What are my rights as a renter when it comes to water damage?

November 6, 2007 11:07 AM

I'm renting a home that recently had an indoor water leak. We tired to get it all, but now water is coming up through the floors. Are we at risk for mold?

We had a pipe break under the sink in the master bath. Water was all over the master bedroom, and hallway. The floors are laminate wood stuff.

We finally shut the water off and went to Walmart to buy a wet/dry vac. By the time we got back a LARGE portion of the water had been soaked into the floor. The floors are laminate wood stuff.

Over the last few weeks the flooring has started swelling in places, with water even coming up through the floors in some places.

We called the landlord who came in this weekend and removed the hallway flooring and padding to let it air out. Underneath this flooring was some old linoleum tile.

Now there is water coming up from under the tiles. When we lifted one we could see standing water. And she left the bedroom flooring alone, it could be the same mess underneath there.

We don't really know what to do. We'd hate to move, but we don't want any sort of mold induced sickness either. Is it best to just get out of this place? Is the landlord required to fix this properly? If it isn't fixed, and mold does become a problem, is she even liable?

Does anyone have ANY advice on what we can and should do here?

thanks all

posted by TheDude to home & garden (6 comments total)

Unless you caused the water leak the landlord is responsible for taking care of this. If mold becomes a problem as a result, it would also be the landlords responsibility to take care of that, too.

Just make sure you keep the landlord aware of any problems you find right away.

I'm sure there are 'renters rights' websites out there that would confirm this.
posted by chump at 11:20 AM on November 6, 2007

Hate to say it, but it sounds like all of the flooring is toast. Probably a lot of the subflooring, too.

Yes, it all has to be replaced. Once water soaks into the materials, there's no real saving it. I would guess there's probably lower wall damage, too. If it isn't removed, you WILL have mold and mildew issues, as well as serious damage to the floors.

Sorry.

As for who is liable...check your rent agreement. I would think it is the duty of the landlord to keep things like pipes in good working order.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:20 AM on November 6, 2007

We had a major leak in our house and we immediately called one of those companies who deal with water damage. They brought in mega-size water vacs and a bunch of industrial size fans. The fans ran for about 3 days with the windows open to get the moisture out. I would say that the landlord is responsible and you should insist on having professionals come in to assess the damage and take care of the moisture.
posted by bluesky43 at 11:22 AM on November 6, 2007

Mold is definitely a concern, but as others have pointed out, the flooring and subfloor may well be toast. Mold is more likely to become a problem if the water is hanging around for a long time. A big leak like that should be dealt with quickly by the professionals that bluesky mentions (and it should indeed be the landlord's job, unless you caused the leak somehow).

Good luck -- not fun to deal with flooded floors. Is this a slab on grade house (concrete pad), or is there a basement below? If it's concrete the water will take a lot longer to evaporate.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 12:09 PM on November 6, 2007

Look out for fleas, too. They will breed in all that soggy stuff and start nibbling on your ankles.
posted by beagle at 12:38 PM on November 6, 2007

If your landlord doesn't do anything about it or drags their feet get a lawyer. I lived in a house where the AC in the attic leaked water through the ceiling (like, pouring) and we had a ton of mold damage.

My absentee landlord drug it out for as long as he possibly could ("Oh yeah I promise a contractor will be out this week for real this time to look at it"). I was so busy I didn't stay on top of it like I should have and I figured he really was trying to get it fixed so I mostly forgot about it. There weren't any visible signs of mold damage either.

For the remainder of the time I was there I had severe throat infections and couldn't figure out why. They were so bad my doctor said they were the worst she'd ever seen in her career, my tonsils literally split open. A few times I had to be prescribed pretty hardcore painkillers it hurt so bad. Anyways, it got to the point where I was about to have surgery to try to make them stop but then I moved out of that house and they magically disappeared. Found out later the entire inner wall was overtaken with mold. If I had had a bad allergy to mold I might have died, it's a pretty serious health risk and your landlord is required by law to keep your place mold-free.
posted by bradbane at 2:03 PM on November 6, 2007