Ten Steps to Avoid Mold
Problems and Lawsuits in the Rental of Residential and Commercial Real
Estate
March 7,
2005 — By Phillip Fry
VANCOUVER, CANADA. Real
estate residential and commercial landlords, tenants, and rental agents in
the USA, Canada, and worldwide should take ten steps to avoid mold
problems and lawsuits in the rental of real estate properties, according
to Phillip Fry, Certified Mold Inspector and author of the books Mold
Legal Guide and Mold Health Guide.
Living or working in rental
units that contain elevated levels of airborne mold spores and/or
substantial mold growth infestation can cause very severe (and sometimes
permanent) health problems to the tenants.
Landlords have ethical and
legal obligations to tenants to provide an environmentally safe, habitable
living space (residential rentals) or workplace (office and commercial
rentals). Those obligations go unmet when a rental unit is mold-infested.
Landlords may have
potential and substantial legal liability to tenants for such compensatory
damages as: expenses for medical mold diagnostic and treatment procedures,
loss of earnings, mold damage to tenants' clothing and personal property,
higher rent differential if the tenants need to move to a mold-safe place,
moving expenses, any tenant-paid expenses (such as mold inspection,
testing, and remediation of the rental unit and tenant possessions), and
punitive damages (jury-awarded).
A Hayward, California, jury
in 2004 awarded $4 million dollars in damages because of mold infestation
and other substandard living conditions on behalf of 124 past and present
tenants of an apartment building whose owner failed to do proper mold
remediation and maintenance of the mold-infested apartments.
Take these ten steps for
the mutual well-being of both the landlord and the tenants---
1. A property owner or
manager should not even offer the property for rent until after a thorough
mold inspection and mold testing of the entire rental building or of
individual rental units (prior to rental) determines that the property is
mold-safe for tenants to live or work in.
2. Hire a Certified Mold
Inspector (USA and Canada) for an annual property mold inspection and mold
testing, or at least use a do-it-yourself mold inspection checklist and
mold test kits for a thorough mold examination and evaluation of the
rental building.
3. If there has been a
plumbing line break or leak, roof or siding leaks, flooding, storm damage,
or other water intrusion problems, the building should be thoroughly and
promptly mold inspected, tested, and remediated as part of the water
damage repairs and restoration.
4. If mold inspection and
testing uncovers visible or hidden mold problems, the property owner or
manager should immediately do safe and effective mold removal and
remediation. Hire a Certified Mold Remediator (USA and Canada), or follow
the recommended steps for safe and effective do-it-yourself mold
remediation. Re-inspect and re-test (“clearance testing”) the building
after remediation.
5. The building owner or
manager should avoid hiding or camouflaging mold problems by deceptions
such as painting over mold growth; concealing mold growth behind stored
items, furniture, furnishings, and decorations; and masking the
distinctive smell of mold growth with air fresheners and deodorizers. The
smell of mold is from the digestive gases of the mold eating the building
materials.
6. A prospective tenant
should inspect and mold test the proposed rental unit (prior to the
signing of a rental lease) with a Certified Mold Inspector, or by using a
do-it-yourself mold inspection checklist, his sense of smell, a good
flashlight, and mold test kits to determine the mold status of the rental
unit.
7. In doing such inspection
and testing, the mold inspector (or the tenant himself) should do an
all-around physical examination of the building for both visible and
hidden signs of water damage and mold growth. In addition, the inspector
or the tenant should mold test the air and visible mold growths in all
rooms, the basement, crawl space, attic, garage, plus the outward airflow
from each heating/cooling duct register.
8. Mold testing requires
mold laboratory analysis and mold species identification of the collected
mold and air samples. In building locations with previous floods or leaks,
the examination should also include fiber optics inspection to look inside
water-penetrated ceilings, walls, and floors for hidden mold infestations.
9. The landlord or rental
manager should disclose in writing to all prospective tenants any previous
or present building water and mold problems, and what the owner or manager
has done, if anything, to correct such problems. Attach these water damage
and mold disclosures to the rental lease agreement so that the tenant
acknowledges receipt thereof.
10. In consideration of,
and based upon, the landlord’s accurate and complete mold disclosure, and
the tenant’s full and unrestricted opportunity to inspect and test the
rental unit thoroughly and carefully prior to signing the lease, the lease
agreement may include a clause that releases the landlord, rental manager,
and the rental real estate agent/broker from all mold liability to the
tenant.
For more mold inspection,
mold testing, and mold remediation information, please visit:
http://www.certifiedmoldinspectors.com
http://www.moldinspection.com
http://www.moldinspector.com/mold_removal.htm
http://www.bleach-mold-myth.com
http://www.moldmart.net
http://www.ecology-college.com
http://www.mold.ph
Contact: Phillip Fry, author
Phone: 11-63-921-352-1287
Email:
moldinspector@yahoo.com |
