Ten Steps to Avoid Mold Problems and Lawsuits in the Rental of
Residential and Commercial Real Estat
Real estate residential and commercial landlords, tenants, and
rental agents in the USA, Canada, and worldwide should take ten
steps to avoid mold problems and lawsuits in the rental of real
estate properties, according to Phillip Fry, Certified Mold
Inspector and author of the books Mold Legal Guide and Mold
Health Guide.
Living or working in rental units that contain elevated levels
of airborne mold spores and/or substantial mold growth
infestation can cause very severe (and sometimes permanent)
health problems to the tenants.
Landlords have ethical and legal obligations to tenants to
provide an environmentally safe, habitable living space
(residential rentals) or workplace (office and commercial
rentals). Those obligations go unmet when a rental unit is
mold-infested.
Landlords may have potential and substantial legal liability to
tenants for such compensatory damages as: expenses for medical
mold diagnostic and treatment procedures, loss of earnings, mold
damage to tenants' clothing and personal property, higher rent
differential if the tenants need to move to a mold-safe place,
moving expenses, any tenant-paid expenses (such as mold
inspection, testing, and remediation of the rental unit and
tenant possessions), and punitive damages (jury-awarded).
A Hayward, California, jury in 2004 awarded $4 million dollars
in damages because of mold infestation and other substandard
living conditions on behalf of 124 past and present tenants of
an apartment building whose owner failed to do proper mold
remediation and maintenance of the mold-infested apartments.
Take these ten steps for the mutual well-being of both the
landlord and the tenants---
1. A property owner or manager should not even offer the
property for rent until after a thorough mold inspection and
mold testing of the entire rental building or of individual
rental units (prior to rental) determines that the property is
mold-safe for tenants to live or work in.
2. Hire a Certified Mold Inspector (USA and Canada) for an
annual property mold inspection and mold testing, or at least
use a do-it-yourself mold inspection checklist and mold test
kits for a thorough mold examination and evaluation of the
rental building.
3. If there has been a plumbing line break or leak, roof or
siding leaks, flooding, storm damage, or other water intrusion
problems, the building should be thoroughly and promptly mold
inspected, tested, and remediated as part of the water damage
repairs and restoration.
4. If mold inspection and testing uncovers visible or hidden
mold problems, the property owner or manager should immediately
do safe and effective mold removal and remediation. Hire a
Certified Mold Remediator (USA and Canada), or follow the
recommended steps for safe and effective do-it-yourself mold
remediation. Re-inspect and re-test (