Mold in Property - Help

[Sonya898]

We have a townhouse in SE Calgary. There is one tenant upstairs and a second tenant in the basement suite. We have just been advised that the upstairs tenant was away for two weeks and upon his return, the upper level of the main unit was full of mold damage due to a leak which occurred in his absence. The tenant did not advise us of his absence and no one checked on the property. We use the Edmonton Landlord& Tenant Association lease which indicates that the tenant is to advise the landlord of any extended absence and arrange for the property to be checked on. The problem is severe and the unit is not habitable. The basement tenant has to be relocated also as there is only one furnace in the unit. The contractor provided a ballpark estimate of about $40,000 for the remediation. This obviously does not include loss of rental revenue. The tenant is actually demanding that he be relocated to a hotel and that the landlord should pay his expenses. He also wants his clothes drycleaned by the landlord! The tenant does not have tenant`s insurance.

I would appreciate any advice on this from anyone. I am waiting to speak to an insurance adjuster at TD Meloche Monnex Insurance.

Thank you,
Sonya

 

[Thomas Beyer]

$40,000 sounds a tad high .. likely you can do it for far less.

Take out the carpet, the sub-floor and redo some drywall. Maybe 10-15K.

I assume for now this is covered by insurance, both the mold remediation as well as the rental interruption.

I would be very careful promising either tenant anything in writing until you know what you have to do and what will be paid for by insurance.

Welcome to the wonderful world of rental properties .. never a dull moment .. and a never ending source of stories and issues to invest cash into !!

Cash-flow is usually defined as flow of cash from your jeans into the property until sold .. unless impeccably managed and levered sufficiently low (say 70% or less) !!

 

[housingrental]

I like Thomas`s post
I`d add just get the insurance company involved if that significant
A professional restoration company to ensure everything addressed properly with the top $$ being paid to them from your insurance.

 

[dplummer]

Mold remediation in itself is not covered under most Insurance policies. Mold as a result of an insured loss MAY be covered to a set $$ limit. Either way make sure you have a air quality test done to prove to the tenants the area is safe to return. It`ll save you head aches in the future.

Doug

 

[PropertySolution]

$40,000?? Wow, that must be a major mold issue! I would get my insurance company involved or get a few more estimates done.

As for the Tenant in the basement unit... he can also make an insurance claim if he has insurance and than the insurance companies can hash it out. If he doesn`t have insurance it is my understanding that you may not be held liable for another persons (Tenants`) actions or lack of. Any assistance you offer to this Tenant would be purely a courtesy and to maintain good relations. It would also be at his option to file a small claims against you and/or the other Tenant to recover any losses.

Good Luck

 

[housedoc]

"We have just been advised that the upstairs tenant was away for two weeks and upon his return, the upper level of the main unit was full of mold damage due to a leak which occurred in his absence."

What kind of leak was it?
Unless it was from a toilet full kaka, the temperature was perfect, and the unit was sealed, I find it hard to believe that extensive mold damage could occur from a single incident in such a short time.
Chances are that the problem was already there.

After a single incident of water damage occurs in a building, molds grow inside walls and then become dormant until a subsequent incident of high humidity; this illustrates how mold can appear to be a sudden problem, long after a previous flood or water incident that did not produce such a problem.
The right conditions reactivate mold.
Spores need three things to grow into mold:

• Nutrients: Cellulose is a common food for spores in an indoor environment.
• Moisture: Moisture is required to begin the decaying process caused by the mold.

• Time: Mold growth begins between 24 hours and 10 days from the provision of the growing conditions.

 

[jkcomm]

Yeah... I agree with Thomas. $40K does sound rather high.

We had the same issue a couple months back and the job was done for $15K (the apartment was literally renovated inside out with new flooring and the whole works).

James