should I reimburse for airbnb stay?

Question

Sunday of last week my tenant found a mold issue growing on the corner of a laundry room wall. We got a contractor out next day to give a quote. Contractor started the job on the Thursday. To give additional context, from initial pictures provided, the mold/mildew shown on drywall before opening the wall was approx 2sq ft.

There was slight miscommunication and on Thursday when the contractor started the job, and they did not fully contain the area prior to starting the job (kept door closed to laundry room when cutting away drywall but did not fully wrap in plastic). This was fixed within a few hours of being notified so by approx mid day of day one of starting the job, the work area was fully contained. I spoke to the tenant several times during this day to keep posted of the issue. They mentioned staying with a friend while the job was being done, I informed them that I didn't think it was necessary but they are not being forced to stay in the home.

Today, the tenant texted that they rented an airbnb for the duration of the job and wanted to be reimbursed. The job is not completed yet. I think the residence was still habitable as the work area was 100% contained after day one. (they did lose use of a laundry room area while plastic sheeting was put up to contain the area. Loss of use of one out of three bathrooms as bathroom was likely the cause of the issue. Loss of use of one closet out of many). Should I reimburse for this airbnb even though they did not preauthorize approval. My knee jerk reaction is to decline their request with a courtesy 1 day reimbursement .

Cee X. · Answer

Thanks.

I'm planning on reimbursing them one day as a courtesy and also capping that one day reimbursement as equivalent to one day rent.

I was worried that the opinion is 'they had mold' (and that possibly a judge would rule in their favor if sued).  To me, the mold was minimal and contained fairly quickly therefore didn't require them to move out. Also, as you mentioned, it's a nonessential part of the home. Agreed that they should have discussed with me in advance as I even told them it wasn't necessary when they mentioned they were going to stay with a friend so not sure why they would think that I would reimburse any sort of cost.

David Nacco · Answer

@Cee Xu I would also take into consideration how long they have been tenants for you and how good your relationship as far as them being a good tenant. Don’t wanna lose a good tenant over it either

David Nacco · Answer

@Cee Xu @Jeff Willis made a good point about toxicity however I also feel it’s important to note that most mold is not toxic. A mold test would be the only way to prove it. I guess taking that into consideration you couldn’t even argue in court that it wasn’t a toxic mold because there’s no proof. I would just do what you already planned with a 1 day reimbursement. Maybe tell them you won’t reimburse the Airbnb but you’re gonna not charge them for rent for the days they weren’t there. If thats not enough for them and they wanna go to court I would just suck it up and pay I guess. It’s cheaper than court fees probably. Unless they got crazy with it and got some luxury Airbnb rental lol

Cee X. · Answer

Sure, I think I'm safe from a lawsuit in the sense that the mold was addressed pretty much immediately. Contractor did review with tenant all machines and chemicals that were being utilized to kill and remove mildew/mold and I did not hear any concerns there. The leak was from a toilet leak that we only knew about after the mold was reported to us on Sunday so there's no negligence or anything of that nature.

All the articles I read regarding mold say that it's a very subjective area in that black mold is rare. We did not take the time to have the mold/mildew tested. Also, I think lawsuits regarding mold mainly result from landlords not addressing the issue at all or taking a very long time.

Jeff Willis · Answer

Landlords are required by law to provide proper living conditions for their tenants, free from health or safety hazards, often referred to as an "implied warranty of habitability." The standard for habitability is generally defined as the minimum required by your local jurisdiction's building code, which addresses the health and safety concerns of tenants. While certain minor problems such as drippy faucets are not considered crucial to habitability, toxic mold certainly is.

It will depend on what caused the mold. If it was from tenant actions, then you owe them nothing. If it was from something you are responsible for (plumbing. a leaky roof, exterior issues, etc.) then you would be responsible for remediation and tenant lodging.

It is not up to you to determine if the residence is habitable. Before you allow the tenant back into the residence, I would have it environmentally cleared. This protects you.

I hope you just didn't hire a regular contractor, I hope it was a company that specializes in mold remediation. If not, you are opening yourself up to a lawsuit.

Lawsuits for against landlords for mold are very common. look at https://realestate.findlaw.com/construction-defects/can-i-sue-my-landlord-for-black-mold.html

David Nacco · Answer

@Cee Xu I wouldn’t reimburse them at all. They had no reason to get an Airbnb for any reason other than convenience and personal preference. A contractor working on a job in a contained nonessential part of the house during reasonable hours is not reason to vacate even if it was temporary so if they chose to that’s on them. If it was something they going necessary they should have discussed it with you before hand. If you do choose to reimburse them I would make sure they couldn’t have responsibly got their family into a cheaper Airbnb or hotel and only reimburse them at that rate and tell them if they discussed it with you before you would have told them that was the rate you’d reimburse for since a place was available for that price

should I reimburse for airbnb stay?

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