Mold in Rental (Brea: rentals, condo, eviction)

[strawberry1]

My wife and I discovered that the townhome we moved into last month has mold in all three bedrooms. The landlords told us there was a roof leak two weeks before we moved in, and they informed us of this the night before we moved in.
However, they said they would get it fixed and did have a roofer come out to fix the roof two weeks after we moved in.
However, we found out that there was more than one leak, and they did not tell us this. We started to inspect the place thoroughly out of suspicion, and found mold underneath the carpets.
We immediately notified the landlords, and the next day they came out to inspect.
They told us that we should break the lease and move, and that they would give us $250 towards our moving costs.
Ironically, they also said that they did not believe that there was mold present, but that they thought it would be best for everyone to just have us break the lease and move out.
We did not agree to this, simply because we had just moved three weeks prior and knew what an undertaking it would be to have to do it again.
The landlords got angry, and this started a back and forth between them and us.
All I kept asking for was to have the unit tested to verify that it was indeed mold, and they finally had that done last week.
We got the test results today, and there is indeed mold in all 3 bedrooms.
The test syas that we should not go in the downstairs bedroom at all, and we had a remediation company come out today to give an estimate of what needs to be done. That entails invasive searching in drywall of the walls to determine if there is anymore mold that is unseen, as well as replacing carpet tack strips, padding, and carpeting itself.
I informed the landlord today that we are withholding rent until the repairs are done, as we have in our opinion a habitability issue.
Are we in the right to do this?
The landlord has told us that if we do not pay rent they will start the eviction process.

[johnrex62]

Don't know for sure what rights you have to withhold rent in this scenario. Does your lease spell out any rights? If not, you will have to contact your local housing authority and find out what local and state regulations apply to your situation.

It sounds like your landlord is responding, albeit rather grumpily, and is attempting to correct the issues. I am not sure you have grounds to withhold rent as long as they are making progress toward repairs. I thought that was more of a rememdy to force landlords who are not making repairs to start them.

I would expect that if you are allowed under your local regulations to withhold rent without being evicted, then your landlord is also allowed to apply late fees and penalties to your bill and collect those as well as back rent when the problems are cured.

Some localities have regulations that require the landlord to put you up in another location until the unit is safe to live in if there is a health hazard.

If you do not believe your landlord is being above board in fixing things properly, I would suggest you look into moving. You can try negotiating more moving expenses being covered by the landlord since you footed the entire first move and the only reason you are moving is due to conditions under the landlord's control.

I would suggest to the landlord that while you are not looking to profit off of them, you do not have the funds to move again so soon and will require them to provide a unit consistent with the description in the lease and habitable under health and saftey regulations in your area. You do not wish to cause them undue hardship either and if they would prefer you to move rather than comply with the housing regulations they must pay the entire cost of the move for you to help them out in that regard.

It might be that relations are strained enough that this might be a better result for you anyway.

[JTGJR]

First and foremost, you need to make arrangements to get out of the condo. The health damage that mold can do to the both of you is far more damaging than the stress from another move.

You should try to meet with the landlord and come to terms. IF you want to stay in the condo after repairs have been made, then you need to come to an agreement. But, realize, you could be out of the place for months. My neighbor recently had a water pipe burst while they were on vacation. Flooded the whole downstairs and mold was already forming when they returned. They spent 3-months in a hotel.

I think your best course of action is to have the landlord agree to cover your moving expenses as well as any storage expenses that you may incur while looking for a new place. Then, look for a long-term hotel (Marriott Residence Inn for example) so you're not paying outrageous daily rack rates in a hotel while you look for a new place.

Once you have all of this in writing, be sure that you let the landlord know that you'll be back in a month or two to insure that the work was done and that he/she has not re-leased a mold-damaged condo to some unsuspecting person.

If your landlord balks at any of these demands, contact an attorney.

