# Mold issues in Canada



## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

My wife and I are just renting at the moment and have been fighting colds etc off and on since we moved in to this place. The landlord says he would fix the roof 5 months ago! still hasn't! and everytime we ask him all he says is oh another week or too!. 

The roof leaks on this place and soaks part of the kitchen floor and laundry area during moderate to heavy rainfall. I have removed some flooring in the kitchen and laundry room only to find major black mold. I have also opened up the wall to a cess pool of mold and silver fish NICE EH?

I have pictures to show all of this and the landlord has seen them and still doesn't care. We are moving in a month and he won't give our last months rent back because of the floor and wall! HE TOLD US 5 MONTHS AGO HE WOULD FIX IT  

who can I call for inspection? do we have rights? or does he become the next Jimmy hoffa









thanks for any help...


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## MBD (Sep 1, 2003)

Call your local government office. Health Inspectors will investigate mold. So, you should call your local Regional Municipality/Health Unit, which you can find from a list here: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/contact/phu/phuloc_dt.html


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## Gretchen (Aug 16, 2004)

> I have pictures to show all of this


Let's see 'em. All posts must have pics now...hahaha  

If you found 'black' mold in your walls, call the health dept immediately. Oh, and get the hell out of there and into a hotel. 

Depending on what it is, Black molds can be deadly. They can potentially be very dangerous to your health more so than say 'green' or 'grey' molds. 

Silverfish are just creepy little buggers, they move way to fast and weird......GAWD!! Just thinking about them....


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

just make sure you document everything, imactheknife.

i had a friend who rented a basement apartment while he was going to school. the apartment flooded, due to lack of maintenance, and destroyed many of his and his two room mates' belongings. 

he hired a lawyer and sued the landlord, recovering not only the value of his destroyed stuff, but the landlord was told to give back ALL of the rent money they had paid him and i think their legal fees were covered as well. they were also reimbursed for living expenses incurred while they rented a hotel during the flooding.

there is a tribunal which can handle disputes between a landlord and a tenant, though the exact name of it escapes me at the moment. everything i've heard about them indicates they are not very good at what they do. best to avoid them.

i would talk to a lawyer and possibly sue the landlord. your landlord is in breach of contract (landlord/tenant agreement). make sure you document all of your phone calls to him and get a report from the health inspectors as well.


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## iLabmAn (Jan 1, 2003)

If everything else fails, learn from my avatar.


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## Jordan (Jul 20, 2002)

Does Ontario have something like a Tenancy Act like BC?
As a landlord myself I'm required by the Tenancy Act to do those repairs. If I don't I can be taken to an Arbitration board and be forced or fined into doing the repairs and even return rent to tenants. But then I'm not a slumlord so I don't worry about that.


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## imactheknife (Aug 7, 2003)

Thank-you guys for all your responses! much APPRECIATED! I will look into all of this...I hate to be a jerk as well..but I want my money and I want people who will be moving in after to not have to deal with mold. If I have to get nasty with inspectors and he is forced to fix it...SO BE IT  thanks again! oh the floor is nice and soaked because it's raining here in Collingwood this morning...nice!


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## Ron W (Jan 21, 2002)

I have done hazardous waste removal in the past along with mold remediation.
EVERY home has mold in it, however, not all varieties (about 100,000 kinds) cause adverse health effects.

For instance, Stachybotrys can cause serious respiratory problems, hemorrhaging, dizziness and more. While deaths normally occur in infants. A too common scenario :Some parents may think Johny… is a bit slow but the Stachy could be the problem. His memory is not that good (another effect) and most parents would chalk that up to mentality. The root of the problem could be the mold. If a child is born into the mold situation he can just be labeled as slow. If a family moves from one location to another and 2 children suddenly become very ill then, usually, parents think something is up and the cause is sometimes discovered.


I have talked to CMHC but they wanted nothing to hear of mold. If mold tests were required for mortgages, I believe, many homes would not be insurable via CMHC. It is my guess, that 2-4 out of 10 homes have mold problems where one is probably somewhat serious. This is just based on my limited knowledge and I acknowledge I could be way off.

You really can’t get rid of mold, effectively, and the cost is prohibitive to say the least. If you do get rid of it, it can just float in your house the next time a window or door is opened. Just because you have mold growing all over your shower/kitchen does not mean it is that bad. Javex (nothing else works) mixed at a solution of about 10% is all that is needed to spot clean/kill the mold. It could be a serious problem though and for a $100 or so you can find out.


Something funny….UFFI is banned and must be declared for real estate sales but there is no danger if you have it in your home. If it is there, chances are that it would have been placed there in 1980 or before. If that is the case, all the off gassing would have occurred and there would be no risk today. It still must be declared when you sell your home though.


I have removed some of the worse varieties of mold (lots of fun) and have worked in some interesting places. I have destroyed a vault full of CS bonds / documents/records that were taken over by a variety that required a permanent sealing of a bank vault. I have seen other places full of it (NOT A HOSPITAL OR PUBLIC SCHOOL THOUGH) but it was not removed because it was too expensive to do so.

Ron

[ August 31, 2004, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: Ron W ]


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

When renting, your landlord is legally required to provide a safe and healthy living environment to tenants. Document everything. Get an inspector who can certify that you have black mold. Then prepare a letter for your landlord, notifying him of the condition of his unit and the evident harm it poses to you. Indicate a deadline for him to clean up the problem, after which time (if no action is taken) you will begin withholding rent payments. 

If he wants to play hardball, let him explain himself in court.


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## TroutMaskReplica (Feb 28, 2003)

i would think the leaking roof that hasn't been repaired despite 6 months of requests would be enough to take the landlord to court, but do get an inspection for mold as well.

it might be a good idea to send a letter to your landlord via registered mail.


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## Mrs. Furley (Sep 1, 2004)

Your landlord needs a good spanking.

If you really want to try to get things going, you could try Silverman Helps...

http://www.pulse24.com/News_Features/Silverman_Helps/20040826-001/page.asp

Apparently he takes on cases even if it's not newsworthy. Might be worth a shot.

In the meantime - watch your health. I'm concerned...


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

> i would think the leaking roof that hasn't been repaired despite 6 months of requests would be enough to take the landlord to court, but do get an inspection for mold as well.


That's why it's so important to document everything. The law works a lot like a bureaucracy: nothing really exists until there's a paper trail. There's some sense to this otherwise there would be no way to verify how far back your complaints dated. 

One more thing: if you have an attorney, cc her or him as well as the ministry responsible for housing in your province. Just doing this will likely put a spark under your landthing's derriere.


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