mould in bathroom tenants threatening to complain

C

charttv

Tenant at one of my IPs is threatening to go to the health department because there's a bit of mould in the bathroom.

I'm peeved because the previous tenant must've lived with it for years and never said a thing and because I can't afford the repairs at the mo and have told them to hold on.

This health department threat seems like an idle one, is it? Would they have a leg to stand on legally? Personally, I think they should be thankful to have a place to live considering the current vacany rate in my part of the world. Heck, if they saw my bathroom they wouldn't be complaining!
 
Is it due to poor cleaning on their behalf?
Or is there a lack of exaust fan etc?

If you have a working exaust fan installed and there was no mould previously and I would have thought that the tennants are resposible for the mould and should scrub it themselves.

If it existed prior how hard would if be to scrub off? cant immagin it being overly costly unless there is lots of moisture dammage to the ceiling
 
charttv said:
....because I can't afford the repairs at the mo and have told them to hold on.
Click to expand...
So you have admitted to them that a problem exists, but you're not able to provide a solution due to your own financial issues?

This may sound harsh, but your financial problems are not your tenants concern. If a problem exists (and it sounds like it could be sorted reasonably cheaply) I would suggest you just bite the bullet and deal with it.
 
It'd be interesting to see photos. What sort of mould are we talking about? Are we talking about something that can be fixed just by sending in a cleaner? Or a bottle of domestos?

Your financial issues doesn't absolve you from making necessary repairs if they really are serious, though.
Alex
 
charttv said:
Tenant at one of my IPs is threatening to go to the health department because there's a bit of mould in the bathroom.

I'm peeved because the previous tenant must've lived with it for years and never said a thing and because I can't afford the repairs at the mo and have told them to hold on.

This health department threat seems like an idle one, is it? Would they have a leg to stand on legally? Personally, I think they should be thankful to have a place to live considering the current vacany rate in my part of the world. Heck, if they saw my bathroom they wouldn't be complaining!
Click to expand...

Look at the reasons you say you are peeved

1. the previous tenant must've lived with it for years
2. because I can't afford the repairs at the mo and have told them to hold on

If it is a genuine problem, it does not sound unfair that it is fixed from the tenant's poit of view.

If you have asked them to hang on - how when did you say you would get ot it, and what was the tenant's response to that ?
 
Mould in the bathroom? Jesus H Christ! Why don't they just clean it? For goodness sake. In the place I used to live we used to get mould in the bathroom. What did we do? Had the landlord arrested and charged with unlawful conduct towards tenant. No, just kidding. We *gasp!* cleaned it!

Shocking but true.

Far out, some people are just perfect candidates for a swift termination.

Mark
 
Mould is so hard to get rid of when it gets a hold.
I agree if it's a major problem it needs measures taken to put a holt to it's spread. It can be a major health issue ... not sure the health dept would want to know unless it is super serious.

An exhaust fan is a good start, I had one put in and they had to drill through solid block and it only cost me $300 all up.

The thing is you need to leave the fan on for 10 minutes AFTER you leave the bathroom and not turn it off as u go as some people do.
 
Novar said:
Mould is so hard to get rid of when it gets a hold.
I agree if it's a major problem it needs measures taken to put a holt to it's spread. It can be a major health issue ... not sure the health dept would want to know unless it is super serious.
Click to expand...

The reason I asked what is causing the mould is that it can be something really really minor such as the tenant forgetting to put on the fan (or a lack of fan in the first instance) or something more serious such as some type of leak - from within the bathroom itself, an ajoining kitchen, internal plambing, or in the case of apartments even the apartment above (been there myself - not nice!)

As a landlord you want to know about mould. Why not investigae the cause and then take it from there. It may or may not be a big thing.
 
Novar said:
Mould is so hard to get rid of when it gets a hold.
Click to expand...

Well you're right there. We would clean it and not long after it just came back. But we didn't have a working exhaust in the bathroom. Never really occured to us to ask for it to be replaced, it wasn't a big deal to us. Also the fact that our landlord was pretty awesome meant we didn't really want to bother her with what we felt were things we could take care of ourselves.

