Tenant claims sickness due to Mold

[Kee Lee]

Hi If anyone can give some advice

About 8 months ago in June 2023, tenant complained of water leakage in one of the rooms, I sent my handyman to take a look and looks like the HVAC air filter was completely blocked, it caused alot of water to leak onto the floor.  At the time the tenants wanted compensation for many shoes and much clothes that was on the floor and have been damaged.  I told them I can't claim it through insurance since it was due to the fact they (the tenant) didn't replace the air filter.  I did have the handy guy clean and dry off the area on two or three separate occasions.

Moving forward to two weeks ago, they are complaining of mold and now sickness, I hired a property manager to deal with this.  He hired a mold remediation company and looks like there is significant amount of mold and the cost estimate to remediate is coming to 12k.  Also looks like the tenant wants in the range of 10k for compensation.  So hence the question is do I call my insurance company or handle it privately?

Thx

KJ

[James Wise]

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Greg M.:

Spend a couple hundred dollars and have an attorney draft a f*** off letter. 

Dear Tenant:

As you are aware, the water leak was directly caused by your failure to change the air filter. It is your responsibility to change the air filter to prevent this from occurring (see Lease, page 3, paragraph 2). 

Your negligence in failure to change the air filter has directly caused me to incur significant expenses. Not only did I have to hire someone to diagnose and remedy the cause of the leak, as well as dry the affected area, but I am now facing a $12,000 expense to remediate the mold your negligence caused.

Due to your negligence causing these large expenses, it is necessary for me to file a claim with your renters insurance policy. If you also have losses that you feel may be covered under your renters insurance policy, I suggest you do the same. However, I bear no responsibility for your damages as they were directly caused by your negligent actions.

Sincerely,

Landlord

PS: Your rent will be going up due to this!!

Wow thanks so much for your advice, I will present this to my attorney and see what he says.  I tried to be nice and work this out privately offered them around 6k compensation package now they want like year of free rent (24K) and 8k in cash, these are section 8 tenants.  They were paying only 350 and 2100 from section 8 but now since Jan 2024 they pay 2100 only 350 is covered by section 8, not sure what happened. But did hire a mold remediation company and there is definitely mold there, estimate is 10k, time is of the essence so I asked my property manager to go ahead and remediate.  Sometimes niceness doesn't payoff :-(

 You are right, being nice doesn't always work. The tenant is clearly after something.  When is their lease up?  I'd work on getting them out and finding a new tenant.  I'd also bet if you went to check the filter, they still haven't changed it since your handyman put one in last year.

Yeah they are month to month but in washington dc it is very had to get them out even for legitimate reasons but thanks for advice.

 Have you considered hitting them with a Stone Cold Stunner?

And what would that be?

 bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ah I get ya, yeah that would be nice to put some sense into them, but these are elderly couple and have some starndards, looks like they are coming around any may settle for two months free rent.  The mold remediation will take couple days and set me back thousands but someone has to pay for the mold remediation and it's not like the insurance or the tenant will cover it.

 Doesn't matter that they are old. If she acts up, Grandma can get it too.

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Greg M.:

Spend a couple hundred dollars and have an attorney draft a f*** off letter. 

Dear Tenant:

As you are aware, the water leak was directly caused by your failure to change the air filter. It is your responsibility to change the air filter to prevent this from occurring (see Lease, page 3, paragraph 2). 

Your negligence in failure to change the air filter has directly caused me to incur significant expenses. Not only did I have to hire someone to diagnose and remedy the cause of the leak, as well as dry the affected area, but I am now facing a $12,000 expense to remediate the mold your negligence caused.

Due to your negligence causing these large expenses, it is necessary for me to file a claim with your renters insurance policy. If you also have losses that you feel may be covered under your renters insurance policy, I suggest you do the same. However, I bear no responsibility for your damages as they were directly caused by your negligent actions.

Sincerely,

Landlord

PS: Your rent will be going up due to this!!

