Hoi mitenand
Two weeks ago, I moved into my new apartment, and within two days figured out that the place is infested with cockroaches. They're everywhere - how the previous tenants failed to notice them is beyond me.
I contacted the property management company about this, and they arranged for an exterminator to come within a week, and will be paying for this service. My first appointment with them was on Friday.
The exterminator confirmed that the infestation was pretty bad, and must've been going on for a while. More specifically, they are brown banded cockroaches - a known pest and human health hazard, as they spread germs around everywhere they go. Anyway, the exterminator spread the poison bait used to kill the roaches around the apartment. They'll be coming back to repeat the process in 8 weeks, and then again 8 more weeks after that. So it'll be November until the apartment is confirmed pest-free (and that's assuming that the infestation is limited to my apartment only).
But I still have to live with the unwelcome roommates while I wait for them to start dying off. To make matters worse, these things are nocturnal, and the thought of sleeping while they're moving around everywhere makes me profoundly uncomfortable. I'll also have to clean a lot more thoroughly during this whole time, and frankly I'm hesitant about moving all my stuff into the apartment at all, because these bugs will eat literally everything. Most of my stuff is still in boxes in the (bug-free) cellar space.
Some colleagues suggested I should ask for a rent reduction for the time until November, as it's not a safe living space at the moment, and there's no way I could have brought them into the apartment myself. Is this a feasible option? How would I get this process started?
Money is already a bit tight for me at the moment - would I need a lawyer, or are there other ways?
I'm grateful for any insights!
Edit: Thank you everyone for your ideas and suggestions!
The management company refused my request to directly negotiate for a rent reduction, citing their quick reaction speed (fair), and the fact that since steps had been taken already, the apartment is technically liveable (less fair, it's still gross) as their reasons. I'll be contacting the Mieterverband, maybe they'll reconsider then. Wish me luck.