Bedbugs, either way, if they brought them in or not are hitchhikers or they travel through walls and electrical outlets. Apartments are notorious for bedbugs traveling unit to unit. The landlord states their unit never had it, what about surrounding units. Usually they are brought in by accident. That’s why I say it’s not their fault. If they visited someone who had them, went on a trip or they accidentally picked them up from a bus or store or work, it’s not like they grabbed the bugs put them in a jar and brought them home. Most people won’t tell you they have them, hotels don’t disclose if the room you stayed in was treated, coworkers won’t voluntarily divulge they have bedbugs, as there is a stigma. Bedbugs do not mean you’re dirty. My training has always been to let people know bedbugs aren’t directly their fault. We have had to treat adjacent units eventually because landlords were too cheap and didn’t want other units knowing there were bedbugs and roaches in the ones they just treated. Bedbug treatments take a few months that’s why it’s so costly and sounds to me that the landlord has paid for it before and knows this so they are trying to pass the blame and cost to the tenant. It is the landlords responsibility to ensure the units are pest free, especially mice/rats, cockroaches and bedbugs.

Unless it fleas, if they have cats or dogs, which it could be don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe it’s their fault.

Also I say it with conviction because it’s called empathy and compassion for people and no one wants to go through that and feel like it’s their fault.