Bryks Sam
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Consultancy, 536 Rustic Road, Toronto, Ontario M6L 1X9, Canada.
Insects. 2011 Jul 19;2(3):343-53. doi: 10.3390/insects2030343.
The resurgence of bed bugs in major urban centres in North America has resulted in conflict between landlords and tenants. This is commonly focused on attribution of blame for source of infestation, on responsibility, on costs for preparation, treatment and losses, and for compensation as rent abatement and/or alternative temporary housing. In Ontario, Canada, these issues are often decided by adjudicators at the Landlord and Tenant Board hearing claims, counter-claims and defense by legal representation (lawyers and paralegals) as well as through mediation. Evidence in these hearings may include photographs, invoices for costs as well as testimony by tenants, landlords and "expert witnesses" who are most often pest control firms representing their landlord clients. A total of 44 Landlord and Tenant Board adjudicated cases available online were analyzed. The analysis included elements of the decisions such as adjudicator, claimant (landlord or tenant), basis of claim, review of evidence, amount of claim, amount awarded, and evaluation of the quality of the evidence. The results of the analysis of these findings are discussed. Recommendations for improvement of adjudicator decisions on the basis of knowledge of bed bug biology and Integrated Pest Management best practices are presented as well as the importance of education of tenants and landlords to a process of mutual trust, support and accountability.
臭虫在北美主要城市中心再度出现，导致了房东与房客之间的冲突。这通常集中在对虫害来源的责任归咎、责任归属、准备、处理和损失的费用，以及作为租金减免和/或替代临时住房的赔偿问题上。在加拿大安大略省，这些问题通常由房东和房客委员会的仲裁员在听证会上裁决，听证会涉及法律代表（律师和律师助理）提出的索赔、反诉和辩护，也包括调解过程。这些听证会上的证据可能包括照片、费用发票以及房客、房东和“专家证人”的证词，这些“专家证人”大多是代表房东客户的害虫防治公司。对网上可得的44起房东和房客委员会裁决的案件进行了分析。分析内容包括裁决的要素，如仲裁员、索赔人（房东或房客）、索赔依据、证据审查、索赔金额、裁定金额以及对证据质量的评估。讨论了这些调查结果的分析结果。基于臭虫生物学知识和综合虫害管理最佳实践，提出了改进仲裁员裁决的建议，以及对房客和房东进行教育，使其了解相互信任、支持和问责过程的重要性。
