Bill > A1607

This bill, known as the "Mold Safe Housing Act," establishes comprehensive regulations and inspection procedures to identify and eliminate harmful mold in rental housing across the state. Under this legislation, rental properties—including single-family homes, two-family homes, and multiple dwellings regulated by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA)—must be inspected for a "substantial presence of mold" (defined as visible or detectable mold growth on interior surfaces or in ventilation ducts that raises health concerns) during changes in occupancy and periodically as part of existing housing inspection schedules. Prospective homebuyers may also request a mold inspection from a licensed home inspector prior to purchase, though home inspectors are prohibited from performing mold remediation unless separately certified. Tenants who suspect a mold hazard must notify their landlord in writing, and landlords are required to investigate within 72 hours, clean up any mold following DCA standards, and promptly fix any moisture-leaking pipes, roofs, or walls fueling the growth. If a landlord fails to address the mold hazard, tenants can request assistance from the DCA, which has the authority to investigate and relocate affected residents into safe housing while holding negligent landlords financially responsible for all relocation costs, including potential liens and personal liability for corporate owners. Additionally, the courts are required to notify the DCA whenever a tenant is "constructively evicted" (meaning forced to move out because the landlord allowed the property to become uninhabitable, such as by failing to fix a severe mold problem), and homeowners' associations are barred from stopping individual unit owners from cleaning up mold inside their homes while remaining responsible for mold issues originating in shared common elements.