Wow thanks so much for your advice, I will present this to my attorney and see what he says.  I tried to be nice and work this out privately offered them around 6k compensation package now they want like year of free rent (24K) and 8k in cash, these are section 8 tenants.  They were paying only 350 and 2100 from section 8 but now since Jan 2024 they pay 2100 only 350 is covered by section 8, not sure what happened. But did hire a mold remediation company and there is definitely mold there, estimate is 10k, time is of the essence so I asked my property manager to go ahead and remediate.  Sometimes niceness doesn't payoff :-(

 You are right, being nice doesn't always work. The tenant is clearly after something.  When is their lease up?  I'd work on getting them out and finding a new tenant.  I'd also bet if you went to check the filter, they still haven't changed it since your handyman put one in last year.

Yeah they are month to month but in washington dc it is very had to get them out even for legitimate reasons but thanks for advice.

 Have you considered hitting them with a Stone Cold Stunner?

And what would that be?

 bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ah I get ya, yeah that would be nice to put some sense into them, but these are elderly couple and have some starndards, looks like they are coming around any may settle for two months free rent.  The mold remediation will take couple days and set me back thousands but someone has to pay for the mold remediation and it's not like the insurance or the tenant will cover it.

 Doesn't matter that they are old. If she acts up, Grandma can get it too.

LOL, Yessir!

[Daniel Stoychev]

@Kee Lee

I was involved in a similar situations just a few months ago. Definitely speak with an attorney. You made a generous offer, and it seems they are playing a game of racketeering. 

There is only so much you can say or do to help your cause before involving a lawyer. Furthermore, with all the nuances of the situation and the  timeline of events, you don't want anything to be turned around against you. Every county and city has their own unique provisions and regulations when it comes to landlord/tenant disputes. Speak to an attorney and let them guide you to avoid further headaches. 

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Daniel Stoychev:

@Kee Lee

I was involved in a similar situations just a few months ago. Definitely speak with an attorney. You made a generous offer, and it seems they are playing a game of racketeering. 

There is only so much you can say or do to help your cause before involving a lawyer. Furthermore, with all the nuances of the situation and the  timeline of events, you don't want anything to be turned around against you. Every county and city has their own unique provisions and regulations when it comes to landlord/tenant disputes. Speak to an attorney and let them guide you to avoid further headaches. 

Yeah just spoke to my lawyer and he suggested a F*** off letter but the tenants are coming around knowing it was their fault but out of not having to deal with it they may settle with 3 months of free rent (~$7k worth) to sign off on a global agreement with my attorney.  Thanks for advice.

[Russell Brazil]

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Greg M.:

Spend a couple hundred dollars and have an attorney draft a f*** off letter. 

Dear Tenant:

As you are aware, the water leak was directly caused by your failure to change the air filter. It is your responsibility to change the air filter to prevent this from occurring (see Lease, page 3, paragraph 2). 

Your negligence in failure to change the air filter has directly caused me to incur significant expenses. Not only did I have to hire someone to diagnose and remedy the cause of the leak, as well as dry the affected area, but I am now facing a $12,000 expense to remediate the mold your negligence caused.

Due to your negligence causing these large expenses, it is necessary for me to file a claim with your renters insurance policy. If you also have losses that you feel may be covered under your renters insurance policy, I suggest you do the same. However, I bear no responsibility for your damages as they were directly caused by your negligent actions.

Sincerely,

Landlord

PS: Your rent will be going up due to this!!

Wow thanks so much for your advice, I will present this to my attorney and see what he says.  I tried to be nice and work this out privately offered them around 6k compensation package now they want like year of free rent (24K) and 8k in cash, these are section 8 tenants.  They were paying only 350 and 2100 from section 8 but now since Jan 2024 they pay 2100 only 350 is covered by section 8, not sure what happened. But did hire a mold remediation company and there is definitely mold there, estimate is 10k, time is of the essence so I asked my property manager to go ahead and remediate.  Sometimes niceness doesn't payoff :-(

 You are right, being nice doesn't always work. The tenant is clearly after something.  When is their lease up?  I'd work on getting them out and finding a new tenant.  I'd also bet if you went to check the filter, they still haven't changed it since your handyman put one in last year.

Yeah they are month to month but in washington dc it is very had to get them out even for legitimate reasons but thanks for advice.

 Have you considered hitting them with a Stone Cold Stunner?

[Scott Mac]

What it looks like to me......

"Hi my name is Rodger Renter, And your unit is filled with mold that is making me sick.

I am aware the mold is here and continue to live with it, but you need to pay me to live here due to my illness from it.

