Q: can my landlord charge me an extermination fee in my rent?

A: First, anything "extra" a landlord charges you is NOT rent and if not paid is not subject to a 72 Hr. Termination of Tenancy Notice for failure to pay rent. It may be subject to a 30 day for cause termination notice if legitimately owed and not timely paid. Second, a landlord can charge you for damages that are beyond ordinary wear and tear if you or your occupants/guests are responsible for the damage. But they can only charge the actual and reasonable repair costs - NOT flat fee's unless both owed and the flat fee is equal to or less than the actual repair cost. Lastly, depending upon what is being charged for and why, even if you are responsible for the damage, you may only be liable for the depreciated repair cost. Everything has a reasonable life span. For example, if you damage the paint and are legitimately charged for having the wall/apartment re-painted, the relevant question is how long it has been since it was last painted. We can argue about what the reasonable lifespan of paint is, but for the sake of illustration, let's just say apartments need to be re-painted at least every 10 years. IF, when you damage the paint and create the need to have it re-painted, it has already been 8 years since it was last painted, then the most you should be on the hook for is 20% of the cost to re-paint since the landlord already got 80% of its life expectancy out of the existing paint job. To charge you 100% of the re-painting cost would be to give the landlord an 80% windfall that he is not entitled too. This same principle applies to replacing carpet, etc. Questions? Review everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney.