Mould issue - Tenant or PM to blame?

I have a severe moulding issue in my property, this was never seen when initially purchased (even with the building report that was conducted). My property manager conducts quarterly inspections, she too never saw the mould. It turns out the mould has spread from the ceiling due to the lack of ventilation in the bathroom, the tenant only informed us last week and now the property is deemed inhabitable until the mould has been removed.

Who is to blame in this? This is going to cost me 5K to fix..and insurance wont cover it.

 

Sounds like you are going to need deep pockets

 

Yepp

 

What caused it ?
Was the tenant living normally ?

 

Mould can be a serious health issue. I had similar issue before with tenant.

Why 5K to fix ? Wondering can you just get a cleaner to do it ? Who deemed it inhabitable ? Did anyone stir up some big fuss ?

 

Well the property is 50 years old, I don;t understand how all of sudden there's mould..sounds strange to me. Contractor is charging 1.5K to repaint the ceilings plus install proper ventilation in the bathroom which adds up to nearly 5K. The insurance assessor who went out to do the inspection said it was inhabitable..

 

If by proper ventilation you mean a fan, then that won't cost $3,500, even for a really good one.

I had an extra fan installed in my IP bathroom when mould,appeared. Added to the light switch with a run on timer. Cost about $450.

 

To answer your question, I believe the PM should have picked it up, and more importantly, the tenants should have said something!

However, to be fair, maybe it has only appeared in winter with windows being kept shut?

Will insurance cover it?

By the way, quarterly inspections seem excessive...is that usual in WA?

 

I think all states except Vic do quarterly.

Depends on how obvious it is and where it is. On quarterly inspections we give the place a look over and quiz the tenant on any issues but can't be expected to check behind furniture or in ceiling cavities. The more thoroughly done checks are done at start and end of tenancy.

Unless you can prove the tenant was living abnormally I'd say this would be the owners problem to fix. Protect against this by knowing what to look at at inspections - usually this will be consistent among the rest of their living patterns. Document where you've instructed tenants where applicable.

 

We had international students (girls) in our Unit and during inspections, we noted that all bathrooms and toilet windows were shut, and mould was started to form. We told them that we understand the need to shut when they are in the shower, but please open the doors and windows after finish. We do have fans but suspect they didnt turn it on (to save power). Their mothers came to clean it with bleach and it was ok maybe because the mould was still quite new.

 

Lots of people don't realise that you have to have the window or door open a crack to ensure the fan works properly - it needs the air source.

 

Put it on the same switch as the light where possible

 

Yes some of our properties have one single switch. A little hard to retro-fit those arent...

 

In our own home, hubby actually put a screw to stop our kids from shutting the windows.

 

Looking for someone to blame won't address the problem.

If it's an older property it may have ventilation issues.

Get it rectified, fix the issue and get your property manager to make a note to look for mould at every inspection to make sure that it doesn't reoccur.

 

Just for the record, if it has been deemed inhabitable you're all good.

inhabitable
ɪnˈhabɪtəbl/
adjective

1. suitable to live in; habitable.
   "soon we will run out of inhabitable space on the planet"
   synonyms: habitable, fit to live in, fit to occupy, usable, liveable-in, suitable for residential use;
   formaltenantable
   "an inhabitable apartment"

Are you sure they didn't say "uninhabitable"?

 

How big is the mould affected area?
If it is just the bathroom, painting it won't cost $1500.
I installed a new fan in the bathroom in 1 IP ant it cost about $200.

 

$5k??? Wtf??

I'm not sure how bad yours is, but mine was quite shocking. It wasn't just the bathroom, it was all 3 bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, laundry.

I've attached a couple pictures, but this was widespread throughout the house.

$7 bottle of mould remover
Old towel (cleaned prior)
Bucket of clean water (to rinse the old towel)
Gloves (one time use disposable - $5 for pack of 50)
Ladder
2-3 hours of time.

Go from room to room, spray, circle back to start, wipe off mould.
Repeat for problem areas.

I don't know about you, but there is no way I make $1,500 per hour.

 

Prices
*Install flume and duct kit to exhaust fan $425+GST
*Install 1 x whirly bird $225+ GST
*Replace exhaust fan $210+ GST
*Clean gutters and flush downpipes $135+GST
*Repoint all ridge Capps with flexible cement mortar guaranteed for 10 years $755+ GST
*Bathroom ceiling and walls / rescrew ceiling , fix flush and sand , mould treatment , apply sealer 2 x coats WA white ceiling paint and paint to match current colour to walls $1290+GST
* 2 x bedroom ceilings and laundry and hallway ceiling/ mould treatment , apply sealer and two coats WA white ceiling paint $1590+ GST

 

Well when repairs cost you 5k of course I'm looking for someone to blame, this could have easily been avoided had tenant or pm reported this months ago