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I own a 60 year old brick duplexe and have for many many years. The tenant on one side closed up his apt for an extended overseas trip-no electricity- since August and he won't be back till end of December. The tenant on the other side has started complaining about mildew and mold.
These units have always had some musty smell but nothing like this. Female tenant has been harrassing me and my property manager about this non stop even though twice we have sent clean up crews to wipe down all the walls, installed combination humidistat and dehumidifier and have been trying to fix the problem. I even had 2 large trees cut down. That was very expensive but needed to be done anyway.
One clue is that she has her bedroom closet stuffed so full I can't imagine how she can find anything and of course no air circulation means more mold and mildew.
Property manager suggests professional folks come out to do test for a cost of $1,000+ and then that doesn't even cover the cost of trying to fix anything.
She says she doesn't want out of her lease-loves living there just wants the problem solved. Believe me I do too but I'm not sure how to handle this.
The building needs extensive remodeling but of course i can't do anything with people living there. I'm tempted to tell her I've done all I can and suggest she just move now and when other tenant gets back I will try to get him out as well.
I'm sure I'm not the first property owner to deal with mold and mildew but I don't know how much I owe my tenant other than what I've already done. Any suggestions.????
BTW, in all the years I've owned this building I've never had this problem so I'm assuming it originates from absent tenant locking up his unit tight with no air circulation . He has mildew in his unit as well and he will have to deal with that when he returns. I've turned his electricity back on and put in dehumidifier and 2 fans but his water is turned off and it can't be cleaned with no water.
If you've never had this problem before then it does seem obvious that it all has to do with the other tenant having locked up his apartment. I'm also not sure why you would even allow someone to lock up the leased property and have the utilities shut off. If you had the electricity turned back on why can't you have the water turned back on?
Have you contacted the absentee tenant? Do you have lease agreements with your tenants? The tenant who's complaining is hardly "harrassing" you and your thought of getting her to move out might have legal repercussions. It all sounds very muddled.
Affected areas need to be cleaned with a special solution and paints.
Its something you could DYI or contract someone who specializes in mold.
The problem is it often recurs, the closet you mentioned, let her know
ventilation is a must, who wants there cloths exposed to that?
Suggest another storage arrangement, clothes rack, and do routine checks on the problem.
Good Luck
EDIT
If its a bath you might want to put in new green wall, green wall is moisture resistant.
Maybe even the closet??
Last edited by virgode; 11-06-2009 at 07:16 AM..
Reason: addition
By harrassing me I mean she should be dealing with my property manager and let us work on it and not contacting me separately. That is why I hire a property manager.
Yes of course I can turn the water back on and already have. Don't know why I mentioned it in the first place.
I'm not kicking her out. It's just that i can't seem to make her happy and if she isn't happy and I can't make necessary extensive repairs without her being gone - no bathroom facilities , dust mess- then she might be happier moved to someplace else.
What I see as cracks in a 60 year old plaster ceiling with god knows how many coats of paint-she sees as mildew. Honestly we can't find that it is too much of a problem. Property manager calls her a princess and I agree but everybody-even royalty should be able to live in a clean healthy place free of extreme mold and mildew. It's just not that bad.
How many times do I pay to have her apt completely cleaned? Wouldn't she want to be gone instead of dealing with this?
Time for full disclosure. These duplexes are walking distance to a major university. "other tenant" is my 28 year old son who is working on PhD in England for this semester. He was trying to save money by not having to pay utilities and they were all put back in property manager's name-same as if unit was empty. It's just that no a/c during August and September-we are in NC probably magnified this mildew problem. No in and out like regular apartment- no air moving. I'm not really sure that even caused it. It might be a roof problem and there is no way to really make necessary repairs until everybody moves out.
My question is-----how much more can I do or MUST I do to rectify this problem short of tearing the place up?
If you want the tenant to move then it depends on what her lease agreement with you says. You both have to abide by its terms and if she still has time left on the lease then you'll probably have to buy her out. Probably best that you consult with an attorney to find out what your options are. Good luck.
To completely deal with the problem, you will very likely have to have both units vacated. Your people can't get at every spot to clean and fix things while you have tenants in the units. The tenant complaining probably has mildew all over her personal items, and thus you can clean the unit all you want but it will come back unless she cleans her own belongings.
If you want the tenant to move then it depends on what her lease agreement with you says. You both have to abide by its terms and if she still has time left on the lease then you'll probably have to buy her out. Probably best that you consult with an attorney to find out what your options are. Good luck.
Buy her out that’s crazy now here is what I do and it always works
1 when rent is due in person confront her about all the problems and do whatever you can to make her mad.
2 when she is mad in the middle of the argument in a loud voice demand the rent do not ask demand it she will most likely say no at that time walk away and evict for non-payment it has always work for me
Buy her out that’s crazy now here is what I do and it always works
1 when rent is due in person confront her about all the problems and do whatever you can to make her mad.
2 when she is mad in the middle of the argument in a loud voice demand the rent do not ask demand it she will most likely say no at that time walk away and evict for non-payment it has always work for me
Buy her out that’s crazy now here is what I do and it always works
1 when rent is due in person confront her about all the problems and do whatever you can to make her mad.
2 when she is mad in the middle of the argument in a loud voice demand the rent do not ask demand it she will most likely say no at that time walk away and evict for non-payment it has always work for me
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