Tenant threatening to break lease with mold excuse

[Kush Khandelwal]

My new tenants SFR in Grovetown, GA are complaining of possible mold and wishing to break the lease. Seeking any advice. To add more background.

I purchased this property in October - it's a 2004 SFR in great condition with no history of prior water damage. New tenants moved in 3 weeks ago in early December. They just wrote to me complaining of getting sick due to possible mold - while they cannot point to visible signs of mold, they claim they smell mildew and mold like odors which are making them sick.

I did a bit of digging and it doesn't appear that nobody in the past has gotten sick - this includes handymen and painters in the house, as well as the prior owners/residents. Seems that the new tenants may just be really sensitive to the air in the house. 

So now they've asked to conduct a thorough mold inspection, and if I do not agree, they want to break lease (without penalty) and leave. 

I understand that laws in Georgia regarding mold are unclear, so should I agree to the mold inspection conducted by them - where if there's mold then I should pay for remediation and fix? 

My fear is that they may not hire the most cost-effective and unbiased agency for the job. Also, I understand that the presence of mold doesn't always result in binary answers - given the humidity in GA there's always *some* mold in the air. 

Would love any advice on dealing with this issue!

[Kelly Rambo]

@Kush Khandelwal, sorry this is happening to you.  First, I think you need a real estate attorney that specializes is landlord/tenant issues for the best advice.   Second, take my two cents for exactly what it’s worth - 2 cents or less.  Sounds like they want out  and after you have the home assessed and treated, they will find another reason to want to break the lease.   I’d ask them the following, “once we assess and treat (if necessary), do you think you would still be comfortable staying?”   I’d approach it from I want you to be happy here and would hate for you to stay if you wouldn’t be happy here.”  While I recognize this means you have to find a new tenant, but it seems like that may be in your best interest.  If they have not been there a month yet and already threatening to break the lease, it seems likely that in another month it will be something else and on and on until the relationship goes far south.   Again, just my 2 cents.   Good luck.