I can understand tenants wanting a working exhaust fan, that's fair reasonable a request I reckon, but threatening to report you to the Health Department? Sounds like they need a swift kick up the backside for that.

But then we've only heard one side of the story I suppose. The truth is always in the middle.

Mark
 
Was the bathroom constructed according to the Building Code of Australia at the time? A registered builder may be of assistance with this question.

Was the bathroom free of mould at the time the lease was signed and the tenants moving in? Your property condition report should state the condition of the ceiling.

Whenever I get a property back from a tenant with mould spots on the ceiling, I buy a bottle of Domestos and a cheap pump action spray bottle from the local IGA store, pour the Domestos in the bottle, spray it all over the ceiling (have a t-shirt covering my nose and mouth), leaving a thick film. I then leave the property for at least 24 hours before coming back to.....a brilliant white ceiling again!

Then again, you could always let the tenants know that you are happy for them to move out this weekend and find somewhere else to live....then clean the ceiling on Saturday night yourself and get a new tenant on Sunday for another $100 per week.

These tenants sound like drama queens to me that don't want to take responsibility for their own health....while they are in the middle of "to and fro" with you about this, they are exposing themselves to the mould to the detirment of their health....it could be fixed for $10.

Glenn

ps....I would begin diarising every bit of communication I had with this tenant...times, dates, what was discussed. I would also play "hard ball" with this tenant, follow the Residential Tenancies Act to the letter of the law, ie rent not paid on monday, breach notice (and notice to quit tenancy) issued in person tuesday morning.
 
Further to my post about, the BCA requires that bathrooms have a window that has an opening area of at least 5% of the floor area of the room.

Cheers

Glenn
 
The Y-man said:
Isn't the same place we're talking about? :p

http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40933

Cheers,

The Y-man
Click to expand...


If it is, God help you ;)

There's a bit of a difference between 'a bit of mould' and the invasive ceiling carpet we had. If there's a little mould in the corners, I'd tell them to buy some Domestos.

If there's a layer of fur on the ceiling caused by broken ventilation, as we had, that's a different story. I'd want to investigate it right away, before you end up with a marshmallow ceiling.

Perhaps you could ask them for photos before you make a decision.
 
Surely the first thing to do is to inspect the problem, then you will know if it is a serious issue or not.

So long as ventilation is adequate (and working!) and the bathroom meets the building code, then it will be a housekeeping issue.

I suggest you also check the roof. Often mould on the ceiling is the first indication that water is entering through the roof.

Mould CAN be a serious issue. At my workplace we have an office that has been stripped back to bare boards and sealed because of illnesses caused by mould/fungus/spores.
Marg
 
This is a serious problem as a tenant with asthma I suggest you give them the consideration that they deserve in the current market.

Give them some bleach,a sponge and 50 cents to call someone who cares.

Yes it's a health problem. But it's their health problem.

Our last place had no ventilation in the bathroom aside from a tiny window.

And it was south facing.

We bleached the walls every month.

When it was up for sale we bleached them every second day.

So bad too sad it's their job. Oh and let them know when they move out any mould on the wall will result in their bond being dipped into.
 
It amazes me when the original poster states "one of my IP's" meaning that they have more than one but not enough money to look after any of them...

This is the problem in today's age where people think that the rent should cover the mortgage and the tennant "everything else".... if this person is threatening the health department they have obviously come to you and you have told them to go away!!!!!

my suggestion would be to sell one or more of your "ip's" and start looking after your other ones properly

Regardless of what pervious tennants have "lived with" - YOU are responsible for the property - you know that mould is an issue in the property - and you are the one making money off the property so help your tennant as it seems your tennant has the foresight to tell you when there is a problem..... others don't and you only find out AFTER they move out. Be thankful that they have identified a problem.

It is people like the original poster that have caused the "sub-prime" mortgage problem.... getting loans they can't afford and plunging all of us into financial crisis..... Oh and please dont think that you having a a few properties is your way of contributing to the housing crisis by "putting a roof over their heads that they should be thankful for" - you are charging them rent (and i bet above market rate) and YOU are making money off it... If you were offering the property rent free - then you can make a claim of "tennants should be thankful"..... I own IP's as well - but only as much as I CAN afford - I look after my tennants and they look after me. It can work people
 
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