I'm not interested in moving to a new unit, but I'm very interested in getting some money to offset my sickness that you are moldy-unit caused- despite the fact I could have moved out when I found out about it.

My medical degree to diagnose my illness being due to mold came from a Cherios box- it was on the back of the box I just cut it out and pinned it to the wall."

If it were my renter I would tell him to go pound sand.

And I would give serious thought to the replacing him Due to the fact that he seems like a possible litigant, And for his own health. He believes he is being detrimental infected by whatever type of mold this is.

[Ed B.]

No, no, forget about trying to work it out nicely. Get rid of  tenant asap. Check your state's statues. in Calif, for example, landlords are not responsible for conditions caused by a tenant's negligence.  You might want to add something like this to your future leases to protect yourself from whiny, crazy tenants  and their mold complaints:

Any cost to remove mold that was reasonably caused by the tenant(s), or that was not reported promptly, will be charged to the tenants. Furthermore, should any tenant request that mold be tested by a laboratory or a mold “remediation specialist,” costs of such tests will be completely borne by the tenants. Any claims for monetary reimbursement for medical expenses due to illnesses, discomfort, or medical conditions that the tenants may claim were either caused by or worsened by alleged mold in the home will be denied unless the claimant proves with 100% certainty with a medical doctor’s definitive diagnosis that the health problem was directly caused by mold in the rental premises, and that the manager and/or owner was negligent.

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Scott Mac:

What it looks like to me......

"Hi my name is Rodger Renter, And your unit is filled with mold that is making me sick.

I am aware the mold is here and continue to live with it, but you need to pay me to live here due to my illness from it.

I'm not interested in moving to a new unit, but I'm very interested in getting some money to offset my sickness that you are moldy-unit caused- despite the fact I could have moved out when I found out about it.

My medical degree to diagnose my illness being due to mold came from a Cherios box- it was on the back of the box I just cut it out and pinned it to the wall."

If it were my renter I would tell him to go pound sand.

And I would give serious thought to the replacing him Due to the fact that he seems like a possible litigant, And for his own health. He believes he is being detrimental infected by whatever type of mold this is.

I get it makes sense.  Thanks for input.

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Ed B.:

No, no, forget about trying to work it out nicely. Get rid of  tenant asap. Check your state's statues. in Calif, for example, landlords are not responsible for conditions caused by a tenant's negligence.  You might want to add something like this to your future leases to protect yourself from whiny, crazy tenants  and their mold complaints:

Any cost to remove mold that was reasonably caused by the tenant(s), or that was not reported promptly, will be charged to the tenants. Furthermore, should any tenant request that mold be tested by a laboratory or a mold “remediation specialist,” costs of such tests will be completely borne by the tenants. Any claims for monetary reimbursement for medical expenses due to illnesses, discomfort, or medical conditions that the tenants may claim were either caused by or worsened by alleged mold in the home will be denied unless the claimant proves with 100% certainty with a medical doctor’s definitive diagnosis that the health problem was directly caused by mold in the rental premises, and that the manager and/or owner was negligent.

They are on section 8 but they most of the rent highly doubt they have the means to pay for any mold remediation.  But I get it and thanks for your wise words of advice.

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Greg M.:

Spend a couple hundred dollars and have an attorney draft a f*** off letter. 

Dear Tenant:

As you are aware, the water leak was directly caused by your failure to change the air filter. It is your responsibility to change the air filter to prevent this from occurring (see Lease, page 3, paragraph 2). 

Your negligence in failure to change the air filter has directly caused me to incur significant expenses. Not only did I have to hire someone to diagnose and remedy the cause of the leak, as well as dry the affected area, but I am now facing a $12,000 expense to remediate the mold your negligence caused.

Due to your negligence causing these large expenses, it is necessary for me to file a claim with your renters insurance policy. If you also have losses that you feel may be covered under your renters insurance policy, I suggest you do the same. However, I bear no responsibility for your damages as they were directly caused by your negligent actions.

Sincerely,

Landlord

PS: Your rent will be going up due to this!!

