This month an owner in a Rhode Island landlord group asked a question that fits Massachusetts just as well. An exterminator was coming for a yellow-jacket nest. The tenant wanted money to stay somewhere else while it got sprayed. Did the owner have to pay?
Most of the group said no. For Massachusetts, that's close. But the hotel is the small bill. The big one comes if you're slow.
In a building with two or more units, Massachusetts puts pests on the owner. In Fall River that covers nearly every rental. The Census puts about 95 out of every 100 rented homes in the city in buildings that size.
Education for owners in Fall River, New Bedford, Somerset, Swansea and Westport. Not legal advice.
Who pays for pest control in a Massachusetts rental?
It comes down to how many units are in the building.
Two or more units, and it's on the owner. The State Sanitary Code, at 105 CMR 410.550(B), says the owner "shall maintain it and its premises free from infestation and shall be responsible for pest elimination." You call the exterminator. You get it handled.
One unit, and it's usually the tenant. Under 410.550(A), whoever lives in a single-unit home keeps it free of pests. The exception is the building itself. If the owner hasn't kept up the "structural or other building elements necessary to keep pests from entering," the job goes back to the owner.
Two more things land on the owner before anyone ever calls. You have to inspect each unit for pests before a new tenant moves in (410.550(F)). And you have to keep records the board of health can ask to see (410.550(G)). That check belongs in your apartment turnover standards.
Does a landlord have to pay for a hotel during extermination?
Not under the pest rules. Go through 410.550 line by line. It covers who's responsible, how the work gets done, the notice tenants get, and the tenant's duty to let the exterminator in. Nothing in it says the tenant moves out or the owner pays for a room.
When Massachusetts wants tenants out during work, it says so. The lead paint rules are the example. 105 CMR 460.160(A)(1) says, "All occupants must be relocated from a dwelling unit while any abatement work that is not low-risk is taking place inside their unit." The pest section has nothing like it.
So if a tenant asks for hotel money over a routine treatment, the pest code doesn't back them up. Most answers online stop there. That's where owners get in trouble.
Where does a hotel bill come from, then?
From waiting. If you know about a pest problem and sit on it, Massachusetts gives the tenant a few ways to make it expensive.
The biggest is the quiet enjoyment law, M.G.L. c. 186, § 14. A landlord who interferes with a tenant's quiet enjoyment owes "actual and consequential damages or three month's rent, whichever is greater," plus costs and attorney's fees. Hotel receipts are exactly what a tenant would bring to court as part of those damages.
You don't have to mean any harm to lose. In Al-Ziab v. Mourgis, 424 Mass. 847 (1997), the Supreme Judicial Court said the tenant has to show "at least negligent conduct by a landlord." Careless is enough. The court also repeated an older line worth remembering: a landlord who fails "to repair defects of which he has notice" has often been found to break the law. Earlier, in Simon v. Solomon, 385 Mass. 91 (1982), the court looked at the "natural and probable consequence" of what the landlord did, not what he meant to do.
Run it on a $1,500 apartment. Three months' rent is $4,500. That's the floor, before you're paying the tenant's lawyer too. One hotel night looks pretty cheap next to that.
Then there's repair and deduct, under M.G.L. c. 111, § 127L. Say the board of health or a court certifies a violation that may endanger health, and you get written notice. You then have 5 days to start the repairs or sign a contract for them, and 14 days to mostly finish. Miss that and the tenant can hire it out and take it off the rent, up to four months' rent in a 12-month stretch.
And if you file a nonpayment eviction, M.G.L. c. 239, § 8A lets the tenant bring up the condition of the apartment as a defense or a counterclaim. That claim can include the gap between the rent and what the apartment was really worth with the problem in it. It only works if you knew about the problem before the tenant fell behind.
What if the tenant caused the problem?
You still have to get rid of the pests. In a building with two or more units, 410.550(B) doesn't make an exception for bugs a tenant brought in.
What changes is how much the tenant can do to you. Section 127L says its rights "shall not extend to conditions or violations caused by a tenant," or by the tenant's household or guests. Under § 8A, a withholding claim fails if you show the tenant caused the problem.
Tenants have their own duties, too. They have to keep the unit clean enough not to draw pests (410.550(E)). They also have to let you in for pest work with 48 hours' notice (410.003(E)) and follow the exterminator's prep instructions (410.550(D)(3)).
