WHAT CAN A LANLORD DO IF YOU HAVE MOLD AND YOU WANT TO MOVE OUT?

Question

WE HAD A FLOOD IN OUR HOUSE IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.THE LANLORD TOOK CARE OF EVERYTHING,BUT NOW MY KIDS AND I ARE STAYING SICK ALL THE TIME.I HAD CALLED THE EXPERTS IN YESTERDAY AND THEY SAID YES YOU HAVE MOLD ISSUES AND IT'S NOT GOOD TO LIVE IN A HOUSE WITH ALL THIS GOING ON.CAN A LANDLORD HOLD YOUR DEPOSIT IF YOU NEED TO MOVE OUT BECAUSE OF THIS

Answer 1

You had called in an Expert He or she had gave you a report of the condition of your apartment you rent from the landlord. Now go and make a photo-copy of the documentation write a letter saying you want to break your rental agreement say why? Get that letter notarize mail it certified to the Landlord address or where you paid the rent to. Keep everything you have main copies in a safe place. If the Landlord respond isn't quick enough, then go and talk with him, and bring someone with you as a witness.

If he or she still doesn't want to give you back your deposit? Then you have to take him or her to small claims court to sue for the deposit back! You'll need to have one of those Mold Experts and the Witness your brought with you to talk to the Landlord in person and your paper work. Also a notarize letter from your current doctor stating the current health conditions of you and your family over this Mold Issue.  

Other than that it's going to be a tough battle as the landlord as fixed the problem but with Mold once you have it in the house it won't go away unless you tear down the walls and hire a contract firm who specializes in Mold removal. Landlord still could win this case but, but it all boils down to the laws of your state or country? Still children health comes first, not the Landlord pocket, so courts might rule for you?

Answer 2

There are legitimate reasons to break a lease and not incur a penalty - an environmentally unsafe home is usually one of them.

I'd suggest looking on-line at your state's landlord/tenant law website to get an idea of what your law saws.

Then I'd call you landlord and find out if he will simply release you from the lease with no problem.  Be sure to follow up with a letter to landlord as to your reason - not only to avoid any questions in the future if he decides to dispute it, but also if you put it in writing, then hopefully he will take care of the mold problem and not just re-rent to someone who does not know the risk.

Answer 3

It depends on the laws in your state.  I live in Oregon and was able to get out of my lease and get my deposit back because I went to court and showed evidence of all the mold, my doctor appointments and the mold inspector's report.  If you are prepared to spend some time at the courthouse and have the proof that the mold is making you sick, go for it!  You may be able to avoid court all together by telling your landlord you want to move out and you expect your deposit back.  Keep in mind, other than the mold, you have to clean and restore the place to the standard agreed upon when you moved in.  You can't just dump and run and get your full deposit back.  Best of luck to you, I went through this and it took me three years to get my health back after the mold got me sick.

Answer 4

Check the laws in your state. We had a mold problem that our landlord would not fix, so we moved out. He tried holding our deposit, so we showed him the law that states we were allowed to moved out without penalty if the house was unsafe. We threatened to sue him and he paid up.  

Answer 5

It seems un-clear if you actually had a company come out and verify mold or if you simply talked to someone on the phone. There is a big difference. It's not MOLD until the experts say it is.

With the report in hand, you would then have to write  your landlord , inform them of the problem,  and he would have had to ignore your written requests before you would be able to take action.

You also state " THE LANLORD TOOK CARE OF EVERYTHING", so you are acknowledging that the issue was resolved.

It is possible something else is going on...