Question on best practice for rental credit.

[Lino B.]

A few weeks ago my tenant contacted me about mold. I looked it over and hired a mold inspector. They said the mold in the garage (basement) that was on tenants shoes and clothing was due to the humid conditions and rain. There was also mold in the basement closet and a couple of jackets had mold and some shoes. The mold crew recommended i open the closet wall due to moisture, it was behind a bathroom. Long story short, I had a leak in shower and there was some mold on floor, not terrible imho. $2000 between mold crew and plumbing. 

I told my tenant i will look into my insurance since they didn't have rental insurance (I didn't require it). I'm a fairly new landlord, year three so I'm learning as we go. Nothing is covered.

I bought them 2 dehumidifiers $250 for "bedroom" and garage

They make me work around their schedule so it is taking a bit longer to complete. 

They claim hundreds if not thousands of dollars of clothing is ruined and the kids (not the mom really) are making this difficult. The lease agreement includes mom and one kid, the daughter just moved back from college and now the son is using basement living area as a bedroom. The garage had TONS of clothing in boxes etc. The daughter calls the community to complain "im not doing anything", BS!

I offered to assist to pay some of the dry cleaning and am thinking about a credit for the inconvenience. I do NOT want to set a precedent though. I lived in the unit, had another tenant for 2 years and we never saw mold. I do not believe I am at fault and the bathroom mold is a red herring.

Looking for some advice here. Do I just repair and give them nothing? a small one time credit for inconvenience? 

Thanks all. 

[Daniel Burke]

Homeowners insurance will cover only the dwelling such as the walls and floor/roof and everything permanently attached to it. As a past realtor and a contractor I have never heard that the landlord would have to pay for their property if damaged or stolen. By offering to do dry cleaning you have already done more than you needed to. As for the leak you have the right to repair your home so you can simply say the plumber will be here at 2pm tomorrow and you can let the plumber in. normally  the tenet has the right to live in peace meaning that you can't just come over whenever you want but that right is waved when you need to repair your property. I would say I am sorry for your lost but you really need to have renters insurance to cover your property because homeowners insurance doesn't cover personal belongings for tenets. I wish you and your tenets the best of luck if you have any questions on how to treat mold then feel free to ask me. Have a good day.