If it ever comes down to who caused what, your move-in inspection and the exterminator's reports are what you'll be holding. Keep them.
Can I treat it myself, and what notice do tenants get?
If you don't live in the building, no. The state Department of Public Health's pest guidance for owners says that if you don't live in the property, or it has four or more units, "you are required to hire a licensed pesticide applicator." An owner who lives in a two- or three-unit building can set traps and baits and apply pesticides.
When a company sprays inside, 410.550(D) requires at least 48 hours' written notice to the people in every apartment in the building. The notice has to list:
- the name and phone number of the company
- the date they plan to come
- the places they'll treat
- the names, EPA registration numbers and active ingredients of the products they may use
The same state guidance says to inspect, or have a pro inspect, "as soon as possible" after a tenant calls about pests. It also warns that "it may take several visits to get rid of the problem."
What about yellow jackets this late in the year?
The original question has a clock of its own. The UMass Extension yellowjacket fact sheet says activity "will cease as soon as we receive the first hard frost of the season." The workers die off and only the queen makes it through the winter. Their 2023 Hort Notes says the same about bald-faced hornets, which are a kind of yellowjacket, and adds that the nest "is not reused."
So by late October a nest is close to done on its own. I still wouldn't wait. If it's in a wall by a door or next to the stairs, somebody can get stung before the frost shows up.
The code defines an infestation as "the recurrent presence of insects and/or rodents." You could argue one nest doesn't count. I wouldn't want to make that argument to the board of health. Get it handled.
What should an owner do the day the pest call comes in?
- Write down the date and time you heard about it. Under § 127L, § 8A and the court cases, what you knew and when is what matters.
- Book a licensed company. If you don't live in the building, the state says you have to.
- Make sure the 48-hour written notice goes out to every apartment, with the prep instructions.
- Keep every report from the inspection, the treatment and any follow-up visits. The board of health can ask for them under 410.550(G).
- Fix how they got in. Check the gaps, screens, doors and foundation. Our preventive maintenance guide covers sealing the gaps mice use.
If a tenant still asks for a hotel night after all that, make it a money decision. Put one night next to three months' rent and a lawyer's bill, and decide.
If you'd rather not be the one taking that call, here's how Fortified property management works and what it costs. Or call or text (508) 671-7228.
Fall River landlord FAQs
Is the landlord responsible for pest control in Massachusetts?
In a building with two or more units, yes. The State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410.550(B), makes the owner keep the building free of pests and get rid of them. In a single-unit home it's usually the tenant's job, unless the owner hasn't kept up the parts of the building that keep pests out.
Does a Massachusetts landlord have to pay for a hotel during extermination?
Not under the pest rules. The pest section of the State Sanitary Code never says a tenant moves out or gets a room. The lead paint rules do require that for most deleading work. The real cost is being slow. A tenant can sue for damages or three months' rent, whichever is more, under M.G.L. c. 186, § 14.
How much notice does a tenant get before an exterminator sprays?
At least 48 hours, in writing, before a company applies pesticide for indoor pests. The notice goes to every apartment and lists the company's name and phone number, the date, where they'll treat, and the products with their EPA registration numbers and active ingredients. Tenants have to let them in and follow the prep instructions.
Can a landlord spray for bugs without a license in Massachusetts?
Only if you live there and the building is small. State health guidance says an owner who lives in a two- or three-unit building can set traps and baits and apply pesticides. If you don't live in the building, or it has four or more units, you have to hire a licensed pesticide applicator.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure, Fall River city: data.census.gov
- 105 CMR 410.550, Extermination of Insects, Rodents and Skunks: law.cornell.edu (official text: mass.gov)
- 105 CMR 410.003, General Provisions: law.cornell.edu
- 105 CMR 410.020, Definitions: law.cornell.edu
- 105 CMR 460.160, Safety Precautions in Areas Undergoing Deleading: law.cornell.edu
- M.G.L. c. 186, § 14: malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 111, § 127L: malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 239, § 8A: malegislature.gov
- Al-Ziab v. Mourgis, 424 Mass. 847 (1997): masscases.com archive
- Simon v. Solomon, 385 Mass. 91 (1982): justia.com
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Pest Control Guidance for Owners: mass.gov
- UMass Amherst Extension, Yellowjackets fact sheet: umass.edu
- UMass Amherst Extension, Hort Notes 2023 Vol. 34:7: umass.edu