Q: Landlord refuses to repair or address anything including *High* levels of Toxic mold found growing in his home.
As of today's date landlord still has refused to fix or repair anything upon our move on October 1st, 2017. Now "Elevated Levels" of mold has been discovered including a "Toxic Mold" Landlord refused to pay for the mold test so again that came out of our pocket. We have spent close to $4,000 in making repairs he has refused to do. Over $13,000 gone in repairs and rent in 4 months. We got a letter from his "Insurance Adjuster" saying they will not fix anything seeing that it is not "Black Mold" but it is Chaetomium which is Toxic and air born. *High* levels were found in the air quality test and under the carpet. Also "Elevated Levels" of Aspergillus and Penicillium we found in walls/under cabinets as well as air. I am deathly allergic to Penicillin and all its family. Other than being told "if we don't like it just move out" is there anything we can do. We don't have the funds to "just move out" right now.
A: According to the warranty of liability implied by your lease, the landlord is responsible with ensuring safe living conditions in the rental unit for their tenants, which includes promptly attending to any issue which threatens their health. Therefore, you were not obliged to pay the cost of mold tests and the necessary repairs. If your landlord refuses to properly take care of the mold issue, you have two options, both of which perfectly legal – either withhold rent until they fix the problem or have a licensed company fix the issue for you and subsequently deduct the cost of repair from your rent. Regardless of which option you decide to pursue, your landlord cannot break the lease over this reason.
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