Bill Text: HI SB22 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Bed Bugs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-03-09 - Referred to HSG, JHA, referral sheet 17 [SB22 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2023-SB22-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
22 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO BED BUGS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
The legislature further finds that more than twenty states have laws or regulations specific to bed bugs. Hawaii's landlord-tenant laws, however, do not explicitly address bed bugs.
The purpose of this Act is to prohibit landlords, including those operating in public housing and educational dorm settings, from renting a dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation and establish procedures that landlords must take upon receiving notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation.
SECTION 2. Chapter 521, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§521- Bed bugs; procedures and reporting. (a) Prior to renting a dwelling unit,
if the landlord has notice of a suspected or actual bed bug infestation, a
landlord shall visually inspect the dwelling unit for any evidence of the
presence of bed bugs. Evidence of bed
bugs may be indicated by observation of a living bed bug; bed bug carapace;
eggs or egg casings; or brownish or blood-colored spotting on linens,
mattresses, or furniture. A landlord
shall not show or rent to a prospective tenant any dwelling unit that the
landlord knows or reasonably suspects has a current bed bug infestation. This section shall not require a landlord to
inspect a dwelling unit or the common areas of the premises for bed bugs prior
to rental if the landlord has not received notice of a suspected or actual bed
bug infestation. If a bed bug
infestation is evident on visual inspection, the landlord shall be considered
to have notice.
(b) Prior to renting a dwelling unit, a landlord
shall disclose to a prospective tenant if the landlord has knowledge of an
adjacent unit or units that are currently infested with bed bugs, are being
treated for bed bugs, or have been treated for bed bugs within the previous
thirty days.
(c) Upon notification by a person who finds or
reasonably suspects a bed bug infestation in a dwelling unit or common area of
the premises, the landlord shall within fourteen days of receipt of
notification:
(1) Acknowledge receipt of notification
of the suspected infestation; and
(2) Inspect, or obtain investigatory
services from a pest control operator licensed pursuant to chapter 460J for,
the dwelling unit or common area;
provided
that the tenant shall provide reasonable access to the dwelling unit or common
area upon forty-eight hours' notice.
(d) Upon a determination of an infestation, the
landlord shall within fourteen days:
(1) Obtain and provide remedial services
from a pest control operator licensed pursuant to chapter 460J;
(2) Inspect, or obtain investigatory
services from a pest control operator for, any unit directly adjacent to or
above or below the dwelling unit or common area from which the original notification
came;
(3) Provide all tenants of units who may
be affected by the bed bug infestation with notice of the infestation. Electronic notice may be provided by electronic
mail or by an electronic portal or management communication system that is
available to both a landlord and a tenant. Similar notification shall be provided to all
tenants in connection with determinations made regarding a common area of the
premises;
(4) Notify the department of health of
the infestation and report any control measures taken, including chemicals
applied and other remedies provided; and
(5) Maintain a written record of all
notifications and control measures provided, including reports of chemicals
applied and other remedies provided, and any other reports or receipts prepared
by the pest control operator, which shall be maintained for two years;
provided
that the tenant shall provide reasonable access to the dwelling unit or common
area upon forty-eight hours' notice.
(e) Responsibility for cost of bed bug
remediation shall be determined as follows:
(1) If a tenant notifies the landlord
that the tenant discovered or reasonably suspects a bed bug infestation within
the tenant's dwelling unit within sixty days after the commencement of the
lease, or within thirty days of a discovery of a bed bug infestation in an
adjoining unit in the building, the landlord shall be responsible for the costs
of investigating and remediating the infestation; and
(2) If a tenant notifies the landlord
that the tenant discovered or reasonably suspects a bed bug infestation more
than sixty days after the commencement of the lease, or more than thirty days after
a discovery of a bed bug infestation in an adjoining unit in the building, the
landlord shall be responsible for investigating and remediating the bed bug
infestation; provided that the tenant shall equally share in the responsibility
for the reasonable costs for remediating the infestation in the tenant's unit.
The tenant shall not be responsible for sharing in any costs for dwelling units controlled, owned, or managed by the Hawaii public housing authority or by a university or college in the State.
(f) A tenant shall not knowingly bring into the dwelling
unit personal furnishings or belongings that are known or reasonably suspected
to be infested with bed bugs.
(g)
A tenant shall have the duty to notify a landlord of the suspected
existence of bed bugs within the tenant's dwelling unit.
(h) As used in this section:
"Bed
bug infestation" means the presence of bed bugs.
"Bed
bug remediation" means action taken by the landlord that substantially
reduces the presence of bed bugs in a dwelling unit for at least sixty days.
"Dwelling
unit" means a structure, or part of a structure, which is used as a home,
residence, or sleeping place by one person or by two or more persons
maintaining a common household, to the exclusion of all others. Notwithstanding section 521-7, "dwelling
unit" includes:
(1) A public
housing project or complex directly controlled, owned, or managed by the Hawaii
public housing authority pursuant to the federal low rent public housing
program, or a structure on a property directly controlled, owned, or managed by
the Hawaii public housing authority; and
(2) A residence in a
structure directly controlled and managed by a university or college in the
State for housing its students or faculty, or residence in a structure erected
on land leased from the university or college by a nonprofit corporation for
the exclusive purpose of housing students or faculty of the college or
university; or a private dorm management company that offers a minimum of fifty
beds to students of any college, university, or other institution of higher
education in the State."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Bed Bugs; Landlords; Rental Dwelling Units; Infestations
Description:
Prohibits landlords, including those operating in public housing and educational dorm settings, from renting a dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation. Establishes procedures that landlords shall take upon receiving notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