Wow thanks so much for your advice, I will present this to my attorney and see what he says.  I tried to be nice and work this out privately offered them around 6k compensation package now they want like year of free rent (24K) and 8k in cash, these are section 8 tenants.  They were paying only 350 and 2100 from section 8 but now since Jan 2024 they pay 2100 only 350 is covered by section 8, not sure what happened. But did hire a mold remediation company and there is definitely mold there, estimate is 10k, time is of the essence so I asked my property manager to go ahead and remediate.  Sometimes niceness doesn't payoff :-(

 You are right, being nice doesn't always work. The tenant is clearly after something.  When is their lease up?  I'd work on getting them out and finding a new tenant.  I'd also bet if you went to check the filter, they still haven't changed it since your handyman put one in last year.

Yeah they are month to month but in washington dc it is very had to get them out even for legitimate reasons but thanks for advice.

 Have you considered hitting them with a Stone Cold Stunner?

And what would that be?

 bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ah I get ya, yeah that would be nice to put some sense into them, but these are elderly couple and have some starndards, looks like they are coming around any may settle for two months free rent.  The mold remediation will take couple days and set me back thousands but someone has to pay for the mold remediation and it's not like the insurance or the tenant will cover it.

 Doesn't matter that they are old. If she acts up, Grandma can get it too.

I'm still cracking up about "Grandma can get it too" roflrofl

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Scott Mac:

What it looks like to me......

"Hi my name is Rodger Renter, And your unit is filled with mold that is making me sick.

I am aware the mold is here and continue to live with it, but you need to pay me to live here due to my illness from it.

I'm not interested in moving to a new unit, but I'm very interested in getting some money to offset my sickness that you are moldy-unit caused- despite the fact I could have moved out when I found out about it.

My medical degree to diagnose my illness being due to mold came from a Cherios box- it was on the back of the box I just cut it out and pinned it to the wall."

If it were my renter I would tell him to go pound sand.

And I would give serious thought to the replacing him Due to the fact that he seems like a possible litigant, And for his own health. He believes he is being detrimental infected by whatever type of mold this is.

The water incident happened in July 2023 and wanted compensation for damaged shoes and clothes but no mention of any further water leak nor any mold, the first mention of mold was Mar 7th of this month and there is mold so I need to remediate since insurance i doubt would cover and the tenant doesn't have the means, lessons learned, will update my lease and make sure they all have renters insurance.

[Ned J.]

Make sure the lawyer letter has something to the effect of "for your health and safety, we feel it is necessary for you to vacate the property. As you are on a MTM lease, consider this your 30/60 day notice that the lease will not be renewed at this time". Emphasize that if they are experiencing illness, its your priority to make sure their health is not affected and the only way you can do that is if they vacate the unit so you can properly and thoroughly mitigate the issue

This is  shakedown.....

Damage to their shoes etc.... that's what renters insurance is for... not your problem.

Mold remediation....90% of that stuff is a frickin scam. I would at a minimum get 2-3 inspections and estimates, with actual data of mold measured etc. Those companies ALWAYS make it a big deal. 99% of mold is non-toxic and unless they are "huffing" the material, they will be just fine. 

[Greg M.]

Quote from @Kee Lee: 
Yeah just spoke to my lawyer and he suggested a F*** off letter but the tenants are coming around knowing it was their fault but out of not having to deal with it they may settle with 3 months of free rent (~$7k worth) to sign off on a global agreement with my attorney.  Thanks for advice.

I'm sure you're a lovely person, but I just want to grab you by the shoulders and violently shake you until you wake up.

You are the victim. They were at fault. The at fault party does not settle with the victim. The at fault party does not get compensation. What is unclear about that? You do not pay them one single cent.

"They may settle for 3 months worth of rent". You know what they will settle for: JACK S**T, because that is what they are entitled to as the cause of the problem.

The fact that you keep coming back to offering them compensation for their actions tells me you shouldn't be managing properties. You don't have the ability to say "no" to people. You need to hire a Property Manager. Someone with a backbone that will tell these people "no" and hammer it home. 

Hey tenants, I'm not paying you a penny. You caused the problem. You're goddamn lucky that I'm not suing you for my losses or informing S8 about this and getting you removed from my unit. If you feel this is wrong, please sue me. At that point I will be countersuing you for all my losses. My attorney says I have a slam-dunk case. Any further talk about this needs to be from your attorney to my attorney. 

