Bed bug liability in rental housing
Bed bug laws in Tennessee
Who pays for treatment?
Little tenant protection
Tennessee has the Kentucky problem: the landlord-tenant act only applies in the larger counties, so most of the state's 95 counties have almost nothing. In a covered county the landlord must keep the premises fit and habitable, which reaches an infestation the tenant did not cause — but even there the remedy is thin. Serve written notice, give 14 days to cure, and if nothing happens your route is to terminate and leave, not to withhold rent. There is no rent withholding provision, and the essential-services deduction does not mention pest control. Attorney's fees are available, which is the one real lever.
- Who pays for treatment
- Landlord in covered counties, if not tenant-caused
- Bed-bug-specific law?
- No — limited coverage only
- Landlord response deadline
- 14 days to cure after written notice
- Disclosure before lease
- No
- Official source
- Tennessee General Assembly — Tennessee Code
Is your county covered by the Act?
The answer genuinely differs depending on where in Tennessee you are. Find yours below.
Covered counties
Reported as Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson — 17 in total. That list predates the 2020 census, so confirm your county currently qualifies.
- Who pays
- Landlord, if not tenant-caused
- Deadline
- 14 days to cure
- Disclosure
- No
You have the full Act. An infestation you did not cause falls under the landlord's duty to keep the premises fit and habitable. The procedure is strict and every remedy depends on it: written notice specifying the breach, then 14 days. If the landlord does not cure, you may terminate the lease and recover prepaid rent and your deposit, and attorney's fees are available. Note what is NOT here — no rent withholding, and the essential-services deduction does not cover pest control. Retaliation protection applies only in these counties.
Everywhere else in Tennessee
The large majority of Tennessee's 95 counties, which fall below the population threshold.
- Who pays
- Whatever the lease says
- Deadline
- None
- Disclosure
- No
The Act does not apply and there is no statutory habitability duty, no 14-day cure procedure and no retaliation protection. Your lease and general Tennessee contract and property law are the framework. Read the lease for a pest or extermination clause. The practical route is usually the local building or health code and its inspection process, which operates independently of landlord-tenant law. Also note that public housing and HUD-regulated units are excluded from the Act everywhere, so federal rules apply there instead.
What the law actually says
No bed bug provision. Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Tenn. Code Ann.
§ 66-28-101 et seq.
§ 66-28-102 (application) — the chapter applies only in counties above a population threshold, and only to rental agreements entered into, extended or renewed after 1 July 1975; it also excludes occupancy in public housing and other units regulated by HUD and owned by a governmental entity or non-profit, where federal rules govern instead.
THRESHOLD DISCREPANCY —
RESOLVE BEFORE PUBLISHING: a law firm quoting § 66-28-102 directly gives 'more than sixty-eight thousand (68,000), according to the 1970 federal census or any subsequent federal census', while Legal Aid and several other sources state 75,000. One of these reflects an amendment; read the current section text and confirm which. The county list is the more useful answer either way.
§ 66-28-304 — landlord to maintain fit premises: comply with building, housing and health codes materially affecting health and safety, make repairs necessary to keep the premises fit and habitable, keep common areas clean and safe, maintain electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, and supply running water and heat.
§ 66-28-401 — tenant obligations: keep the occupied part clean and safe, dispose of waste properly, use fixtures reasonably; breach can defeat the repair duty.
§ 66-28-501 — non-compliance: written notice specifying the breach, 14 days to remedy, then the tenant may terminate, with prepaid rent and deposit returned under § 66-28-301 and attorney's fees available.
§ 66-28-502 — essential services deduction, which does not mention pest control.
§ 66-28-514 — retaliation prohibited (covered counties only). Discrimination: Tennessee Human Rights Act, § 4-21-601. Complaints: Division of Consumer Affairs residential complaint form. Best consumer source: help4tn.org, run by Tennessee legal aid.
Hiring someone in Tennessee? Check they are actually licensed for structural pest control before you pay a deposit. Verify a Tennessee exterminator →
What to do, in order
Photograph everything before you touch it
Live insects, shed skins, dark staining along the mattress seam. Timestamps are the evidence.
Notify the landlord in writing
Email or certified letter, never a phone call alone. Written notice generally creates the clearest evidence that the landlord’s response period has begun.
Do not throw out furniture yet
Discarded items can't be inspected, and moving them spreads the infestation down the hallway.
Let the deadline above run
Using remedies before you complete the required notice and waiting periods can weaken or eliminate them.
Escalate to the housing agency, then to court
An independent inspection report is worth more than your own photographs. Rent withholding rules vary sharply — check the section above before you try it.
Read it yourself
Everything above was written by reading the sections named in the citation, not by summarizing another summary. You should not take our word for it — open the statute and check. Look up the section numbers quoted above.
Tennessee General Assembly — Tennessee Code →
The state's own legislature or code site. Search it for the section numbers quoted above — they are the whole basis for this page.
Last checked against the Tennessee code: . Statutes change every legislative session — if you are reading this long after that date, open the cited sections yourself before relying on them.
Not legal advice. This is a plain-language reference to publicly available statutes, verified against the Tennessee code. Liability turns on your lease, your local ordinance and your specific facts. Talk to a tenant attorney or legal aid before withholding rent or filing anything.