What to do about mold in my apartment?
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What to do about mold in my apartment?
I have a son with a medical condition and there is mold in the ceiling of my bathroom. The maintenance staff came in and tore the wall off to expose that there is mold everywhere in the insulation. What do I do if they said they were going to fix it today but haven’t.
Asked on December 18, 2011 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
In every lease, there is an implied warranty of habitability which means the landlord is required to maintain the premises in a habitable condition by complying with state and local housing codes. When there is a breach of the implied warranty of habitability, the tenant notifies the landlord as you have done and the landlord is required to make the necessary repairs within a reasonable time. Since the landlord has started working on it, but didn't come on a certain day to make the repairs, the landlord is still in the process of making the repairs and therefore you would not have a claim for breach of the implied warranty of habitability.
If this continues and the landlord does not make the repairs within a reasonable time, you would then have a claim for breach of the implied warranty of habitability since the mold is a health issue and would be a violation of the housing code. Your remedies for a breach of the implied warranty of habitability would be to make the repairs and deduct the cost from the rent or to move out and terminate your obligation to pay rent for the balance of the term of your lease or if you decide to stay on the premises, withhold rent and defend against eviction. Another option would be to sue the landlord for breach of the implied warranty of habitability. Again, these remedies would not be applicable at the moment because the landlord is attempting to make the repairs. If the landlord fails to make the repairs within a reasonable time, then those remedies would be applicable to your situation for a breach of the implied warranty of habitability.
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