Bronx, said bedbug infestations can lead to allergic reactions, skin irritation, and secondary infections, causing physical discomfort and stress while also leading to mental health issues such as anxiety, insomnia, and social isolation.

Assemblyman Andy Goodell, R-Jamestown, and Assemblyman Joe Giglio, R-Gowanda, both voted against the measure. Goodell argued the legislation isn’t necessarily off base, but questioned the strict 24 hour time frame to notify tenants.

“What if the tenant who has a bunk bed infestation goes out on vacation?” Goodell asked. “Does this create any obligation on the part of the tenant to actually address the bed bug situation in their own apartment? The answer is no. Without the tenant’s cooperation the landlord can’t address it because in order to address bed bug infestations you’ve got to wash all the linens. And if the tenants don’t cooperate the landlord is just out putting up notices – ‘Welcome to my building. apartment 1A has a bed bug infestation.’ So I appreciate the concern but it leaves so many issues open, including liability issues.”

According to pestworld.org, 23 states have passed or enacted bed bug specific legislation or rule making, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. An Environmental Protection Agency roundup of bedbug laws indicates two New York City specific bed bug laws on the books – one being a New York CIty law requiring a bed bug infestation disclosure when a new lease is signed and the other a state education law requiring bed bug notification in schools be sent to parents, though that law only applies to cities with a population of 1 million people or more.

“You know our grandparents were on to something when they wrapped everything in plastic, but now we are ripping everything out of the plastic and acting brand new,” Jackson said on the Assembly floor. “I’ll let you catch that later, but back to the lecture at hand, bed bugs. I remember in 2010 when bed bugs tore up New York City. We were wrapping everything back in plastic. We shut down movie theaters. We had to buy covers for our beds and our pillows to protect us at night. The only thing this bill is asking us to do is to be good neighbors, good landlords and alert the people around us. We know that a female bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime and for me, it just makes me itch just to think about it.”

Goodell took a longer view of the bill, criticizing actions taken by the state Legislature over the past few years that he says make business increasingly difficult for landlords.

“It would be refreshing if this legislature started passing laws to make it easier to be a landlord, easier to provide high quality affordable housing, and not add more and more and more and more and more restrictions on landlords,” Goodell said. “So I appreciate the concern that we want to know what’s happening in our neighbor’s apartments and whether they have bed bugs, but I think imposing this burden on the landlords is inappropriate.”