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Ned J.:

Make sure the lawyer letter has something to the effect of "for your health and safety, we feel it is necessary for you to vacate the property. As you are on a MTM lease, consider this your 30/60 day notice that the lease will not be renewed at this time". Emphasize that if they are experiencing illness, its your priority to make sure their health is not affected and the only way you can do that is if they vacate the unit so you can properly and thoroughly mitigate the issue

This is  shakedown.....

Damage to their shoes etc.... that's what renters insurance is for... not your problem.

Mold remediation....90% of that stuff is a frickin scam. I would at a minimum get 2-3 inspections and estimates, with actual data of mold measured etc. Those companies ALWAYS make it a big deal. 99% of mold is non-toxic and unless they are "huffing" the material, they will be just fine. 

 Awesome thanks for the insight I even offered them hotel stay through my property manager that they declined having the mold remediation done this weekend 

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Greg M.:

Quote from @Kee Lee: 
Yeah just spoke to my lawyer and he suggested a F*** off letter but the tenants are coming around knowing it was their fault but out of not having to deal with it they may settle with 3 months of free rent (~$7k worth) to sign off on a global agreement with my attorney.  Thanks for advice.

I'm sure you're a lovely person, but I just want to grab you by the shoulders and violently shake you until you wake up.

You are the victim. They were at fault. The at fault party does not settle with the victim. The at fault party does not get compensation. What is unclear about that? You do not pay them one single cent.

"They may settle for 3 months worth of rent". You know what they will settle for: JACK S**T, because that is what they are entitled to as the cause of the problem.

The fact that you keep coming back to offering them compensation for their actions tells me you shouldn't be managing properties. You don't have the ability to say "no" to people. You need to hire a Property Manager. Someone with a backbone that will tell these people "no" and hammer it home. 

Hey tenants, I'm not paying you a penny. You caused the problem. You're goddamn lucky that I'm not suing you for my losses or informing S8 about this and getting you removed from my unit. If you feel this is wrong, please sue me. At that point I will be countersuing you for all my losses. My attorney says I have a slam-dunk case. Any further talk about this needs to be from your attorney to my attorney. 

Agreed I did hire a property manager just as soon as I got the complaint I just don’t want to deal with anything legal/court system especially in dc
my lawyer advised me that if I can settle for a month or two of free rent so do it but you’re right having my attorney handle all communications mivhh is by forward 

[Steve K.]

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Scott Mac:

What it looks like to me......

"Hi my name is Rodger Renter, And your unit is filled with mold that is making me sick.

I am aware the mold is here and continue to live with it, but you need to pay me to live here due to my illness from it.

I'm not interested in moving to a new unit, but I'm very interested in getting some money to offset my sickness that you are moldy-unit caused- despite the fact I could have moved out when I found out about it.

My medical degree to diagnose my illness being due to mold came from a Cherios box- it was on the back of the box I just cut it out and pinned it to the wall."

If it were my renter I would tell him to go pound sand.

And I would give serious thought to the replacing him Due to the fact that he seems like a possible litigant, And for his own health. He believes he is being detrimental infected by whatever type of mold this is.

The water incident happened in July 2023 and wanted compensation for damaged shoes and clothes but no mention of any further water leak nor any mold, the first mention of mold was Mar 7th of this month and there is mold so I need to remediate since insurance i doubt would cover and the tenant doesn't have the means, lessons learned, will update my lease and make sure they all have renters insurance.

Yeah so not only did they cause the problem originally, but they also caused it to become a much bigger problem by neglecting to report the mold issue earlier. Get them out, clean up the mold and find better tenants! Don’t pay these people a dime would be my non-legal advice. But, defer to your lawyer’s advice of course. 

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Ned J.:

Make sure the lawyer letter has something to the effect of "for your health and safety, we feel it is necessary for you to vacate the property. As you are on a MTM lease, consider this your 30/60 day notice that the lease will not be renewed at this time". Emphasize that if they are experiencing illness, its your priority to make sure their health is not affected and the only way you can do that is if they vacate the unit so you can properly and thoroughly mitigate the issue

This is  shakedown.....

Damage to their shoes etc.... that's what renters insurance is for... not your problem.

