Mold in a home: Landlord refuses to return Security Deposit

My husband and I had found mold in a home we were renting. We notified the landlord of this and he admitted to the "mold being in the home prior to your tenancy". He also admitted that he "wiped the walls down and that the home was not insulated, so I guess it came back." He has not given us a courtesy of a walk through after vacating the home (although he was notified) and refuses to give back the security deposit for "leaving before thirty days". We lost clothes, shoes, and other items and took pictures of the mold throughout the home. Now what do we do?

If you were in a lease, you are still liable for the rent. This can be deducted from the deposit in an itemized statement sent to you within your state's time limit. You must make a written repair request to the LL and allow him time to repair. In cases of mold, you must have testing done to prove mold's presence (you can't tell mold from mildew by looking), show the strain of mold (Is it a dangerous strain? Only 1% of all mold is), and to show the amount of mold (mold is present in the air everywhere - you need to show how much more there is inside than in outdoor air). Without this proof, you cannot terminate a lease early.

If you were in a m2m agreement, you needed to give the appropriate amount for time for your state prior to vacating. This amount varies from 15 days to 60 days, depending on your state law. The timing of the notice is also important. Some states are called "term states" because any notice given must coincide with the rental term. In term states, you may not give notice in mid-term. If you do, the notice does not take effect until the next term (month) and you would owe rent for the next month.

Other states are called "literal day states". In these, notice can be given at any time and the appropriate number of days counted forward day-for-day. In literal days states, you would be responsible for a prorated amount of rent in the next month until the notice period ended. We would need to know the state in order to say how many days notice were required and when the notice had to be given. This would determine how much rent you were responsible for. You are responsible for all the rent for the entire notice period.

The LL may not simply keep the entire deposit if you owed for only a few days. He must prorate and itemize it as a deduction from your deposit and send the rest to you within a required amount of time.

If you rented the home without insulation, that was the condition of the home at move in. You took the home as is at that time. It was your responsibility to check insulation or ask about it prior to renting.

Only a few states require the LL to do a move out inspection with you.

Items damaged in the house would be covered by renter's insurance. The LL's insurance only covers the premises, not your belongings. Make a claim to your insurance company for any ruined items.

Please re-post with more information:
Are you on a lease or a m2m agreement?
Did you have mold testing done?
What state are you in?

[sunlover]

What state was this in?

In most states, you can break you lease if there is compelling reason. Mold is one of them. It is dangerous to live in a home with mold, and if your landlord took no steps to address and rectify the problem, you can break your lease. No landlord should ever tell a tenant that mold is present prior to occupancy. Real Estate Agents won't even show property to potential buyers without having them first sign a waiver informing them there is mold in the home, and they are viewing the home at their own risk should they decide to actually view it.

Your landlord, upon being informed of a health issue, must take steps to rectify. If they do not, you can break your lease. Please contact an attorney in your area.

[sunlover]

Note that not all mold is dangerous. Have the mold tested if its the non dangerous version breaking your lease will become more difficult

Only black mold is dangerous to live with. Black mold comprises only 1% of all molds found in houses. Black mold (or any other mold) cannot be identified by sight. It must be identified by testing. Testing must be done in the case of mold to identify the 3 components listed. Testing should be done by a licensed air quality control company.
1) The strain of mold - It is a myth that all mold is dangerous. This simply is not true. Some molds are even beneficial (think blue cheese or the medicine penicillin). Mold may aggravate existing medical conditions, such as allergies or asthma. But these are the tenant's medical problems.
2) The amount of mold present. How extensive is the problem? Does it cover a small area and can be easily remediated, or will it necessitate relocating the tenant? Small mold problems can be fixed with the tenant in place. It is not always necessary to move out.
3) The amount of mold in the inside air. Unless you live in arid conditions, there is always mold in the air, ground, trees, and other surrounding area. Thus there is always some amount of mold in the air in any house. In wet climates and seasons, mold counts rise dramatically. (Some weather reports even list mold counts with their pollen counts.) The test should show the PPM of mold in the air inside as opposed to outside. This determines that the mold inside is more prevalent than that outside and proves that it is not normal spores floating around.

The tenant needs to write a letter detailing the problem to the LL and allow the LL time to fix or repair. It is best to send this certified, rrr, to prove the LL received the repair request. If the problem is proven to be an emergency through the testing, remediation would need to occur within 72 hours, just as with any other emergency. If extensive, the LL would be responsible for rent abatement to the tenant for time they are forced out of the unit. If the problem is small, the LL can repair in the same time frame as any other needed repair. This is usually within 30 days. It is not recommended to kill mold with bleach. Mildecides are available on the market that work well against mold. Mold needs water to grow, and that problem should be addressed first, before treatment, to ensure the problem does not recur.