Renting in Clarksville With Pests: Who Pays for Treatment

This is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and the facts of your lease matter. If you are thinking about withholding rent or breaking a lease, talk to a lawyer or legal aid first. Contacts are at the end of this page.

Does Tennessee's landlord and tenant act cover you?

Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act starts at Tennessee Code section 66-28-101. Under section 66-28-102(a), it applies only in counties with more than 75,000 people according to the 2010 federal census. Montgomery County had 172,331 people in the 2010 census, so the act covers rentals in Clarksville and the rest of the county.

Several nearby Tennessee counties fell under the line in 2010, so the act does not apply there:

County	Towns	2010 census population
Montgomery	Clarksville, Woodlawn, Cunningham	172,331 (covered)
Robertson	Springfield	66,283 (not covered)
Cheatham	Ashland City, Pleasant View	39,105 (not covered)
Stewart	Dover	13,324 (not covered)

There, your lease decides most of these questions, along with general Tennessee law. Read the lease for any clause about pests or repairs before you assume either way.

Even inside Montgomery County, section 66-28-102(c) leaves some living arrangements out. The list includes hotel and motel stays, someone buying a home under a contract of sale, and an owner living in their own condominium. Section 66-28-102(d) also says the act gives way to HUD rules for public housing owned by a government or nonprofit, to the extent those rules conflict with state law. On-post family housing at Fort Campbell runs on its own process, covered below.

What the landlord has to do

Section 66-28-304(a) says the landlord shall:

• Comply with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety.
• Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.
• Keep all common areas clean and safe.

The statute does not use the words "bed bugs" or "cockroaches." I read "fit and habitable" as reaching an infestation that makes a unit unhealthy to live in, and an infestation that comes through the walls from other units sits squarely on the landlord's side. A single wood roach that wandered in from the yard is a different situation.

One detail in the lease matters. Under section 66-28-304(b), a landlord and tenant can agree in writing that the tenant will do specified repairs or maintenance, but only if the agreement is made in good faith and not to dodge the landlord's own obligations. So a lease that makes you responsible for routine spraying may be valid. A clause that shifts the cost of a building-wide bed bug problem onto one tenant is the kind of thing to show a lawyer.

What you have to do

Section 66-28-401 says the tenant shall keep the part of the premises they occupy as clean and safe as it was when they moved in, and put garbage in the proper receptacles. If an infestation comes from food left out or trash piling up in your unit, the landlord has a stronger argument that you caused it.

Section 66-28-403 says a tenant cannot unreasonably refuse the landlord entry to make necessary repairs or supply necessary services. If the landlord schedules a pest company, let them in and do the prep they ask for. Refusing entry or skipping prep is the fastest way to lose the argument over who pays.

How to give notice, and why it has to be in writing

Under section 66-28-501(a), a tenant may recover damages, get a court order, and recover reasonable attorney's fees for a landlord's failure to follow the lease or the act, after giving fourteen days' written notice. A text or a call to the leasing office may get things moving, but the statute is built on written notice.

A notice that does its job:

1. Dates the letter, names the unit, and says what you found and where.
2. Says when you first saw the pests and that they are still there.
3. Asks the landlord to arrange treatment by a licensed pest control company, and asks for a reply by a specific date.
4. Offers access and confirms you will do the prep.

Send it the way your lease says notices go. If the lease is silent, use a method that leaves a record, such as the property's online portal or certified mail. Keep a copy of the letter and proof of the date you sent it.

Build a file as you go:

• Dated photos and short videos of the bugs and droppings.
• A specimen if you can catch one. Clear packing tape on an index card works for bed bugs.
• Every message to and from the landlord, plus the pest company's service reports.

Section 66-28-514 says a landlord may not retaliate by raising rent or threatening eviction because a tenant complained or used the act's remedies. The section has exceptions, including a tenant behind on rent or a problem the tenant caused.

Deducting the cost from rent

Be careful with this one. Section 66-28-502 lets a tenant who gives written notice buy essential services and deduct the actual and reasonable cost from rent, among other options. It defines essential services as utility services such as heat, plus other landlord obligations that materially affect health and safety. Under section 66-28-502(c), those rights do not arise until you have given written notice and shown the tenant's household did not cause the condition. Whether a pest problem counts in your case is a question for a lawyer, not a guess. I would not deduct anything without advice.

If the landlord does arrange treatment, ask the company for a free inspection and a written plan you can see too.

Bed bugs and roaches in rentals

These two cause most of the fights, and the science helps you make your case.

Bed bugs do not come from dirt. The University of Kentucky bed bug factsheet says they feed only on blood and a clean home is as vulnerable as a dirty one. It also says bed bugs move between apartments through openings in shared walls and floors, and that infested units often go unreported. UK recommends inspecting the units around a known infestation, and says success in multi-unit housing requires cooperation among tenants and managers. Their pest contractor has to be part of it too. Asking the landlord to check the neighboring units is reasonable, not an accusation. More on treatment is on our bed bug page.

German cockroaches are the small roaches in apartment kitchens. The UK cockroach factsheet says they travel between units through common walls and ceilings, so even clean homes can become infested. UK also recommends sealing around pipes and wires to slow that movement, which is building work. If you just moved in and found roaches in the first week, say so in your notice; it suggests they were there before you. See our cockroach page for what treatment looks like.

If you are not sure which bug you have, a photo usually answers it before anyone argues about it.

Kentucky side: Oak Grove and Hopkinsville

Kentucky works differently. Under KRS 383.500, the state's version of the uniform act applies only where a local government has adopted it, and it has to be adopted whole, without amendment. Where it is adopted, KRS 383.595 requires the landlord to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition, much like Tennessee.

A December 2025 report in the Kentucky New Era said Hopkinsville and Christian County have not adopted it. The report quoted the director of the local Human Rights Commission, who said most of the area relies on common law and the terms of individual leases. We could not find a record either way for Oak Grove, which is also in Christian County. Ask the city clerk before you rely on it. For a rental in Hopkinsville or Oak Grove, read your lease closely, since it likely sets most of the rules.

Military renters

If you live in on-post family housing, pest service goes through the housing office's work-order system, and the garrison says residents may not hire their own pest company. Off post, the act applies the same as for any other Montgomery County renter. Fort Campbell's Army Housing Office says it provides referral services for off-post housing and tenant and landlord dispute services; its plain language brief lists the office at 270-798-3808. Our Fort Campbell PCS pest guide has the on-post details and a move-in checklist.

Where to get help

• Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands has a Clarksville office at 109 South Third Street. It serves Montgomery, Stewart, Robertson, Houston, Dickson, Cheatham and Humphreys counties. Phone 931-552-6656 or 800-238-1443.
• Kentucky Legal Aid lists Christian County among the counties it serves. Intake is (270) 782-5740.
• Fort Campbell's Legal Assistance Office handles questions from eligible service members; the garrison brief lists 270-798-0918.

We only refer companies chartered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (and licensed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for Kentucky addresses). If your landlord tells you to hire your own company, you can check a company's charter first. Ask for a written price before any treatment, and keep the receipt in your file.