Landlord Question and Answer Forum

We are doing an inspection on our rental for mold issues (noresults if it is mold). The tenants are not living in the rental as of yesterday due to a smell (reason for inspection). My question is, do we charge them the same if they were liviing there?

Mold is a tough situation. Depending on the state, often the landlord is held responsible for remediation. Depending on your lease as well, your tenants may have the right to break the lease. There are many, many lawsuits where a tenant has sued a landlord over health issues such as two women in Delaware were awarded $1.04 million because their landlord failed to fix leaks which led to mold in the residence, as well as claimed health issues as a result. Even In desert states such as Arizona and New Mexico, the number of mold claims against insurance companies continues to rise faster than in any other part of the nation.

Posted by Donna , NC on Monday, November 21, 2011

You need more information. What is the cause of the smell? Did the tenant create the cause of the smell? You may need to crack open walls and floors, but if all their doing is leaving it may be best to go with an attitude of ok, now I'll renovate and such and get more rent and just leave them alone. Is it really worth going after a tenant that may have left for a cause that if found out could get you sued? Or is it better for you to find the cause and fix it? It also gives you a chance to update the unit if it needs it. Also the courts may rule on the side of the tenant. Good tenants vet the landlord, so a loss in court could narrow your pool of tenants by skimming the cream off of the top.

Posted by Doug H, NY on Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Usually the tenants continue to pay the rent as scheduled and the landlord is required to supply temporary accommodations while the repairs are underway. In your circumstance it seems the tenants have found their own accommodations so if I were you I would prorate them the rent for that month [actually probably cheaper that putting them in a hotel]. I would put everything in writing and have them sign off agreeing to it. I would explain that the tenants will pay a prorated rent equal to the days they didn't have access to the unit due to suspicious odors and the related investigation due to safety issues. I would NOT mention mold...EVER! I might consider mentioning possible dead animal decomposition or sewer line defects but even that I probably would omit.

Posted by Tim J, VA on Sunday, January 8, 2012