Bed Bug New York: Landlords Now Asking Tenants About Bed Bug History

Landlords are planning to ask prospective tenants whether they've ever lived with bedbugs.

From the New York Post:

Landlords and co-op boards -- now required to disclose their buildings' one-year bedbug history to prospective residents -- plan to make the same demand of would-be tenants, sources told The Post.

"It evens the playing field by making sure the landlord isn't conversely bringing bedbugs into the building" by renting to an infested tenant, said landlord attorney Jeff Turkel.

Landlords could incorporate questions about bedbug problems into their new leases. If prospective tenants say they've had a history with bedbugs, Turkel said landlords could deny their application.

Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who sponsored the Bedbug Disclosure Act, which became law in August, said such a practice would be "discriminatory."