Tenant reported landlord to the health department

Tenant reported landlord to the health department

Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes

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.

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
5y

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.

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  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    5y

    Ideally the HOA would have talked to the owner when it saw that there were problems with the exterior.

    I don't know what the tenant was thinking.  If they wanted to stay, they should have figured out that going to the dept of health was not going to go over well with the landlord.   Nor do I understand why the tenant would want to stay.  They should have asked to be let out of the lease early if there were health concerns.

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    5y

    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.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7247 Reviews
  • Investor · Ocala, FL · Member since 2016 · 299 posts · 110 votes
    5y

    The tenant should have sent a certified notice of the damage (water entering the unit) as well as notifying the landlord that water was soaking into the floor, wall, carpet, etc. before there was mold.  I would hire my own mold inspector (not one that does remediation since they have an interest in finding mold), and notify the tenant that I was going to sue them for allowing the mold damage without notifying me in a timely manner that there was mold forming so I could have that possible damage taken care of early before there was substantial mold.  For the Florida Bar's info on tenant responsibilities and the form to be used:  https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2018/08/form-3.pdf

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