Hold Residents Accountable for Preventing Mold Growth

It has become increasingly common to hear about residents suing owners, claiming that they were injured by the presence of mold in their units. Exposure to certain molds or fungus has been linked to a number of ailments, including asthma, headaches, and skin rashes.

To help prevent mold growth at your tax credit site, you, as a site owner or manager, should establish and enforce a preventive maintenance program. One way to start is to get residents to report conditions, such as leaks, that can cause mold or other organic growth to develop, says Steven M. McDonald, vice president and general manager-residential division at Westlake Realty Group, Inc.

Residents who don't report leaks in their units, or who keep high levels of moisture or humidity in their units may be encouraging mold or organic growth. Even though these residents may be responsible for allowing the conditions that cause mold growth to develop, they still may sue your site if they are injured by the effect caused by mold or other organic growth.

That's why smart owners are starting to ask their new residents, as well as those renewing their leases, to sign a lease addendum that makes residents responsible for doing their share to prevent mold growth. With help from McDonald, we have drafted a Model Form: Lease Addendum on Mold, that you can adapt and use at your tax credit site.

How Lease Addendum Can Help

A lease addendum spelling out residents' responsibilities regarding mold serves two purposes. First, it informs residents that conditions they create can lead to dangerous mold growth. Second, by putting the burden on residents not to create, foster, or ignore an environment or condition that promotes mold growth within their own units, you may have at least a partial defense against residents who sue you for mold-related injuries.

The signed lease addendum can serve as written proof that the mold or mildew may have been caused by the resident's failure to comply with the addendum rules aimed at preventing such organic growth and place the responsibility for the problem, at least partially, on the residents' behavior and failure to take action to prevent the situation from compounding the problem.

What Addendum Should Say

Like our lease addendum, your addendum should:

Require residents to remove moisture accumulations. Mold needs moisture to grow. Many things can cause moisture accumulation, such as the condensation left on a shower door, pet accidents, or food spills. Make sure your lease addendum requires residents to get rid of excess moisture as soon as it arises in their units [par. 1].

Require residents to keep units clean and well-ventilated. Mold also needs a food source, such as food crumbs or dust, to grow. Therefore, you should require residents to keep their units—particularly the kitchen and bathroom areas—clean and well-ventilated, to eliminate excessive moisture from accumulating. This practice helps, but won't eliminate all food sources for the mold, since mold can feed off building materials, such as wall board, paper, carpet, caulking, and wood [par. 2].

Require residents to report leaks, persistent mold. It is essential that you require residents to notify you in writing of any leaks, standing water, or excessive mold growth in their units that they can't clean away themselves, and in your common areas. Doing so puts the burden on your residents to help you fight mold or mold-inducing conditions that you may not know about [par. 3].

Make residents liable for failure to comply with addendum. Make residents liable to you for any damages their units sustain as a result of their failure to comply with the lease addendum. Also make them liable for damages to their personal property, or to that of their invitees, friends, or guests [par. 4].

Make failure to comply with addendum a lease violation. The responsibilities you are giving to residents at your tax credit site need some teeth. Your lease addendum should make residents aware that if they allow mold or mildew growth or excessive moisture to remain in their units without attempting to clean it or notify management of it, you can exercise all of your rights under the lease—including eviction [par. 5].

State that addendum supersedes and will be incorporated into lease. Make sure the addendum says that it supersedes the lease and will be incorporated into the lease. This will protect you against residents' claims that they didn't violate the lease and therefore can't be evicted [par. 6].

Insider Source

Steven M. McDonald, CPM: VP & General Mgr.-Residential Div., Westlake Realty Group, Inc., AMO, 520 S. El Camino Real, 9th Fl., San Mateo, CA 94402 (650) 579-1010, ext. 117; Steven.mcdonald@westlake-realty.com.

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