Mold Danger Should Be Dealt With Quickly

A panel of experts met at the Harvard Club recently to examine the danger of mold in office buildings. They concluded that if mold is suspected, both tenants and landlords should act quickly to eliminate the threat.

Mold can cause health problems such as eye, nose and throat irritation; loss of memory; sunburn-like skin irritation; rashes; breathing troubles; headaches; burning sensations in the lungs; fatigue; and an inability to concentrate, Dr. Eckardt Johanning told the audience.

Dr. Johanning, from the Fungal Research Group Foundation at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, is one of the world’s leading authorities on the health effects of exposure to mold.

“Mold can create various conditions, so the symptoms are not the same in everyone,” he added. Some people will have dramatic symptoms, while others may feel nothing. This variability makes developing an appropriate response to mold difficult.

The event, “Mold and Your Business: How Office Tenants Can Mitigate Liability, Manage Expense And Stop Damage Before It’s Too Late,” was the second in the CTRR Corporate Real Estate Conferences series. Commercial Tenant Real Estate Representation Ltd., a commercial real estate brokerage firm that represents tenants exclusively, organized the event.

“A few square feet of mold produces millions of spores every few days,” said Edward Olmsted, President of Olmsted Environmental Services, an expert in detecting mold and industrial hygiene.

Mold is typically unseen in commercial buildings. “It’s about water; if you see water damage you probably have a mold problem, even if you can’t see it,” Olmsted said.

He added that it is much easier and more cost effective to deal with mold early on. “For late mold abatement, add two zeros to the cost of dealing with damage early,” he explained. A $5,000 repair job could become a $500,000 project if left to fester before being tackled.

Marisa Manley, president of Commercial Tenant Real Estate Representation and the conference’s organizer and moderator, added that most tenants assume their landlord is required to fix mold problems. But, that is often not the case.

“Mold liability is something landlords are protecting themselves from, but not tenants,” she said. Manley pointed out that some landlords are starting to ask tenants to sign a four- or five-page lease insert designed specifically to shield the building owner from mold-related costs.

Manley described one lawsuit in which a tenant sued its landlord to recoup money the tenant had spent battling mold. The court, however, sided with the landlord and required the tenant to pay $140,000 in legal fees for the landlord.

“Many tenants would be surprised at the hidden costs in most leases. To avoid excess costs, tenants must be well-informed and work with a broker/advisor who can protect their interests,” Manley said.

For more information on Corporate Real Estate Conferences and CTRR, visit www.ctrr.net.