Do landlords have to pay for pest control in NC rentals?

Roaches, bedbugs, mice — when an infestation is the landlord's responsibility, and how to make them act on it.

A serious pest infestation can make a rental unfit to live in. In North Carolina, that puts it squarely inside the landlord's duty under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42 to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.

Whose responsibility is it?

The general rule: landlords are responsible for keeping the unit habitable, which includes addressing infestations that aren't the tenant's fault — especially in multi-unit buildings where pests travel between units. A landlord can't simply blame the tenant to avoid the duty; they have to actually deal with the problem.

There are limits. If an infestation is clearly and solely caused by a tenant's own conduct, the picture changes. But "the landlord says it's your fault" is not the same as "it's your fault," and landlords often reach for that line to dodge the bill.

How to make it move

1. Report in writing with specifics — what pest, where, how long, and any prior reports.
2. Document with photos/video and keep an exterminator's findings if you have them.
3. Ask for professional extermination, not a can of spray. One-off DIY rarely solves an infestation and doesn't satisfy the habitability duty.
4. Escalate if ignored: a demand citing § 42-42, and/or a code-enforcement complaint.

Possible remedies

Depending on the facts, you may be entitled to have the landlord arrange and pay for extermination, to rent abatement for the period the unit was infested, to reimbursement of related costs, or — in severe cases — to terminate the lease. Pest cases are some of the most likely to resolve at the demand stage, because extermination is usually cheaper for the landlord than fighting a lawyer.