I believe that it is generally accepted that one does not have to live with such vermin. That would depend on your state board of health and maybe local laws governing rental units. Might shoot them an email.

If it is the only issue you have with the place then maybe you can hire an exterminator yourself. I know it seems rediculous but if you like the place other than the roaches then at least you will save yourself the move and probably alot of money as well.
Foggers are not going to work. I am no expert but I recently had a run in with some roaches myself. My building manager jumped right on the situation and hired an exterminator to get rid of them. After a week they were all gone.
If your landlord wnats to keep messing around with cheap and ineffective alternatives then I say stop paying your rent. Put it towards an exterminator and deduct it from your rent. Who cares if he taps into the deposit. You must take charge of the situation. How is the bigger question.

Well my complaints is what led up to the foggers, but it obviously didn't work. The entire building is roach-infested, and to get an exterminator to do the entire building is gonna cost a lot of money, none of which should come from my pocket. If the landlord doesn't do something soon, he's going to be one tennant short next month...and then let him struggle to find another helpless soul to rent this place out. I'm not going to pay for an exterminator...I'm just going to leave. To me it's a matter of if I'm able to get my deposit back or not. I was hoping there might be some kind of law that allows that...

There is something (I am not sureof the name of it, though) in my city... it is like a rental/landlord referral.  Kind of like a bbb for real estate.  It is a list that landlords and also tenants can refer to when they are screening for bad apartments/renters.  It is kind of a black list.  Check around and see if they have it in your city and if they do mention to your landlord that you want out.  If they give problems, then you can offer to list him with that service... lots of times that is all it takes.

Also, call your city/county emergency referral list (or look in the front of your phone book).  lots of times you will find free legal aid, and information.

Hus, floggers are not a serious attempt to resolve a real infestation. If they are the German Roaches they will be hell to get rid of and tenting the building will be about the only way to do it. Your Landlord rented you the place under certain conditions and if those conditions were not actually being met as far as health and such, you should be able to force him to return your deposit and such.

I would explain to him that you want the issue resolved in short reasonable order or you Will contact the City and also Code Enforcement. I would also call or speak with a Lawyer if push comes to shove.

Roaches also work in the order of "everyone seen means there are 20 not seen" in the walls and also pulmbing...

good luck with it...


*You* did nothing wrong....



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In the meantime, buy a scad of those little Raid bait traps.. the ones that claim to kill within 24 hours, and even in the nest.  Scatter them liberally around your house.  They will maybe help keep it livable.  Not those little glue motels....

I moved into a freshly  bombed house and had a problem still.  I upended my kitchen table and soaked the legs, joints, sides, and underside.  Got about 200 of them.  It  helped a lot.

GM

Sounds a lot like Florida where you live...

Palmetto (Roach) is the state Bird

hehe... they grow 'em big here.   I don't have any here, now.  Those Raid traps, the ones with stuff to kill the eggs and the  nest are worth the extra $$$.

Thats another thing, when you kill one make sure to get rid of it immediatly... they lay their eggs when they are dying.  Get rid of those.. flush them right away.  spray around doors and windows with longlasting spray, to keep the neighbor's ones out.

if those conditions were not actually being met as far as health and such, you should be able to force him to return your deposit and such.

See, that's my problem really, my lease doesn't make any mention of these kinds of problems. I'm combing through the NJ state website taking down a few numbers, but they don't even have a specific department that I can call (but I'm probably just not looking in the right place). I'll call these numbers tomorrow, and if I get nothing, I'll call my lawyer. My landlord is the type of person that will run through traffic to pick up a quarter, as if the $1.99 foggers weren't enough to tell you, so I really want to play my cards right. I can't afford to lose that money, I'm going down fighting to the death for it. >

Thanks for the advice, I found this website on how to use boric acid and roach baits and they say it does a job as good as an exterminator. The war has begun. http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef614.htm
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Oh rent or buy Joe's Apartment and play it in the middle of the night and when they all come out to watch it AMBUSH!!!

If you do leave, since you're losing your security deposit anyway...

Get red spray-paint and paint "This apartment has roaches" everywhere...even the bathroom tile.... revenge is sweet




*realizes above idea isn't really possible*

Hus, you are on the right track with the dust and baits. Baits are available in stations or in syringes. The syringes are very useful because the most important places to apply the bait is INTO cracks and crevices. I am a manager at http://www.trulynolen.com/index2.asp If you have any questions I'll do my best to help. Good luck.

I would start with the State Board Of Health. Of course these situations will probably cause you to be evicted for the slightess discretion on your part. In some states, the landlord does not have to even give a reason for eviction. But, your State Board Of Health can give you guidance into making sure that you follow the proper course according to the law. You don't have to live in a Roach infested apartment. Most of the problem is not normally you, or the landlord in these cases where the landlord is trying. But, there are other filthy tenants that leave food lying around. The landlord actually needs to take total control and hire a good exterminator and then perform tenant inspections for filth control. Filthy tenants will need to be evicted to finally solve the problem. It is the landlords responsibility to make sure that the Health and Safety codes are followed according to the law. But, all of this is normally to much trouble for most landlords. So, they will normally try to target you as a troublemaker. Your best alternative is probably the State Board Of Health and make sure you pay your rent on time during their investigations. I would buy some roach traps and take pictures when they fill up for evidence. Once the State Board Of health gets involved you can take those filled up roach traps in a plastic bag to the landlord and ask him for your money back. But, don't threaten him. If he refuses, show the pictures or the traps themselves to the State Board Of Health. But, make sure you pay your rent on time and you don't give the landlord any excuses to evict you and ruin your rental history and credit history.

Regardless of what you do, I would not withhold any rent. This gives the landlord an excuse to evict you. Then, you have to depend on lawyers to help you. The landlords will have good lawyers and trying to find a good one yourself is difficult. You may have to spend double or triple your lease to get a good one. So, I would pay my rent on time, and in full, and let the State Board Of Health help you.
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My ex-gf actually lived in a huge, beautiful but roach infested apartment. We could see them crawl through the sky lights, and a few times they would crawl on her at night. Still, she waited one year exactly and moved. This is probably the easiest way.

I don't know about the laws in NJ, but here in Quebec, having roaches is a reason to break a lease and leave. I'll try to get info for you about NJ laws.