View Full Version : Mold Waiver
rentriverside
Jul 22, 2008, 02:53 PM
Can I make a tenant sign a mold waiver at the beginning of the lease. Ie, waiving me from liability if tenant gets sick or has complications from mold. Obviously any known presence of mold will be addressed.
JudyKayTee
Jul 22, 2008, 02:58 PM
Can I make a tenant sign a mold waiver at the beginning of the lease. Ie, waiving me from liability if tenant gets sick or has complications from mold. Obviously any known presence of mold will be addressed.
You are requesting a tenant to waive his/her legal rights to file an action and you cannot legally do that.
Likewise, you can't ask people to sign a waiver when they get into your car that they won't sue in the event of an accident.
Why are you asking this?
rentriverside
Jul 22, 2008, 03:02 PM
Can I make a tenant sign a mold waiver at the beginning of the lease. Ie, waiving me from liability if tenant gets sick or has complications from mold. Obviously any known presence of mold will be addressed.
Well.. Considering there are all types of mold and the effects are hard to prove. I am asking a tenant to waive the right to hold us liable if he gets sick because of an unknown mold situation. I have a tenant that is imagining things non stop and is really difficult to deal with. He claims there is mold all over when there is no evidence and an air test proved that as well
JudyKayTee
Jul 22, 2008, 03:32 PM
Well.. Considering there are all types of mold and the effects are hard to prove. I am asking a tenant to waive the right to hold us liable if he gets sick because of an unknown mold situation. i have a tenant that is imagining things non stop and is really difficult to deal with. He claims there is mold all over when there is no evidence and an air test proved that as well
The legal answer is - your tenant cannot waive his legal right to sue if he is injured/damaged. The fact that he sues does not mean he can win. He still would have the burden of proof. If you have proof which would contradict his, your proof stating that there is not mold "all over" and an air test was clean, well, then he will sue and lose and depending on how your homeowners insurance is written they may very well defend on your behalf.
I would find another tenant who is not "imagining" things.
In the meantime perhaps someone else will come along with another answer but that is the law as I know it for the reasons I stated.
I recently worked on a case where a child had lead poisoning. There was a provision in the lease (hard to believe) that the tenant could not/would not sue in the event of lead poisoning. That provision was interpreted to mean that the landlord had prior knowledge. Not only did the parents collect but they received punitive damages because the landlord attempted to basically scam them.
Fr_Chuck
Jul 22, 2008, 03:49 PM
And of course as soon as your bring out that paper they thank you and leave, since they will be scared there is mold you are not tellng them about
JudyKayTee
Jul 22, 2008, 03:49 PM
And of course as soon as your bring out that paper they thank you and leave, since they will be scared there is mold you are not tellng them about
Or they cough 3 times and call an Attorney.