what is my right as a tennant when i have mold in my home?

Question

florida tennant laws mold related

Me and my family just moved into a rental home 4 months ago and are now finding out that the tennant before us had mold problems and had to leave the home due to sick children.my infants are now also getting sick but i am told by the landlord that there was never a mold problem, except for in the garage which she said was fixed. we are now finding mold in the bathroom and we removed the baseboard and it was totally black and disgusting. what should i do?

Answer 1

You have to put the landlord on notice of the problem first and give him a fair chance to make repairs before you can take any legal action. I suggest you call the county housing code enforcement office and get an inspection, they can give the landlord a violation notice to get the mold fixed by a certain date. You may have the right to withhold rent, but only if you've given the landlord notice and an opportunity to make repairs, and to withhold rent you may be required to sue the landlord and pay your full rent into court until there is a trial. Check with the local courts to see if there is a mandatory procedure for rent escrow.

Answer 2

You have the right to go after your landlord to make them fix this problem. Mold is a very dangerous condition that make you and your household very ill.

Mexiville

Answer 3

According to the FL renters handbook, you may have a right to break your lease under "unavoidable disasters", or you may be able to get him to fix it under "landlord's liability." But both are iffy.
http://floridapirg.org/consumer/renters/rrpage1.htm

You could have it tested to see how bad the problem is.
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldguide.html
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