What if my apartment has mold

In California, residential leases have an implied warranty of habitability. This requires landlords to repair any defects that make an apartment uninhabitable, except for those that are caused by tenants directly. If the presence of mold affects the livability of the apartment and the health and safety of the tenants, the landlord is in violation of this warranty and the tenant should move out.

Breaking your lease should be a last resort, but if your health is at risk it may be necessary. Even if you feel that your landlord is responsible and you have documentation to back your claim, your landlord may still decide to take you to court to recover any rent still due under your lease.

Should you decide to move out, be prepared to defend yourself in court. However, if you fulfilled your tenant responsibilities and have evidence that proves the presence of mold and shows you suffered related health effects, you have a very strong case against your landlord. Currently living in Austin, Texas, Alexander Harris is a business journalist covering the self storage industry for SpareFoot.

Harris previously wrote daily news for RichmondBizSense. His work has appeared in various other publications including "Philadelphia Citypaper," Stateline.

We'll create a formal letter requesting repairs and send it to your landlord by Certified Mail, at zero cost to you. If you don't get results from sending a Letter of Complaint, consider taking your landlord to Housing Court by starting an HP Action case. Take photos of the mold and any other sources of moisture. You should also save copies of any communication you have with your landlord about the issue, in addition to the Letter of Complaint. Save copies of any emails, and take screenshots of your call log and text messages.

For phone calls, write down the date, time, and what was said. Make sure you are also calling to submit formal complaints to the city if you live in private housing, or call the NYCHA Customer Complaint Center if you live in public housing. NYCHA residents also have the option to call the court-appointed Ombudsperson to add more pressure to your request at While you wait for repairs, you can clean small patches of mold with a mild solution of bleach and water.

If you have receipts for anything you have to throw out due to the mold, save them. And if you need to buy anything for the clean up, save those receipts too. You may be able to get your costs reimbursed by going to small claims court. By Janet Portman , Attorney. Mold is an environmental hazard that can cause concern among renters. Across the country, tenants have won multimillion-dollar cases against landlords for significant health problems—such as rashes, chronic fatigue, nausea, cognitive losses, hemorrhaging, and asthma—allegedly caused by exposure to " toxic molds " in their building.

If you suspect there is mold in your rental unit, learn what to look for and when your landlord might be liable. Even better, take steps to prevent mold before it becomes a problem—or clean mold up before it does become a problem. Mold comes in various colors and shapes. The villains—with names like stachybotrys, penicillium, aspergilus, paecilomyces, and fusarium—are black, white, green, or gray. Some are powdery, others shiny. Some molds look and smell disgusting; others are barely seen—hidden between walls, under floors and ceilings, or in less accessible spots, such as basements and attics.

Mold often grows on water-soaked materials, such as wall paneling, paint, fabric, ceiling tiles, newspapers, or cardboard boxes. Humidity sets up prime growing conditions for mold. Buildings in naturally humid climates of Texas, California , and the Southern U. But whatever the climate, mold can grow as long as moisture is present. Mold is also among the most controversial of environmental hazards.

There is considerable debate within the scientific and medical communities about which molds, and what situations, pose serious health risks to people in their homes. There is no debate, however, among tenants who have suffered the consequences of living amidst and inhaling mold spores. Keep in mind, however, that most mold is not harmful to your health—for example, the mold that grows on shower tiles is not dangerous.

It takes an expert to know whether a particular mold is harmful or just annoying. And it's very tricky to find out whether a person who has been exposed to mold has actually inhaled or ingested it. New tests that measure the presence of a particular mold's DNA in a blood sample are the only way to know for sure whether the mold is present in the body.

With a few exceptions, landlord responsibilities regarding mold have not been clearly spelled out in building codes, ordinances, statutes, or regulations. But, as explained below, landlords can be held responsible for mold problems even absent specific laws governing mold.

No federal law sets permissible exposure limits or building tolerance standards for mold in residential buildings, and only a few states including California , Indiana , Maryland , New Jersey , and Texas , and a few cities including New York and San Francisco , have taken steps toward establishing permissible mold standards or guidelines and regulations for mold in indoor air. For information on mold rules and regulations in your state, check with your state department of environmental protection or your state department of public health.

To see whether your state is considering mold-related legislation that might affect residential rentals, you can search the National Conference of State Legislatures' Environmental Health State Bill Tracking Database.

Check the "Indoor Air Quality—Mold" box in the "Topics" column, and check the box next to your state. For local mold-related rules, contact your city manager, mayor's office or other local government department.