[katenik]

you are correct. mold is a habitability issue. the landlord has to fix it and offer you other accomodation at his expense while the work is being done. that is probably why he was so eager for you to break the lease and move out; you are about to cost him some serious money. right now, he is breaking the lease by not providing you with a habitable dwelling. search CA tenant law for "implied warranty of habitability" in residential leaseholds, and you will find out what your rights are in this case.

[prim2007]

I wouldn't recommend holding rent. You may make the problem worse. I'd seek recourse through mediation/small claims if you incur expenses due to having to live in an interim place while repairs are made. Your case will look stronger if you pay your rent on time (ever seen Judy Judy or People's Court?). This link from the Department of Consumer Affairs offers some really good information on what to do when you have problems with your landlord.

California Tenants - California Department of Consumer Affairs

[CESpeed]

Since you can prove a habitability issue, you can legally withhold rent. You have to place it in a trust account with the court.

[Ultrarunner]

I think the point is being missed... the new tenants discovered mildew that was concealed and the owner confirmed and offered moving assistance.

I would have been out of there in a heartbeat and once settled gone back to the owner to go over any additional moving expenses incurred. The second move should not come out of your pocket.

It is not "Breaking the Lease" when both parties mutually agree to rescind...

Things do happen and you've got to think of your families safety first... please.

[strawberry1]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I think the point is being missed... the new tenants discovered mildew that was concealed and the owner confirmed and offered moving assistance.

I would have been out of there in a heartbeat and once settled gone back to the owner to go over any additional moving expenses incurred. The second move should not come out of your pocket.

It is not "Breaking the Lease" when both parties mutually agree to rescind...

Things do happen and you've got to think of your families safety first... please.

Thanks to everyone for your input.

This is correct, they knew about the problem and tried to cover it up.
We all signed a mold disclosure form prior to move in, and per the terms on the lease we are guaranteed a habitable dwelling for 12 months from the landlords.

I filed a complaint with the city as well, but I was told that the building inspector won't come out for "just mold".

The reason why we haven't moved is because after we did not agree to their blackmail agreement orginally to just move with them giving us $250, they rescinded the offer.
I have multiple emails of us giving them suggestions of solutions, but they would not entertain anything.

The major hurdle is that there are no rentals in this area right now that are close to the amount we pay for rent, the only thing that we can find is $300-400 more per month.

Obviously, with us having to pay for our moving expenses up front, put up a new security deposit, then having to pay more rent, it becomes a major problem.

We would have left to find a hotel as well, but the nearest long term hotel is 13 miles away, and we have a large dog and a cat, which makes everything more difficult as well.

The places in the area the are affordable will not allow pets.

I did put the exact amount for the rent in our savings account this morning.
Is this sufficient or should I open an escrow account with the court?

[katenik]

Originally Posted by strawberry1

Thanks to everyone for your input.

This is correct, they knew about the problem and tried to cover it up.
We all sigend a mold disclosure form prior to move in, and per the terms on the lease we are guaranteed a habitable dwelling for 12 months from the landlords.

I filed a complaint with the city as well, but I was told that building inspector won't come out for "just mold".

The reason why we haven't moved is because after we did not agree to their blackmail agreement orginally to just move with them giving us $250, they rescinded the offer.
I have multiple emails of us giving them suggestions of solutions, but they would not entertain anything.

The major hurdle is that there are no rentals in this area right now that are close to this rent, the only thing that we can find is $3-400 more per month.

Obviously, with us having to pay our moving expenses, put up a new security deposit, then having to pay more rent, it becomes a major problem.

We would have left to find a hotel as well, but the nearest long term hoetl is 13 miles away, and we have a large dog and a cat, which makes everything more difficult as well.

The places in the area the are affordable will not allow pets.

I did put the rent in our savings account this morning, the exaqct rent amount.
Is this sufficient or should I open an escrow account with the court?

escrow account that names the landlord as beneficiary.

[johnrex62]

Until you discuss the matter with the court for their recommendation, I would open a seperate account just for the rent. There is a possiblity that the court will aware the interest the rent accrues to the landlord after everything is settled and if you have comingled these funds with your own savings that could cause problems determing what interest is really owed.