Is a Landlord Always Responsible for Mold Remediation?

Mold is a bit like gluten some people are more sensitive to it than others, and those that are sensitive can be almost religious in their avoidance.

If you have a tenant with mold sensitivities who alerts you to a mold problem, the appropriate response may not be obvious.

You may think that its your responsibility to clean it up, but many times, its not. It depends on the severity and cause of the problem.

On one hand, its impracticalto mount an expensive remediation project for a problem that may exist more in imagination than reality. On the other hand, failure to respond to a genuinely hazardous condition could result in significant discomfort for a sensitive individual, and it could also result in a lawsuit.

Mold is a controversial health issue. Savvy landlords take it seriously, but they dont overreact.

As of January 2016, there was no federal lawsetting permissible limits or tolerance standards on mold in residential building, and only six states California, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Texas had passed laws regulating mold levels in indoor environments. In Virginia, the law expressly requires the landlord to:

maintain the premises in such a condition as to prevent the accumulation of moisture and the growth of mold, and to promptly respond to any notices from a tenant as provided in subdivision.

While the other 50 states dont specifically legislatemold, theydo require the landlord to disclose potentially hazardous conditions at the time of rental, and theyalso require landlords to correct conditions that make a dwelling uninhabitable. Toxic mold is arguably one of those conditions.

Some municipalities have laws that clearly define the landlords responsibilities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there may be as many as 300,000 varieties of mold on our planet, and many are benign. Some, such as Penicillium, are even beneficial.

Because they are virtually everywhere, however, it may be impossible to take a breath without inhaling some type of mold spore, and most people do so without consequence. Sensitive individuals, however, can experience respiratory irritation, aggravated asthma symptoms, headaches and other ailments, especially when certain strains are present. The two most problematic are:

Stachybotrys chartarum

Aspergillus

There is no guarantee that either of these species are growing in any particular mold colony, but testing for them would require detailed inspection with a microscope and is usually impractical. Consequently, any mold colony growing in a dark, wet place in a dwelling unit is suspect, and its difficult to claim that toxic strains are absent and that a particular colony is harmless.

Its clear that any mold that results from a plumbing or structural leak should be addressed by the landlord as part of the repair. But should a landlord feel compelled to respond to amold problem caused by unsanitary domestic habits? Probably not.

Landlords arent required to provide cleaning services, and to insist ondoing so would constitutean invasion of privacy. For example, it would be reasonable to expect a tenant to clean up a mold colony growing in a corner in which he or she habitually throws damp towels.

Between these two extremes, however, are many gray areas. For example, mold often grows inside drains that habitually clog. Aclogged drain is usually caused by what goes in the drain, not the drain itself. Or consider that moldmay grow in a poorly ventilated crawl space, but the lack of ventilation may be due to piles of stored belongings.

Here are some industry standards on the responsibility of mold remediation, but please know that each county, or Judge, might view this differently.

The ideal landlord/tenant relationship includes good communication and a commitmentto work together to maintain quality of life.

In the end, that shared commitment is the key to health and wellbeing for everyone.

Chris has owned and managed 4 rental properties in Santa Cruz, CA, and Salida, CO. He is a DIY handyman expert for popular sites like Pro Referral.

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Is a Landlord Always Responsible for Mold Remediation?