Mold Testing Information for Tenants

Communicating With Your Landlord

Remember to always be kind and honest. Give your landlord an honest chance to address your concerns.

Always notify your landlord about anything in your rental property that doesn’t work properly or that may pose a health risk as soon as you are aware of the problem.

After you call your landlord, send an email to your landlord that summarizes the intent and outcome of the phone call. Sending an email may help you later if you need proof that you communicated your concerns. An email not only shows what you communicated, but also the date and time that you communicated.

Keep a journal of every interaction that you have had with your landlord, maintenance, and service providers. After every verbal or text communication, follow up with a summary email.  Get copies of all maintenance estimates, invoices, and all other forms of communications relevant to matters expressed in your journal.

Pay Your Rent

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Pay your rent as per the terms of your lease agreement.

If for some reason you end up in court it’s in your best interest to be able to demonstrate to the court that you have kept up your end of the lease agreement with your landlord.

We’ve noticed that many tenants believe that they have the right to forego paying rent if there is something wrong with their rental property; however, to date we haven’t observed one instance of when a judge permitted a tenant to forego paying rent due to landlord negligence. It appears that judges expect both parties to fulfill their contractual obligations.

Picture & Videos

Take pictures or videos of every visible concern in your home and around the perimeter (outside) of your home such as visible mold, water stains, water damage, rainwater leaks or plumbing leaks.

Visual documentation may be helpful when communicating with your landlord via email to help your landlord understand the significance of your concerns. Pictures and videos can also be helpful in the event you need to contact an attorney.

Hire an Environmental Testing Company Yourself

Safety concerns in a rental home/building commonly occur. A heating and air conditioning system in disrepair can contribute to health symptoms. Mold on walls and ceilings and in carpet can result in health symptoms. Air infiltration from unfinished areas with dirty air, such as attics and crawl spaces, can result in health symptoms.

Tenants commonly expect their landlord to pay for environmental testing when there is a concern about mold and other allergens. If you believe there is an air quality or mold problem in your home, consider hiring an environmental testing company yourself.  

If your landlord hires a testing company, your landlord will own the reports and may not share the findings with you. If you hire an environmental testing company, you will own the reports associated with the service.

If testing reveals a problem with mold activity in the building that you rent, your landlord may be required to reimburse you for expenses associated with testing. Laws vary from area to area; however, judges typically have the power to require landlords to reimburse tenants for expenses associated with work activities performed in the rental property if the work addresses legitimate issues with safety or serviceability.

Pointers For Hiring A Reputable Environmental Consulting Company

Not all environmental testing and consulting companies are created equal. Each company has their own approaches regarding inspections, testing, reporting, and consulting.

Of course, we are hopeful you will contact Indoor Air Quality Services at 770-363-2670 to schedule an Indoor Air Quality/Mold Inspection of your home; however, we realize you are shopping around, and so we want to ensure that you are able to make an informed decision no matter who you hire.

The following are some pointers that will help you choose the right company:

Reviews matter

Consider hiring service providers that have verifiable online ratings and reviews.

Initial Call

Upon calling an indoor air quality and mold inspection company you should be asked questions that helps the company understand your situation and concerns, your observations, and your property layout so that they can provide a service that will help you.

The most common reason given for why customers hire Indoor Air Quality Services is that we provided more information than anyone else. The reason we are able to do so is that we collect enough information from our customers at the very beginning so that we are able to understand what they need from us.

Inspection

A typical inspection for rental homes takes about an hour. In some instances, an inspection may take longer depending on how much a customer decides to participate in the process. The inspection itself should provide significant value.

The inspector should be able to tell you what he/she is observing and help you understand what’s relevant to your concerns. An inspector should not show signs that he is attempting to get in and out.

There are numerous observations that should be made during an inspection to ensure that recommendations are valid.

Indoor Air Quality Services inspectors are interested in thoroughly inspecting your home, answering your questions, and helping you as much as possible. We do not overload our inspector’s schedule so that the inspector does not feel rushed or overwhelmed.

Lab Analysis

Your samples should be sent to an ISO compliant and accredited laboratory for analysis. Many labs are not ISO compliant and many are not accredited. Indoor Air Quality Services does not use the most affordable laboratories, though we believe it’s worth spending a little more for more comprehensive and reliable lab results.

Lab Analysis Interpretation

The mold testing company you hire should provide a written interpretation of your lab findings compared to objective guidelines. The guidelines that Indoor Air Quality Services uses are informed by independent studies and are also endorsed by those who perform the majority of our lab analyses.

Recommendations

Though as a tenant you may not be responsible for implementing recommendations for addressing your indoor air quality concerns, you still need recommendations documented. Recommendations should provide solutions to problems. Where there are no problems, no recommendations are needed. Therefore, if there are recommendations, there must be problems.

You need to know whether or not there is a problem, if there is a problem, how to fix it, how to prevent it from happening again, and how to remove any pollutants in the home. For this reason, whoever performs your inspection should thoroughly document recommendations associated with air circulation, air filtration, temperature control, relative humidity control, remediation, and several other categories that can influence your indoor air quality.

Consultation

The value of a telephone consultation after you receive your reports cannot be understated. Though everything may be documented, customers often need assistance with understanding where to focus. An inspection company is also a consulting company. Verbal discussions about findings and recommendations should always be a part of the service you receive.

Indoor Air Quality Services is available to you to discuss your situation and concerns prior to your decision to hire us. We are also available to you to discuss your lab results, interpretation, and recommendations. We are here to help you!

Pricing

Pricing can vary significantly from one company to another. The scope of work and number of samples taken influences pricing. Therefore, price comparisons between companies are often misleading.

Indoor Air Quality Services is not the cheapest, but we are certainly not the most expensive. Pricing is typically $335-$682 for the most commonly requested service and sampling options.

 Please call or text us at 770-363-2670 for a free estimate. After we learn more about your concerns we’ll email a written estimate to you, which will explain each element of the services that you will receive and associated pricing.

 We look forward to serving you!

10+ YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

With more than 10 years of experience, you know you can trust our team for top service. We offer precision air testing and fast results and quick improvement solutions. In addition to offering quick testing, we'll also consult with you around the results. In other words, we'll make sure you understand the report and offer expert guidance when applicable.