[1]      In her application of January 11, 2016, the tenant alleges that her dwelling was infested with bedbugs and cockroaches.

[2]      Consequently, she asks to be awarded moral and material damages in the amounts of $3,500 and $6,000 respectively.

[3]      The evidence at the hearing was uncontested and revealed the following.

[4]      The parties were bound by a residential lease for an indeterminate term. The tenant agreed to pay rent in the amount of $395 per month.

[5]      The tenant took possession of the dwelling on September 1, 2015.

[6]      In the first week of her occupancy, she saw that the dwelling was infested with insects.

[7]      She tried to kill them with a popular “over the counter” spray.

[8]      Not surprisingly, the bugs continued to prosper.

[9]      Infestations of bedbugs and roaches require the intervention of a professional exterminator but the tenant did not contact the building manager until October 3, 2015.

[10]   The tribunal saw the tenant’s photographs of bedbugs and roaches and on the basis of her credible testimony, has no doubt that even though the tenant was not bitten, the presence of the pests was stressful. They invaded every room in the dwelling and even made their way into the pocket of her jacket!

[11]   Nevertheless, pursuant to Article 1866 of the Civil Code of Quebec, it was incumbent upon the tenant to bring the infestation to the landlord’s attention immediately.

[12]   No landlord can be assailed for failing to address a deficiency of which he is not made aware.

[13]   The tenant said that on or about the 3^rd of October, the landlord sent someone into her dwelling.

[14]   She does not know if he was a professional exterminator. She said that he asked her to leave the dwelling for five minutes while he sprayed it with an insecticide. Whatever the nature of the spray, it appears to have accomplished nothing. Moreover, on the day after the treatment, the bugs returned in numbers greater than before.

[15]   On the 26^th of October, the landlord transferred the tenant to another dwelling in the building.

[16]   The tenant’s photographs reveal that this dwelling too was infested.

[17]   By the 30^th of October, the tenant decided that she had had enough and moved out. Her peace of mind had been seriously undermined and she feared for her physical health. What is more, she concluded that she could no longer work at home.

[18]   Given that the tenant occupied the dwelling for only two months, the tribunal will conclude that her claim for moral damages in the amount of $3,500 is excessive.

[19]   Moreover, she failed to mitigate her damages pursuant to Article 1479 of the Civil Code of Quebec when she failed to notify the landlord of the infestation before the 3^rd of October.

« 1479. A person who is bound to make reparation for an injury is not liable for any aggravation of the injury that the victim could have avoided. »

[20]   This being said, the evidence suggests that the treatment of the dwelling on October 3, 2015 was substandard. 

[21]   The tribunal has had ample opportunity to hear from licensed exterminators and has heard of no case in which an occupant has been asked to vacate a dwelling for a mere five minutes while the dwelling was being treated.

[22]   Moreover, the tenant said that the treatment only seems to have exacerbated the problem. The landlord was free to offer his own evidence regarding the efficacy of the purported treatment but did not deign to attend the hearing.

[23]   The tribunal will conclude that the landlord failed to fulfill his obligation to provide the tenant with the peaceable enjoyment of her dwelling (Article 1854 C.c.Q.) and pursuant to Article 1863 C.c.Q., will award the tenant moral damages in the amount of $500.

[24]   With regard to her claim of $6,000 in material damages, the tenant produced a bundle of invoices that reflect the cost of clothing and other items that she felt obliged to discard in the wake of the infestation.

[25]   Here too, the tenant failed to mitigate her damages. Had she taken the trouble to consult a licensed exterminator, she would have learned that most items in an infested dwelling can be treated and need not be relegated to the trash.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE TRIBUNAL:

[26]   GRANTS the application in part;

[27]   CONDEMNS the landlord to pay to the tenant the sum of $500 with interest at the legal rate plus the indemnity pursuant to Article 1619 C.c.Q. calculated from January 11, 2016 plus judicial costs in the amount of $81;

[28]   DISMISSES the other conclusions in the application.