What to ask about a leak or mold charge
Read a leak or mold charge by the cause, when you reported it, and the record of cleaning, more than by the fact that a stain is in a photo. The photo is an observation. The explanation of the cause goes in a different field.
In the guidelines’ examples, mold that spread because condensation was left is included as an example of the tenant’s share, and a building defect or equipment failure is organized as a problem on the landlord’s side. Do not decide which one yours resembles. Place their explanation next to your record of notice. The reference is the guidelines on restoration to original condition.
Split the note into four fields
Use these four columns:
- What is visible. Place, area, photo
- Your care. Ventilation, wiping, when you found it
- The record of notice. Date, method, reply
- What is still unknown. Pipe, rain leak, or condensation
Do not fill the unknown column with “the tenant left it” or “a building defect.”
When it overlaps an air conditioner or a pipe
Water from an air conditioner and a pipe inside the wall can look alike and still be different work. Separate whether the invoice is cleaning, a part replacement, or wallpaper. The equipment line is in When an air-conditioner cleaning charge appears. Match the wallpaper area with What to check on a wallpaper replacement charge.
In photos, keep it dry and show the position
A close photo alone does not show which corner of which room. Pair a wide photo with a close one of the stain. How to shoot is in Photos to keep before you move out. A stain that was there at move-in is not “it was already there” unless you have a move-in photo. Write unknown.
Point the question at the cause and the notice
These questions are enough:
- Do you treat this stain as condensation, a rain leak, or equipment failure?
- How did you handle the notice during the tenancy?
- How does the area of replacement or cleaning correspond to the area of the stain?
Check the share after that answer and the lease. Do not conclude that you will not pay while the answer is missing.