Is a landlord obligated to deal with mold in a rented room?

einshteen

Hi,

Moving into a place today. We had already taken a look at the place while there were people living there but couldn't exactly go snooping around the bedrooms.

My friend moved in earlier today and told me that there's mould growing in my room. I lived in a house where my room was mouldy a few years ago and ended up getting sick from it (very irritated eyes etc, Sick Building Syndrome as it's known!) so I'm getting a bit nervous now.

Before I contact the landlord I'd like to know my rights (you know how landlord situations can get)... does anyone know if he is obligated to deal with mould problems?

baby and crumble

Surely he'd have to lease the building to you in a habitable state, which stuff growing independently on the walls kinda negates!!!

I'm not legal expert though...

Victor

Yes, the landlord needs to deal with it. If he doesn't tell him you are considering not moving in and/or talking to the Housing Department in the council to get an inspection done.

Have you paid deposit / rent.

BostonB

Why if you saw mould would you not just turn around and walk straight out?

That said theres lots of reasons for mould. Not opening windows and ventilation rooms will cause if. A leak, etc.

AARRRRGH

BostonB wrote: »

Why if you saw mould would you not just turn around and walk straight out?

That said theres lots of reasons for mould. Not opening windows and ventilation rooms will cause if. A leak, etc.

This and drying clothes in the place are the number one reasons for mold in apartments.
See the "Does the landlord provide a dryer" thread. Usually the same people get mold no matter where they move to, due to their habits. Not opening windows, closing vents, drying clothes on the radiator or a clothes horse etc.

Elzer

The Landlord should have shown you the house again after the previous tenants left so you could inspect properly. Not to mention that he/she should have cleaned the place, painted and made good any problems from the previous tenant, but as you have already signed the lease and moved in i think your going to have problems unless you have a good landlord??? You should make a snagging list and pass to the landlord or company acting on their behalf and request that these issues be resolved as soon as possible according to your tenancy agreement...... If they refuse you need to leave on the grounds they did not supply what you where expecting although this would mean a court appearance if the landlord dose not just let you go. Alternative is to clean the mould with straight bleach and keep rooms well ventalated. previous tenant could just of never bothered to have windows open or cleaned.....:eek: (Still bad form on the landlords really) Goodluck:o

jam_mac_jam

Yes, the landlord has to get rid of it. Its generally a sign of bad ventilation as well but as said before it can just be from clothes. Its not too hard to get rid of if caught in time but if left there it is actually dangerous.

convert

Your best bet is to take some photos of the affected areas (if you've not already done so) and bring them with you when you go to have a chat with the landlord or his agent. It could be that they weren't aware that there was mould in the room, especially if the previous tenants hadn't mentioned it.

Mould may be a sign of damp or a leak, as well as something less serious such as poor ventilation. The last house I moved into got some mould in a room within a short period of me moving in. It turned out that one of my housemates had pushed a pillow up the chimney to stop a draught (they never used the fireplace) and used the gas heater almost every evening, but hadn't opened the windows to compensate for the lack of ventilation. Anyway, once I took the pillow out and ensured that the windows were left open for a bit to allow some air into the room, the mould literally disappeared overnight.

I took a photo or two of it to show the landlord when I was explaining what happened, and after taking a quick look at the room they decided it was simply down to poor ventilation, but asked me to keep an eye on it just incase. However, I didn't need to, as luckily there was never a problem with mould afterwards.

It's best to mention it to your landlord and show them the affected area. That way they have been made aware of it, and if it doesn't improve you can not only show them that the mould situation hasn't improved despite ensuring good ventilation, but also ask them to do something to alleviate a worsening problem.

goat2

he should have it seen after for you
there are two reasons for mould, one is an insulation problem, or it could be that windows are not open to leave out condensation