Being sued by tenants for mold in rental house, advice?
If anyone has experience defending themselves against lawsuit from tenants, please send me a pm.
Suggestions for lawyers that specialize in this area greatly appreciated.
event timeline of story:
Nov 2, 2016 - showed house to couple young guys renting their first house, liked it and want to return with a dad as second opinion
Nov 11, 2016 - showed house 2nd time, they brought a dad (he mentioned owning several houses and renting them out) along to help assess fit of renting house; they decided to take it, did walk through pre-rental inspection and signed a lease for term Nov 15, 2016 to June 30, 2017, rent being $1400/month
Nov 15, 2016 - tenants took possession of house, there was a 3rd female tenant going to live there also, presumably with one of the guys
Jan 20, 2017 - tenants texted to report dryer vent leaking, lint blowing out of it and high humidity in dryer area, he was afraid humidity might cause mold; mentioned his dad was going to come fix it with him
- told him to save any receipts for parts and deduct it from rent payment
Apr 12 - 2017 - visited house to assess extent of mold issue, mold appeared to be localized to 6" area along baseboard, on wall opposite bathroom; further exploration led to entire laminate floor of room being removed, fingers of mold in joints of baseboard, portion of wall (drywall and studs/plate)also had mold and were removed. All visible signs of mold removed.
Apr 14 - tenants noted mold smell dissipating, dad visited and think there may be humidity issue remaining in bathroom
Apr 20, 2017 - received noise complaint letter from city, excessive noise from garage occurred night of Apr 6
Apr 21, 2017 - visited house again to paint mold kill paint on exposed concrete in affected room
Apr 23, 2017 - asked if any mold smell remained, tenant replied: nothing significant
Apr 24, 2017 - tenant reported small mold spot found on laundry room floor in closet, under vinyl roll flooring
Apr 30, 2017 - visited house to assess laundry room mold, found approx. 2" circle of mold on concrete floor under vinyl, sprayed it with Concrobium Mold Control, propped vinyl up to allow airflow
May 4, 2017 - offered to give portion of rent payment back as compensation for lack of use of basement (no mold smell remained in house, all areas of mold appeared to be remediated); tenant replied that upstairs they "haven't stopped using the premises in any way" and any reimbursement would only apply to the female tenant staying downstairs
May 5, 2017 - tenants provided copy of a 3rd party mold assessment report dated May 4, 2017; several species of mold above Alberta Health limits; report advised to vacate premises
May 7, 2017 - phone conversation with tenants, they plan to move out asap, want their rent back for May and damage deposit refunded in full
May 8, 2017 - emt sent to tenants for $1867 (refund for: 1/3 Apr rent and full month of May rent payment)
May 8, 2017 - I spoke with mold testing/remediation company, they noted that mold tests done post mold remediation, but before thorough top-to-bottom cleaning of entire house with bleach would be picking up residual mold spores from mold being disturbed; contacted tenants, offered for them to store possessions in garage, while house was: professionally cleaned, ducts cleaned, and 3rd party mold tests done again
May 9, 2017 - tenants aid they'd prefer to find other rental accommodation, asked for damage deposit back; told them if the yard and upstairs were in clean condition would return deposit in full; agreed to meet May 17 for post rental inspection
May 9, 2017 - female tenant texted me copy of the mold test invoice for $315
May 10, 2017 - emt sent to tenant for $315
May 17, 2017 - tenants were no-shows for post inspection; house left in poor condition, washing machine broken, bathroom, fridge, stove dirty, 20 bags of garbage, piles of cigarette butts in yard, garage bonus room floors sticky/dirty, no attempt made to return garage, upstairs or yard to pre-rental condition
Jun 2, 2017 - emt sent to tenant for $1092 ($1400 damage refund less $308 for utilities used until end of Apr)
Aug 15, 2017 - received letter from lawyer stating client is pursuing damages for amount of $25,000, if not paid in full within 10 days lawsuit for "significantly greater amount" to follow
I've never tried to rent this house out as a slumlord. Anything broken I have it fixed right away. Always professionally cleaned prior to move in. The revenue is slightly less than carrying costs, so I try to keep costs down by doing repairs myself if I can.
Don't feel its fair to pay them $25K, would rather take my chances with court/lawsuit.....unless there's no chance I'd win.
Open to hearing your opinion on this.
My Karma ran over your Dogma