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Mold in rental house

1,629 Views | 9 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by NICU Dad
CalTex
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A couple months ago, my tenant gave me notice she will be looking for another place.
She has been renting my house for 3 years.

She emailed me this morning and said she will be moving out at the end of the month and was packing things from the hall closet and noticed "black mold" growing in the closet and also on items in the closet. Probably coming from the bathroom.

She goes on to say "I have reported this to public health so that I can have testing done to see if the mold is the cause of my illness for the past year."

I'm not sure what her illness is/has been but in one email she mentioned she was seeing an oncologist so that's not good.

It sounds as if she is going to ask for damages/sue? ugh!!!

Can she do that? Am I liable even if I had no idea at all about "mold" until this morning's email??

Any advice?
P.H. Dexippus
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AG
People can sue for anything, liability is another story. Hopefully you have liability insurance. If so, they will likely provide you with an attorney if it comes to that.

Document as much as you can, including photos and mold testing ASAP. Written/email communications are better than verbal.

It is my understanding that for health to be affected, black mold must be pervasive. I would be surprised if mold in a closet reached this threshold. It certainly isn't causing cancer. https://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm
"[When I was a kid,] I wanted to be a pirate. Thank God no one took me seriously and scheduled me for eye removal and peg leg surgery."- Bill Maher
Aggiemike96
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AG
You need legal advice. ASAP. Get ahead of this. I had a nightmare tenant and we're in litigation now. He claimed respiratory illness at one point.
Tone2002
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I agree with getting legal advice. However people are something else especially if you were never notified regarding the black mold during her tenure in your place.
ccolley68
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AG
Definitely get some legal advice, because mold is definitely one of 'those things' for people, even though in most scenarios it's complete horse caca. Always reminds me of the King of the Hill episode where they got mold. So funny how well that show nailed so many of the nanny nation aspects of our society, and all they've done is get worse.
CalTex
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Thanks for the replies. I think I will get my own mold test done ASAP, just to show I am on it (as I always have been with any issue).

Below is a pic of the small hallway closet that has the issue. On the other side of that wall is the guest bathroom, so there must be a leak in the pipes inside the shared wall. I imagine she hasn't noticed it before because the closet had been stuffed top to bottom with her things.

She's moving out at the end of the month and has been a good tenant for 3 years.

I think I will get the test done Monday/Tuesday and then have my contractor got over there and remove the sheetrock and see what is going on.

combat wombat™
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AG
Tone2002 said:

I agree with getting legal advice. However people are something else especially if you were never notified regarding the black mold during her tenure in your place.


THIS. Does the rental agreement say anything about her having to notify you of any problems with the property while she's living there? I imagine that she bears at least some responsibility for the development of the mold.
TRM
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AG
combat wombat said:

Tone2002 said:

I agree with getting legal advice. However people are something else especially if you were never notified regarding the black mold during her tenure in your place.


THIS. Does the rental agreement say anything about her having to notify you of any problems with the property while she's living there? I imagine that she bears at least some responsibility for the development of the mold.

Anytime, I've rented I've always had an addendum about this. Black mold was one of things specifically mentioned that I needed to contact them immediately for.
Bondag
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AG
Not an expert, but that does not appear to be from a leak where drywall was saturated, but more likely something was shoved in the closet that was wet and dark and was able to grow.

Hopefully your guy tears out the drywall and finds nothing so you can put it back.

And as always with a mold test they need to test the spore counts both inside and outside the house so you have a baseline as there ore always some spores.
Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno
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AG
That's a lot of mold
NICU Dad
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AG
Nvm
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