Mold, and Asbestos Disclosure?

Question

Hello

Anyone have an addendum to their lease which includes mold and asbestos to prevent tenant from suing the landlord if mold or asbestos is present before they take possession or if it appears after. Im being to be a little concerned with all the horror stories. Will a disclosure hold up in court?

Eric Black · Answer

If I were you, I would have the black mold issue taken care of, even if it's not in a living area. It's not going to get any better or go away on its own. Fix it before it does become an issue. Besides, if you're having to tell prospective tenants "Hey, there's mold down there, so just don't go down there" what other issues are you going to ignore? I know I wouldn't rent from someone who said that. Please don't be one of the landlords that gives the rest of us a bad name.

Best of luck.

Bill S. · Answer

With the mold on the concrete walls it can be removed and I would pay a remediation company to do so. Find a small company and tell them it's not an insurance claim it's just something you want to address. It should not be too costly (<$2K for simple removal and treatment). Have the mold removed and then address your water issue. Basement should be dry. Could be outside drainage issue where gutters are not properly draining or ground is not properly sloped away from the house. May need a dehumidifier in the basement.

With the asbestos. If the tenant will have access to the area then get it taken care of. You don't want kids down there hitting the pipes with stick seeing how much "dust" they can knock off. Restrict access to the area. Make it off limits. If I can't do that I have mine removed. It's costly but not as expensive as you might think (<$5K for duct removal).

I question your attorney's advise. Once you have them sign a disclosure, you are basically acknowledging an unsafe condition. I don't think a jury would say you could have them sign away their right to a safe living environment.

Account Closed · Answer

Hello again, thanks for the input.

Yes the house is safe. Im just a little worried now days with everyone sue happy.  In the basement which is unfinished and has a ground floor and is damp and dark, which is unlivable and does have black mold on the concrete walls. Also another property does have asbestos wrapped in the heating pipes which is common in old houses. There is NO MOLD in any of the living areas. I did consult and attorney and they said to disclouse it and have them sign a paper and ill be fine.

Bill S. · Answer

First off, do you know there are issues with either mold or asbestos? By issues I mean an unsafe condition. If it's unsafe then make it safe. Unsafe being known mold not removed and treated by remediation company trained to address mold, known or suspected exposed friable asbestos material not properly sealed according to industry standards.

If you are just trying to CYA, then you will scare of prospects and create undue stress in your life. If you wouldn't live there don't rent it. Disclosure won't take away. Unless there is some required local notification requirement carry on with lead notification as required by Federal Law and forget the rest.

Eric Black · Answer

Hi Nate,

This would probably be a question for your attorney, or an attorney if you don't already have one. With the asbestos I would imagine there is some sort of disclosure stating that there may or may not be materials in the home that contain asbestos, and you may have to notate that either yes you are aware that there are, or no, you are not aware. You would have the tenant sign something stating that you gave them this disclosure at the time they signed the lease so they can't come back and say that they weren't aware of it.

As for the mold, I sure hope you're not trying to rent a property to someone that you know has mold in it. And if you are, I'd be surprised if you are able to find a tenant that is okay with that. Now, if the mold is found after they move in, then as long as you take the necessary steps to remedy the situation in a timely manner, and it can be complex and expensive, then you will be fine.

We have a property that we recently had to clean up a mold issue. The tenant called to tell us the water heater was leaking. The water heater is in the garage. When we sent the plumber out to fix the problem he said he couldn't touch the water heater because the wooden stand and the surrounding drywall was covered in mold. The tenants had to stay at a hotel for a few days, at our expense, because the water to the house had to be turned off, we had to pay to have someone come in and clean up the mold and then get a new water heater installed. Was it a pain, sure. Was it expensive, somewhat. Are we worried about getting sued, no. The mold didn't form overnight, it had to have been leaking for a long time. Had the tenant informed us earlier, and again the water heater is in the open in the garage not hidden in a closet somewhere, we would have resolved the issue much sooner. If they were to try to sue us then we could have the plumber testify that the leak had obviously been going on for a long time unreported.

If you know of a mold issue fix it immediately. If one is found after someone takes possession, fix it immediately. Don't let the issue scare you.

Best of luck.

Mold, and Asbestos Disclosure?

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