LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- Residents in a low income Lake County apartment complex were told they had to pay thousands to clean up a bed bug infestation, until Eyewitness News got involved.

The owner of Oakwood apartments in Mount Dora tried to charge seven families almost $3,000 each for extermination fees.

The South Florida based company, Miami Mar Incorporated, told the residents they would be kicked out if they didn't pay.

"It's just really frustrating, right now, you don't know what you're suppose to do at this point in time," said one resident.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] helps pay the rent at the complex for people who can't afford it. After Eyewitness News contacted HUD, the agency told the landlord extermination is an operating expense that the tenants don't have to pay for.