Mold in Rental property, do I charge tenant for clean up?

[Anne Whalen]

Hi everyone, I have a property management question. I have a self-managed rental property in San Jose that recently turned over. After the tenants moved out, we noticed pretty extensive mold on both sides of the sliding glass door--wall and baseboard as well as the blinds and spots on the glass and frame. We got a water damage company to clean up and a handyman to come in to replace and refinish. Total cost is about $2k. My question is, do I charge the previous tenant for the work and take it out of their deposit? I've owned the condo for 12 years (since it was built) and never had this issue with previous tenants. My contract indicates that everything should be in the shape it was when the tenants moved in minus normal wear and tear. I don't think this qualifies under normal wear and tear? Thanks in advance for your advise.

[Jenifer Levini]

@Anne Whalen

Hello. Your question about charging tenant for mold is backward with how the law works. You are responsible for keeping your property mold free. Mold is the result of water entry. It can occur when roofs or walls start to leak, or there is under-floor leakage. If there is mold and you dont have it thoroughly cleaned, you have to disclose to all future tenants that this home contains/contained mold. This results in lowered rent and poor tenant quality, because no one wants to live with mold.

If there is some reason you believe that your tenants caused the mold like piles of wet laundry, dogs peeing inside, or watering plants without a way to catch the run-off, then you could seek reimbursement for the damage they caused.

Otherwise, do not mention this mold to them. Find the source of the water leak and fix it. Get the unit thoroughly cleaned, walls & floors replaced, and then the air quality sampled to guarantee the mold spores are below the legal limit.