Mold and landlord responsibilities
Sending this question in to my favorite community. Hoping to get some good insights.
We have a rental in San Jose area. The house is quite old and has a sunroom at the back which is built with metal paneling. Looks like there was a waterproof coating on the roof that has worn out and may be water is leaking slowly. That has caused some mold inside the ceiling. The mold screening company recommended some vendors. The vendors are recommending typical approaches such as cleaning mold from inside, drying out the moisture but also removing the paneling from walls and ceiling to completely get rid of the source. If they remove any paneling, we will have to completely rebuild the sunroom as those parts aren't available anymore.
We plan to remove the mold as much as possible by the non-invasive way but that doesn't gurantee complete removal of the mold. We wil also apply the waterproof coating on the roof.
We have already offered our tenants to leave without any lease breaking fees if they feel uncomfortable. They have opted to stay.
Question is - What is the right apporach here for the mold, as well as landlord duties and also, for future renting if this tenant leaves?
thank you so much in advance. always appreacite the help.
Most Popular Reply
This is a tough situation but you're already doing a lot of things right. A few things worth knowing:
On the remediation approach: The non-invasive cleaning plan is unfortunately not going to be sufficient if the mold is in drywall or ceiling material. The industry standard (IICRC S520) is clear on this: for porous materials like drywall and ceiling tiles, mold roots embed deep into the material and can't be cleaned out. The correct approach is to cut out and physically remove the affected sections, fix the moisture source, then rebuild. Cleaning and recoating over moldy drywall leaves you exposed legally and the problem will come back.
Fixing the waterproofing on the roof is absolutely the right call and needs to happen regardless. That's the source and nothing else matters until that's resolved.
Regarding California law, I live in Florida so I did some quick research on this since the laws are a bit different. Under Civil Code 1941.1, you're required to maintain a habitable unit, which explicitly includes keeping it free from substantial mold caused by water intrusion. Health and Safety Code 26147 also requires written disclosure if you know mold exists at levels that pose a health risk. Given you already know about it, you're on the clock. California gives landlords "reasonable time" to remediate but mold compresses that window significantly, especially if a tenant ever gets a doctor's note involved.
Offering to let your tenant leave without penalty was the right move and shows good faith. Just know it doesn't retroactively eliminate liability if they were already exposed and later develop health issues.
Regarding future tenants, if the mold is professionally and completely remediated before a new tenant moves in, California generally does not require you to disclose the past mold issue to future tenants. But the key word is professionally. You want an IICRC-certified remediator doing the work, not just a general contractor with bleach. Get a post-remediation air clearance test done independently after the work is complete. That test result is your legal shield if anyone ever challenges you later.
What to document right now:
Everything in writing. Every conversation with your tenant about this should be confirmed via email or text.
Photos of the leak source, the affected area, and every stage of the repair.
The professional remediation invoice.
The post-remediation clearance test.
The CDPH mold informational booklet. As of 2022 California requires landlords to provide this to all new tenants at lease signing. Add it to your standard lease packet going forward.
Not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice, but the path forward is pretty clear: get a certified remediator in to do a proper source removal, not just a surface clean, get the roof waterproofed, document everything, and get that clearance test. That protects you now and for future tenants.