Why pests spread in multi-unit buildings
The biology of German cockroaches and bed bugs in multi-unit buildings makes building-wide treatment a necessity, not an upgrade. German cockroaches (Blattella germanica) reproduce at a rate of 30–40 eggs per female per cycle (3–4 week cycle), populate a single unit within 3 months of introduction, and then migrate outward through kitchen plumbing stacks, electrical conduits, and the unsealed space between floor and baseboard. In a typical 1970s Burnaby mid-rise, these migration pathways are open; cockroaches can colonize adjacent units in both horizontal and vertical directions within 60–90 days of reaching high population density. Bed bugs spread more slowly but are harder to eradicate: they travel through wall voids, under doors, via shared laundry facilities, and on clothing and bags. In an established building infestation, treating individual units produces temporary reductions followed by rapid rebuilding from untreated adjacent populations.
The cost allocation: rental buildings
In a purely rental building (one landlord, all units tenanted), building-wide treatment costs fall to the landlord under RTA Section 32. The landlord's obligation to maintain the property to health and safety standards applies to the building as a whole — not just to individual units that have active infestations. A landlord who treats only a subset of infested units while others migrate back is not fulfilling their Section 32 obligation; each affected tenant has an independent RTB claim. Multiple simultaneous RTB claims from different tenants in the same building are possible and, in practice, prompt faster landlord action than single claims.
The cost allocation: strata buildings
In strata buildings, the allocation is more complex. Common-property migration pathways (service chases, shared wall voids) are strata corporation responsibility under SPA Section 72. Individual unit treatment costs are lot-owner responsibility — but when migration from common property is established, the cost of treating each unit traces back to the strata's failure to address the common-property source. In practice, strata councils that want legal clarity and operational efficiency authorize building-wide treatment at strata expense, then pursue cost recovery from specific lot owners only in documented tenant-fault situations. This is the operationally correct approach because it prevents the coordination failures (each owner refusing to authorize treatment of their unit) that cause infestations to persist.
| Building type | Pest source | Treatment cost responsibility | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rental (single landlord) | Any — migration-driven | Landlord — all units | RTA Section 32 |
| Strata — rented units | Common property migration | Strata corporation (building-wide) + lot owner (unit treatment) | SPA Section 72 + RTA Section 32 |
| Strata — owner-occupied units | Common property migration | Strata corporation for common scope, lot owner for unit scope | SPA Section 72 |
| Strata — specific lot introduction | Specific lot owner's act | Lot owner (with strata assistance for building-wide if migration established) | Owner responsibility + SPA 72 |
| Mixed-use building | Any — multi-unit | Depends on unit type; residential units follow RTA/SPA | As above |
What 'building-wide treatment' means in practice
Building-wide treatment for cockroaches in a Metro Vancouver mid-rise typically involves: inspection of all units on the affected floor(s), above and below, and on the vertical kitchen stack from the affected floor to the ground; gel-bait application in all cabinet bases, behind refrigerators, and in plumbing access areas of all inspected units; perimeter dust application in void spaces; monitoring traps deployed in all treated units and adjacent units for 21 days post-treatment; re-treatment of any unit with activity at day-21 check. For bed bugs, building-wide treatment means heat treatment or chemical treatment (with multiple visits) of all confirmed and adjacent units, plus monitoring traps in corridors and laundry rooms. Total cost for a 30-unit building cockroach treatment: $3,000–$8,000. For bed bugs in a 30-unit building (all floors affected): $15,000–$50,000.