Homebound tenant and mildew - Landlord Forum thread

Homebound tenant and mildew by Bunny *M*A*G*I*C* on August 7, 2012 @14:30

Hi, Everyone!

The disabled tenant I have who is renting a room in our SFH rental "found" some mildew behind a piece of furniture in his bedroom. I have not seen it yet, but am going over there this afternoon.

The house is on a raised foundation as were all the houses in the area, and the inside and outside of the house is stucco. He thinks moisture is coming in from outside, but that's highly unlikely.

He keeps his room toasty warm during all kinds of weather, including summer, and seldom opens his bedroom door or either of the two windows in his room.

The rental agreement says "Tenant is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the common areas of the residence as well as Bedroom #2, including the windows on the premises" and also "Tenant shall keep and maintain the premises in a clean and sanitary condition."

Can I hold him (he would have his health care worker do this) responsible for the clean up (lemon juice and salt, or chlorine bleach solution, or ? ) or am I responsible for this ?

Thanks!
Bun

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Re: Homebound tenant and mildew by Jake on August 7, 2012 @15:05	[ Reply ]

Here is what you should do. Go to Lowes and get a test kit. Sample the mold right in front of the tenant. Send it off. It is highly unlikely it will come back with a negative result. Then inform you tenant it is harmless and to wipe it up. If you do not do this, the mold "problem" will escalate.

Re: Homebound tenant and mildew

Re: Homebound tenant and mildew by OK-LL on August 7, 2012 @15:58	[ Reply ]

I have a SFH with stucco siding and it also has an almost-flat roof. We had a similar problem with mildew sprouting up on the walls near a corner. Turned out the roof drains were clogged and the water was backing up and running behind the wall in a way that made sense to the repairman, but none to me. My suggestion is that you check your roof if the mildew is on an perimeter outside wall, just to be sure the problem isn't really inside the wall.

Re: Homebound tenant and mildew