Why blame rarely holds up in a building
A landlord may try to blame you, but in a multi-unit building bed bugs usually spread through the structure, and it is often impossible to prove who brought them in. Blame alone does not remove the landlord's duty to treat a building infestation.
Landlords sometimes point to a single tenant to avoid the cost of treatment, but bed bugs travel between units and are notoriously hard to trace to one source. Even where a tenant unknowingly introduced them, the landlord's responsibility to keep the building sanitary and to treat an infestation generally remains.
You should be cautious about accepting blame, signing a statement of fault, or agreeing to pay for treatment before you understand your rights. Those decisions can affect you later. If your landlord is blaming you to avoid treating bed bugs — or trying to bill you for it — a free, confidential review can help you understand what is fair.
This is general information about California tenant rights, not legal advice. Every situation is different.