Mold in rental house

2,631 Views | 24 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by dallasiteinsa02
CalTex
How long do you want to ignore this user?
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?
dallasiteinsa02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I would probably talk to an attorney before you act or comment on the situation to her.
maddiedou
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Location
maddiedou
CalTex
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Houston

EMY92
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
FYI, mold color is based on it's food source. Just because it's black doesn't mean it's "black mold"
Mucho austin
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I suggest you get the mold testing done yourself as soon as possible. That way you can have the report in your hand and know exactly what you are looking at.

The report will tell you if it's within normal levels or should be a concern.

It will also tell you what types of mold you have.

And you will have mold on the report, it just houston. Hopefully it all comes back within acceptable levels and nothing else comes of it.

Probably looking at about $500 for the mold inspecting and lab tests.
TMoney2007
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Sounds like a load of BS... Oncologists treat cancer. I could be wrong, but cancer isn't one of the things that black mold causes.
CalTex
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Thanks for the replies.

Yes I think I will get my own mold test done ASAP.

At this point I don't know if she is implying the mold is the cause of her cancer... Probably other illnesses.

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.

[img][/img]
ABATTBQ11
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Thaaaaat doesn't look good...

I doubt it's the cause of her, "illness."

Also, if I'm on a jury, she's been living there for three years. She needs to have noticed that, notified you, and shown proof you didn't do anything to mitigate it before I hold you responsible.

Just my $.02
Martin Q. Blank
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Step one is to pull that drywall and find the source. Clean it up ASAP. That at least shows you did something about it when notified.
maddiedou
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Text me tomorrow when you get a chance so I can talk to you if you want some advice979-eight two o-l87o. Gary
maddiedou
lotsofhp
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I don't know how on earth you're supposed to be held liable for something that never gets brought to your attention. Surely the tenant has some sort of responsibility in paying attention to what's going on in the house.

If she owned that house herself she wouldn't have anyone to blame but herself, but since she rents from you she lawyers up?

On the flip side, I'm mad that her negligence allowed something like this to go on for so long and probably resulted in larger repair bills than if she'd noticed it in a reasonable time frame.

That's my initial thought on the subject anyhow.

Obligatory "not a lawyer"
lotsofhp
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
CalTex said:


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!!


Reading this just ticks me off. This reminds me of the stories people were telling on the automotive board about how any fender bender you get in down in the valley people get out of the car holding their neck.

I really hope this all blows over for you and your only out of pocket is the damage to the home and that your able to keep the deposit.

Maybe I'm over reacting here and I'm reading the situation wrong, but I had a similar situation happen to me recently and it gets me all worked up.

Best of luck man. I personally don't think you did anything wrong.
Mucho austin
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
In our leases if there is damage and a tenant knows about it but doesn't notify us, they are responsible.

That may not completely apply in a situation like this if she really wasn't aware. However if you act as soon as possible, you should be good.
Vernada
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
what does your lease say about the tenants responsibility to notify you of issues?
histag10
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
So we recently broke our lease due to an ongoing health issue in the home we were renting (owners had been notified multiple times over the course of 6 months - a year).

When we spoke to an attorney, we were told that to legally break our lease, we had to show that we had notified the landlords of the issue and given them ample time to make the repairs/fix the problem (which we did). We were also told that if we were making the initial report to the landlord, the landlord could also opt to provide us with sufficient housing options while the issue was being addressed, and then continue the lease (but we had notified them and sent them pictures multiple times over the course of almost a year).

Ultimately, we got out of our lease and the landlords kept the deposit because they threatened to fight it in court, which would have cost us more than what the deposit was. They had someone move into the house less than a week later, and I seriously doubt the issue was ever addressed.

My point being - it sounds like they never gave you notification about the issue, nor did they give you time to address it. I'm not a lawyer, but sounds like your tenant didnt have one, and didnt do this the right way.
lotsofhp
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Very helpful post Histag10, thanks for sharing. Was interested to hear more info on a situation like this as I (like many others) do plan on having rentals in the future.
CalTex
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Couldn't get a mold inspection done yet (tenant is working til 7pm every night this week) so I have scheduled an inspection on Friday, then after that I'll have my contractor come in and rip out the sheetrock and see what is going on behind the scene. Wish me luck.

I'll report back after the results come in.
Martin Q. Blank
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Why do you need a mood inspection? It's clearly mold. Get it fixed ASAP. Do you not have keys to the house?
BrazosDog02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Agree with everything. That's not a mold problem that happened over night....or over the week. That is WEEKS or months of wet. I would get attorney advice and possibly let her out of any lease in exchange for not causing trouble. Then I'd rip out the drywall, fix the leak, fix drywall, paint....and find tenants that are slightly more observant or responsible. Lol.

And if that was my house, it wouldn't cause me an ounce of concern other than knowing I have a leak I have to fix.
CalTex
How long do you want to ignore this user?
haha yes I have keys but I'm currently in Vegas for a conference.

I think their closet was stacked high with their extra junk so they didn't see the leak.
who moves stuff out of the closet to check the back wall? Probably threw all her stuff in their 3 years ago and never opened the closet again, until she begin to pack up to move out on Saturday.

Getting a mold inspection just in case, so I have my own testing done. then ripping out the sheetrock.
histag10
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
CalTex said:

haha yes I have keys but I'm currently in Vegas for a conference.

I think their closet was stacked high with their extra junk so they didn't see the leak.
who moves stuff out of the closet to check the back wall? Probably threw all her stuff in their 3 years ago and never opened the closet again, until she begin to pack up to move out on Saturday.

Getting a mold inspection just in case, so I have my own testing done. then ripping out the sheetrock.

Someone who was moving out one way or another, and is using this as an excuse to break the lease.
dubi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
CalTex said:

haha yes I have keys but I'm currently in Vegas for a conference.

I think their closet was stacked high with their extra junk so they didn't see the leak.
who moves stuff out of the closet to check the back wall? Probably threw all her stuff in their 3 years ago and never opened the closet again, until she begin to pack up to move out on Saturday.

Getting a mold inspection just in case, so I have my own testing done. then ripping out the sheetrock.

Personally I would not get a mold inspection. If you do, it must be "disclosed" when you sell the house.

Just fix it.
CalTex
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Histag,

No, as I stated in my original post, she let me know months ago that she was going to move out, there is no issue of breaking a lease here. The lease expired and she has been going month-to-month for a couple of months. No big deal there.
CalTex
How long do you want to ignore this user?
dubi,
No issue with selling the house. It won't be sold. The only thing in this house's future is being demo'd and the lot being replatted into 2 or 3 lots.

I wanted to get my own inspection since she is saying she notified the health agency and was going to have it tested and then see if her ongoing illnesses have been caused by the mold. Call me paranoid, but I think if I just go in and remove the sheetrock before she can test / or I can test, then this will cause her to pull a lawyer in and say I destroyed the evidence blah blah blah. Make sense?
dallasiteinsa02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
We did a mold inspection even near the "mold." The air in the house was way cleaner than the outside air.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.