Mold in an Apartment or Rental: What Tenants and Landlords Should Do

Where rental mold comes from

Mold in an apartment or rental house almost always starts with water. The common sources are a leak from the unit above, a roof or window leak, a plumbing leak inside a wall, a basement that takes on water, or steam with no working bathroom fan.

In an apartment building the source is often not in your unit at all. Water travels along floors and inside shared walls, so the mold you see can be fed by a leak next door or upstairs. That is one reason it needs to be reported, not just wiped off.

If you are the tenant

Do these things as soon as you see mold or water damage:

• Take dated photos of the mold, any water stains and anything of yours that got wet
• Tell the landlord or property manager in writing (email or text counts as a record), say where it is and when you first saw it
• If water is actively leaking, report it the same day and ask for it to be stopped
• Do not paint over it or tear anything open yourself, which can spread spores and muddy who is responsible
• Move your belongings away from the area and keep the room aired out
• Keep a copy of every message and every response

What Ohio law says

Ohio's landlord-tenant law requires a landlord to follow the building, housing, health and safety codes, and to make the repairs needed to keep a rental fit and habitable (Ohio Revised Code 5321.04).

If a landlord does not fix a condition after written notice, the law gives tenants a process (Ohio Revised Code 5321.07). The landlord gets a reasonable time to fix it, or 30 days, whichever is sooner. If it is still not fixed and the tenant is current on rent, the tenant can ask a court to order the repair, deposit rent with the court clerk instead of paying the landlord, or end the lease. Depositing rent has its own steps, so follow them exactly.

Northern Kentucky rules depend on the city or county, because not every Kentucky community has adopted the state's landlord-tenant act. This is general information, not legal advice. If it comes to that, talk to a local legal aid office or a tenant attorney.

If you are the landlord

The cheapest mold job is the one handled the week it is reported. Respond in writing, get someone in to look, and find the water source first. Fixing the leak is half the job, because mold removal without it comes right back.

For anything bigger than a small patch, have it professionally removed with containment, and keep the paperwork: the written scope, before and after photos and the post-cleaning air test. If a tenant ever disputes it, that file shows the problem was found, fixed and tested. It also protects the next tenant.

If the mold came from a sudden event like a burst pipe or an upstairs leak, call your property insurance right away. Coverage often depends on reporting quickly.

What about my things?

A landlord's policy covers the building, not the tenant's belongings. Renters insurance usually covers your things when the damage comes from a sudden covered event like a burst pipe, but mold from a long-term leak or humidity is usually excluded. Check your policy and report water damage as soon as it happens.

Hard items like dishes, metal and glass can be cleaned. Porous items that grew mold, like mattresses, upholstered furniture and cardboard, usually cannot be saved.

What removal looks like in a rental

The work is the same as in any home: contain the area with plastic and a zipper door, remove the drywall or carpet that grew mold, HEPA vacuum and clean the framing with an antimicrobial cleaner, run air scrubbers, seal the wood, and test the air afterward against an outdoor sample. In an apartment we also look at the neighboring units and the shared walls so the source is found, not just the spot that showed up.