Issues with Renting New Home

[TangoJuliet]

My wife and I are renting a house and we are running into some issues with the owners. When we met with them initially they said they were moving into a new home and that they would have to keep a couple of things in the basement until they got the space to move it.

We agreed to having them keep a couple things down there. When we moved in there weren't a couple of things down there there was an entire house. We finally got it settled and there are less things down there.

So after a couple of days of not going down to the basement I ventured down there and there was this awful smell. I called in a couple companies to check it out and they both said there was mold down there. Apparantly they had a flood and never properly cleaned it. Both companies said that the sheetrock had to be removed and the carpet torn out and replaced with tile. He also gave me a bottle of spray 9 and told me to clean up whatever I wanted.

The owner rejected their estimates and said he would do it himself. The issues that I have with it is if he just rips things out then the mold/spores can get airborne and spread throughout the house and can make us sick. He assured us that there isn't any mold in the carpet and he would cut it in segments and dispose of it.

There is also garbage all around the house. Apparantly there were items like furniture, appliances that they didn't want and just left them. He also has a jet ski that has a broken trailer so it just sits on the side of the house. I told him it should be my responsibility to remove his garbage and was concerned about being responsible for the jet ski.

Anyways, I have included pictures of the garbage and some of the baseboards that were covered in dust and mold. The one picture shows the baseboard half cleaned.

I'm new to renting and I am just curious if this is what most people have to deal with. Is there anything that I can do? Can I ask to pay less in rent since the home is being used as storage? Can I ask for a discount until the basement is fixed? I contacted my realtor with the same questions but wanted to see what ATOT had to say.

Cliffs:

Moved into new house
Owners left garbage, furniture, etc around for us to dispose of
Basement has mold
What steps can I take

 

[Born2bwire]

Wow, that is a lot of mold. But it does pop up like no tomorrow. For some reason my flat is pretty humid, even for Hong Kong. I had mold blossom up all over my walls. Just woke up one day looked over and realized it. I cleaned it down myself but I called my landlord. He ended up repainting the flat and I haven't had a recurrance since.

Personally though, you can ask for anything you want but I doubt you can get it easily if at all. It really depends on the landlord and what they're willing to accede to. Outside of relying on their benevolence the only other thing you can do is try to find out renter laws and so forth and see what you can do from that. There are generally some form of clauses that protect you in the case of warranted repairs but that is usually only for major things. I doubt something like their garbage and stuff like this would qualify.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Start looking for another place to stay! I'd have that lined up first, as a fail back. That way if you push forward haggling with these people you can just say "EFF IT" and move your crap out.

 

[Bignate603]

A large mold infestation is probably enough to get the home declared unfit to live in. Check your local laws. Going the legal route should be a last resort though. It can take a long time to get sorted out and probably won't solve the problems with the house. The most likely outcome is that you'll have an opportunity to leave without a penalty for breaking your lease.

 

[Scotteq]

Move Out - Mold is considered a serious health risk, and the owner's refusal to fix it for you easily qualifies as a reason to bail on whatever lease you may (or may not) have signed.

 

[highland145]

Agree on the mold. Keep good documentation if you're in a contract.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Move Out - Mold is considered a serious health risk, and the owner's refusal to fix it for you easily qualifies as a reason to bail on whatever lease you may (or may not) have signed.

I may not have explained the situation correctly. He is remedying the mold issue....its just not in a way that I would prefer.

The carpet is coming up and being replaced with vinyl tile. The water damaged room has been sprayed with mold removal and prevention cleaners. My concern is the mold companies that I had come in were going to quarantine the areas and have vacuums to pump out the toxins. The owner plans to just rip it up and blow fans around the basement.

So the situation is being corrected just not in a way that I would prefer. We also signed a 2 year lease so were are locked into that unless we can legally find a way out. Moving really isn't an option right now - my wife is pregnant and due to give birth in less then a month. I just paid a shit ton of money to move into this place so I really don't feel like going through that again.

Edit: Also, when we met to rent the house the owners had another person interested in renting. They explained that July 1 would be tough for them to move out. We said it would be ok to store some things in the basement but what we got when we moved in July 1 was more then just a "few" things.

This is his reply from my last email

I am frustrated because I knew July 1 was going to be a disaster for us - but we liked you guys better then the other people that were interested in the house, which is why we chose to go with you - and which is why I really tried to be as clear as possible about needing some extra time for some things in the basement and about the jet ski. Now we are here and I totally understand you guys just want to get in and get comfortable, so I will continue to work as hard as I can to make that happen. I am going to throw August 1st out there as a date I will try to take care of all of these issues bye. If I could leave the golden tee and treadmill there, even in the mudroom, until March when our house is ready that would be appreciated.

 

[Greenman]

Have the mold tested. Most varitys are harmless. Then determine if your state has specific rules about mitigation.

 

[edro]

After it is remediated, have a mold testing company come back out and retest.