A study evaluates the costs and benefits of bed bug disclosure policies for landlords. Bed bug infestations have resurged in the United States in recent decades. In response, a growing number of states and municipalities have implemented disclosure policies that require landlords to notify prospective tenants of recent infestations. Sherrie Xie, Michael Levy, and colleagues developed a mathematical model of bed bug infestation dynamics and renter behavior to estimate the financial impact of such disclosure policies over time. The model predicts such policies would initially impose a cost to landlords, given that tenants would be less likely to rent infested and recently infested units, leading to an increase in vacancies. However, by partially removing infested and recently infested units from the market, such behavior would also reduce the rate at which infestations spread, leading to a market-wide decline in infestation prevalence. Having fewer infestations would reduce both the need for treatment and the number of vacancies caused by infestations. As a result, the cost of disclosure to landlords would decline so that by the fifth year, landlords would experience net savings compared with the absence of disclosure, and these savings would further increase with time. According to the authors, disclosure policies could benefit both tenants and landlords in the long term.
Article #18-14647: "Dynamics of bed bug infestations and control under disclosure policies," by Sherrie Xie, Alison L. Hill, Chris R. Rehmann, and Michael Z. Levy.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sherrie Xie, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; tel: 352-284-2589; e-mail: xiex@upenn.edu; Michael Z. Levy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; tel: 215-746-8131; e-mail: mzlevy@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
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