Mold in Rental

By Tanisha

My husband and I have been living in a rented home since July and the last couple of months we’ve noticed mold growing in the window sills.  The windows are new and the landlord did not put trim around the outside of the windows as they were gonna re-side the house.  So without the trim, there is excess moisture allowed in.  The trim boards in most of the windows upstairs are bulging and moldy.  I clean the mold off once a week and it keeps coming back.  The main issue we have is that my husband has EXTREME allergies to practically every type of mold and had major health issues from being exposed to toxic mold a couple of years ago.  I also have a son with asthma and allergies in the home as well.  We have called our landlords several times and they keep saying someone is coming “next week” to fix the trim and put trim outside the windows.  Our landlords are nice people but just aren’t taking the mold issue seriously.  My husband has been getting ill the last several weeks with headaches, nose bleeds, abdominal pain, cough, runny nose, all the symptoms he had when exposed to toxic mold before.  I have had different things going on that might be related if there is indeed a toxic mold in the house that were listed on a symptoms list (hair loss, anxiety, headaches).  What are our rights?  We love our rental home but don’t want to risk our health to live here.  Any suggestions?

Edited on: Monday, January 3rd, 2011 4:12 pm

4 Responses to “Mold in Rental”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Randy

January 22nd, 2010 2:04 am

I would agree, if the problem is so severe that it is causing health concerns for your husband then you better do something. Your health is too important to chance with. There are a few options such as the complaint mentioned above, or you could hire an attorney. It just depends how muchh money you have to protect your renting rights. If you don’t have a lot of money, then start with the RPA complaint thing and see what happens with that.


Anonymous

January 22nd, 2010 1:23 am

I had a mold problem in my rental too! I couldn’t get my landlord to fix and repair the mold problem so I filed a complaint. I still laugh at how quickly he responded to the complaint. It kind of makes you mad that he didn’t just work with me on it, but at least there’s an option other than court. If its as bad as you state above, I would go straight to filing a complaint. There’s a small filing fee of $35, but money well spent– at least for me it was.


Thierry

January 22nd, 2010 11:09 am

The mold is most likely non-toxic. It may cause allergies for some, but its probably not a huge health concern. To clean the mold you can use a simple mixture of bleach and water. (not much bleach– Tablespoon per 3 cups water) The bleach should knock out the mold spores and prevent them from growing back quickly.


Renee

December 23rd, 2010 4:59 am

Hi,
molds can not be treated with chlorine bleach as a fix! Please educate yourself on the detriment of this specific parasite/bacteria. Mold spores get into carpet, walls, floor joists, and most of all THE AIR PASSAGE SYSTEM …your air flow venting ducts. Do not try to trick your belief system…BLEACH does not cure most mold problems… mildew maybe! EDUCATE!


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