Dealing With Mold In Your Apartment: Here's What You Need To Know

7/30/2019 (Permalink)

Mold damage in an Indian Harbor Beach, FL apartment

Steps To Take When You Discover Mold In Your Apartment

Your landlord has a duty to provide you with a clean and habitable place to live. While mold is not necessarily dangerous, it is unnerving to look at and, for some people, it can aggravate allergy symptoms. Then there is the fact that mold can wreak havoc on a building's structure and personal belongings. For all these reasons and more, if you discover mold in your apartment, you should contact your landlord, who should then call in an Indian Harbor Beach, FL, mold cleanup crew. Below are the steps you should take upon discovering mold contamination in your apartment:

• Contact your landlord.
  
• Take pictures of the infestation and send them to your landlord.
  
• Make sure you're home when the mold remediation specialist arrives.
  
• Make sure your landlord has an air quality test performed to ensure mold spores aren't in other areas of the unit or home.
  
  

Once the tests are complete, the mold remediation specialist will begin the mold remediation process.

What To Do If Your Landlord Won't Cooperate

Unfortunately, some landlords are not as cooperative as they should be. If your landlord ignores the issue or flat-out refuses to help with the mold cleanup process, there is a specific way you should handle the situation.
First, contact an attorney. An attorney can advise you on how to proceed as well as inform you of your legal rights. After you contact an attorney, make copies of everything. This includes written notices, photos and receipts of costs you incurred trying to resolve the issue on your own.
Next, schedule an indoor air-quality test. You will need these results to prove that the conditions in your home are a threat to your health.
Finally, file a lawsuit. If you win, you may receive a reduction in rent, one month's free rent, a civil penalty of $500 and actual damages. If you hired an attorney, your landlord will also have to pay for the attorney fees.
If there is mold in your rental unit, your landlord is responsible for mold cleanup. He or she should contact a professional mold remediation company.