Mold remediation....90% of that stuff is a frickin scam. I would at a minimum get 2-3 inspections and estimates, with actual data of mold measured etc. Those companies ALWAYS make it a big deal. 99% of mold is non-toxic and unless they are "huffing" the material, they will be just fine. 

That’s really good info and insight thanks 

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Steve K.:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Scott Mac:

What it looks like to me......

"Hi my name is Rodger Renter, And your unit is filled with mold that is making me sick.

I am aware the mold is here and continue to live with it, but you need to pay me to live here due to my illness from it.

I'm not interested in moving to a new unit, but I'm very interested in getting some money to offset my sickness that you are moldy-unit caused- despite the fact I could have moved out when I found out about it.

My medical degree to diagnose my illness being due to mold came from a Cherios box- it was on the back of the box I just cut it out and pinned it to the wall."

If it were my renter I would tell him to go pound sand.

And I would give serious thought to the replacing him Due to the fact that he seems like a possible litigant, And for his own health. He believes he is being detrimental infected by whatever type of mold this is.

The water incident happened in July 2023 and wanted compensation for damaged shoes and clothes but no mention of any further water leak nor any mold, the first mention of mold was Mar 7th of this month and there is mold so I need to remediate since insurance i doubt would cover and the tenant doesn't have the means, lessons learned, will update my lease and make sure they all have renters insurance.

Yeah so not only did they cause the problem originally, but they also caused it to become a much bigger problem by neglecting to report the mold issue earlier. Get them out, clean up the mold and find better tenants! Don’t pay these people a dime would be my non-legal advice. But, defer to your lawyer’s advice of course. 

Yep following legal advice but I get your perspective 

[Steve K.]

Hopefully you have some good language about mold in your lease to fall back on. Here's what mine says about it:

25. MOLD. It is the goal of Management to provide a quality living environment to Resident(s). To help achieve this goal it is important for the Resident(s) and Management to work together to minimize any mold growth on the Premises. This section on mold contains important information for Resident(s). Mold spores spread through the air and are transported by shoes and clothing. When excess moisture is present, mold can grow. There is conflicting scientific evidence of what constitutes a level of mold that could lead to adverse health effects. Nonetheless, appropriate precautions need to be taken to minimize mold growth. In order to minimize the potential for mold growth in the property, Resident(s) must: 

*Keep Premises clean, especially the kitchen, bathroom(s), carpets and floors. Regularly vacuum, mop, and clean surfaces in keeping mold from growing.

*Immediately throw away moldy food

*Remove visible moisture from accumulating on any windows and doors as soon as possible.

*Keep shower curtain within the shower when showering, and open a window or use vent when showering.

*Use vents when using a clothes dryer.

*Provide adequate climate control in order to keep moisture levels down and prevent mold growth by opening windows or using a dehumidifier if necessary.

*Periodically inspect all sinks, bathtubs, washing machines, plumbing fixtures, appliances, windows, or anywhere water may be present to ascertain whether or not there is any water present around fixtures.

*Pay prompt attention to any leaks or moisture and report to Manager.

*Replace AC filters monthly and make sure window AC units are not leaking water into Premises. 

*Open the windows, use the vents, and air the Premises out occasionally as needed. 

*Immediately report to Manager any presence of mold growth that cannot be removed by simply applying a household cleaner and wiping the area.

A breach of this mold prevention agreement shall be a material violation of the Lease Agreement, allowing Manager to recover possession of the Premises, following Demand for Possession or Compliance in accordance with state law, and all other rights and remedies contained in the Lease.

Resident(s) Initials:____________________________________

[Kee Lee]

Quote from @Steve K.:

Hopefully you have some good language about mold in your lease to fall back on. Here's what mine says about it:

25. MOLD. It is the goal of Management to provide a quality living environment to Resident(s). To help achieve this goal it is important for the Resident(s) and Management to work together to minimize any mold growth on the Premises. This section on mold contains important information for Resident(s). Mold spores spread through the air and are transported by shoes and clothing. When excess moisture is present, mold can grow. There is conflicting scientific evidence of what constitutes a level of mold that could lead to adverse health effects. Nonetheless, appropriate precautions need to be taken to minimize mold growth. In order to minimize the potential for mold growth in the property, Resident(s) must: 

*Keep Premises clean, especially the kitchen, bathroom(s), carpets and floors. Regularly vacuum, mop, and clean surfaces in keeping mold from growing.

