Tenant reported landlord to the health department

[Sam Leon]

This is happening to another owner in the same building, and I thought I would post it here to get some thoughts.

This is an eight unit, two story building, each apartment is individually owned with an HOA.

The exterior wood door heel and door frame jamb are rotted from the rain over the years, so when it rains (which happens quite a bit in South Florida), some rain will seep in due to the rotted door and deteriorated weather seal at the bottom of the door.  Tenant complained about it and the owner eventually replaced the entire exterior door.

The lease will be up on May 30, and landlord sent a notice of non-renewal.  Tenant wants to renew but landlord didn't want to.

Suddenly tenant complained about smelling mold inside the apartment, and not feeling well because of it, tenant got a mold remediation company into the apartment, who provided tenant with an estimate of $15000 to have a crew come in with hazmat gear and remove sheetrock, floor tiles, baseboards etc...from the rain coming under the door before the door was replaced.

Landlord refuse the hire the remediation company, tenant decided to move into a friends place for a few days claiming not feeling well due to the mold, yet no mold test was done.  While staying with a friend, tenant called the health department to complain about the unit and caused the health department to open up an active case for investigation.

Now this is what I was told from the landord's side, I do not know and haven't spoken with tenant, so I don't know the other side of the story.

Would appreciate some thoughts on what the landlord should/could do at this point.  I assume the landlord should lawyer up at some point?

I am an officer of the HOA so even though this has nothing to do with me, I am concerned if this escalates to the HOA level.

[Nathan Gesner]

I wouldn't sweat it. The Landlord is only liable if they were aware of the mold.

The tenant reported rain getting in. Landlord replaced the door and stopped the rain from getting in. If there was mold in the home, the Landlord would only know if the Tenant had reported it. It's unlikely the Landlord would be in trouble unless the tenant can prove it was reported and the Landlord failed to act.

If I were the Landlord, I would hire my own professional to go in and investigate. Find out if there is a problem and then deal with it. As for the Tenant, definitely get rid of them. As for the Health Department, don't do anything until they call and then only do what is required by law. Focus on finding/fixing the problem. Document all conversations with the renter. Don't sweat it.