Discovered Mold After Tennant Moved In

[Jason Clark]

Quick question, I recently bought a SFR for rental that upon purchase inspection did not note any mold issues. My tennant, who just moved in in January, just notified me today that she found large amounts of black mold in the kitchen walls and bathroom. She also noted that she has not been feeling well since moving in.

I called to have Service Master take a look at it and determine how extensive the damage is. I also noted that she may have to move out. I offered to forgive her March rent and set an April 1 move out date. Since we are only 3 months into a new lease I'm curious if I'm liable for any temp housing until she can find a new place (or any other considerations I have not thought of yet). The lease does not state anything about this so Im curious what position I am in here.

Sorry if my thoughts are scrambled here, never been down this road before. Any input is appreciated! Thanks.

[Gail K.]

Let's rachet down the mold hysteria here a couple of notches.  Every tenant who sees mildew/mold is convinced this is the "deadly black mold" and suddenly goes weak in the knees over this.  There are, literally, hundreds of different types of molds that humans are around on a daily basis.  The "deadly mold" ship sailed a long time ago.

The real issue is the CAUSE of the stuff.  Mildew/mold in high humidity places such as bathrooms isn't unusual.  Is there a bathroom fan (my handy man calls these "stink fans") present?  Is the tenant using these?  Often a landlord will tie the electrical line for these into the light switch so the tenant has no option but to use them (or shower in the dark).  If present and used are the filters clogged?  Are the tenants taking showers two and three times a day and running these so long that they're running out of hot water each time, steaming the place up like a Turkish bath house?  Are they leaving bathroom walls dripping down with steam?   In other words, are their lifestyle habits contributing to cause of mildew growth?

Often this stuff can be easily eradicated with a combination of bleach and water or (better yet) hydrogen peroxide mixed with some water.

And, as Adrienne has mentioned, the stuff in the kitchen can be caused by cooking methods of tenants.  High humidity in the kitchen from lots of boiling can also encourage this.

A bigger concern for a landlord is the unknown factor; i.e., a pipe in a wall leaking.  If everything else (cooking habits, bathroom situation) has been ruled out then the issue becomes looking for water leaks.

Gail