*Immediately throw away moldy food

*Remove visible moisture from accumulating on any windows and doors as soon as possible.

*Keep shower curtain within the shower when showering, and open a window or use vent when showering.

*Use vents when using a clothes dryer.

*Provide adequate climate control in order to keep moisture levels down and prevent mold growth by opening windows or using a dehumidifier if necessary.

*Periodically inspect all sinks, bathtubs, washing machines, plumbing fixtures, appliances, windows, or anywhere water may be present to ascertain whether or not there is any water present around fixtures.

*Pay prompt attention to any leaks or moisture and report to Manager.

*Replace AC filters monthly and make sure window AC units are not leaking water into Premises. 

*Open the windows, use the vents, and air the Premises out occasionally as needed. 

*Immediately report to Manager any presence of mold growth that cannot be removed by simply applying a household cleaner and wiping the area.

A breach of this mold prevention agreement shall be a material violation of the Lease Agreement, allowing Manager to recover possession of the Premises, following Demand for Possession or Compliance in accordance with state law, and all other rights and remedies contained in the Lease.

Resident(s) Initials:____________________________________

Ah perfect this helps will
pass this along to my property manager!

[James Wise]

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Quote from @Kee Lee:

Quote from @Greg M.:

Spend a couple hundred dollars and have an attorney draft a f*** off letter. 

Dear Tenant:

As you are aware, the water leak was directly caused by your failure to change the air filter. It is your responsibility to change the air filter to prevent this from occurring (see Lease, page 3, paragraph 2). 

Your negligence in failure to change the air filter has directly caused me to incur significant expenses. Not only did I have to hire someone to diagnose and remedy the cause of the leak, as well as dry the affected area, but I am now facing a $12,000 expense to remediate the mold your negligence caused.

Due to your negligence causing these large expenses, it is necessary for me to file a claim with your renters insurance policy. If you also have losses that you feel may be covered under your renters insurance policy, I suggest you do the same. However, I bear no responsibility for your damages as they were directly caused by your negligent actions.

Sincerely,

Landlord

PS: Your rent will be going up due to this!!

Wow thanks so much for your advice, I will present this to my attorney and see what he says.  I tried to be nice and work this out privately offered them around 6k compensation package now they want like year of free rent (24K) and 8k in cash, these are section 8 tenants.  They were paying only 350 and 2100 from section 8 but now since Jan 2024 they pay 2100 only 350 is covered by section 8, not sure what happened. But did hire a mold remediation company and there is definitely mold there, estimate is 10k, time is of the essence so I asked my property manager to go ahead and remediate.  Sometimes niceness doesn't payoff :-(

 You are right, being nice doesn't always work. The tenant is clearly after something.  When is their lease up?  I'd work on getting them out and finding a new tenant.  I'd also bet if you went to check the filter, they still haven't changed it since your handyman put one in last year.

Yeah they are month to month but in washington dc it is very had to get them out even for legitimate reasons but thanks for advice.

 Have you considered hitting them with a Stone Cold Stunner?

And what would that be?

 bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ah I get ya, yeah that would be nice to put some sense into them, but these are elderly couple and have some starndards, looks like they are coming around any may settle for two months free rent.  The mold remediation will take couple days and set me back thousands but someone has to pay for the mold remediation and it's not like the insurance or the tenant will cover it.

 Doesn't matter that they are old. If she acts up, Grandma can get it too.

I'm still cracking up about "Grandma can get it too" roflrofl

[David Avery]

Ist off you have a horrible tenant!

2nd get your property manager to handle the communication between your tenant and yourself. 

3Rd your property manager has a lawyer at their fingertips that should send tenant a nice letter. 

4th yes your insurance should flip the tab for the damage and rehab.

stay out of communication with tenant. 

good luck 

[Kee Lee]

Really appreciate the advice all makes sense

[Colleen F.]

@Kee Lee  and did I read right that these are section 8 tenants?  How would free rent even work? Do you have to report that to their caseworker.  I would terminate them if you could for causing the issue.

[David Avery]

If This is a section 8 tenant. 

Section 8 should really take care of all repairs and should terms tenants lease ASAP. 

guaranteed 1 year rent. 

unless it has changed.