A Bakersfield woman whose story first aired on our sister station, Telemundo last week, claims she's being evicted after publicly revealing her apartment is infested with bed bugs.
The woman was notified Monday she has 30 days to vacate her rental apartment.
"They knock on my door and they gave me this piece of paper," said Josefina Andrade. "I asked her what it was, and she said if you don't like it, we can meet in court."
Josefina Andrade claims she is a victim of retaliation.
Last Monday, September 17th, our sister station, Telemundo, first aired a story with Andrade, who showed us bed bugs inside her apartment. They were everywhere, including her children's beds.
One week later, Andrade received an eviction notice.
"I think this paper is unfair because I have to protect my children, and I have to do anything in my power to protect them," said Andrade.
So who's responsible for getting rid of bed bugs?
The Kern County Public Health Department says the answer is usually in the rental agreement. "With the property management or the owner of that particular building, what's outlined is the responsibilities of the owner and the tenant," said Mariel Mehdipour.
"The tenant needs to have given notice to the landlord about the problem, and if the landlord continues to fail to address the problem then whatever damages result after the landlord's been given notice, then the tenant could go and file a small claims action to recover the losses the tenant has suffered," said Celida Miramonte with Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance.
Andrade told us she reported the infestation to her apartment manager three months ago and her apartment was fumigated once.
But, the apartment owner told us a different story.
"Sometimes the tenants don't want to cooperate and our hands our tied. The apartments who are still telling us they are still infested, the same people we have on record, that they have refused for the company to go in and spray their units," said Bob Kamineni, Property Owner, Positive Investments.
Andrade says she's never had any problems before and her rent was always on time. Now, she's looking for a new home. She says she'll have to buy new furniture to prevent an infestation at her new home.
