Liable for moldy curtain?

Legal Legal - Real Estate & Housing
1

So here’s the situation.

I moved into a room that is in the same house as the landlord. I’m essentially renting a side room in his house.

The week before I moved in, I asked him if my room had or would need a dehumidifier. He said it did not have one and nor the did the public living room. I then asked him again if he recommended me bringing one and his reply was, “Depends on your needs”.

Now I understand that to mean “depends on personal preference/possible health concerns”

Because I figured if anyone would know the humidity situation there , it would be the guy who has lived there for , as per my understanding, decades. I also asked him twice , so I would have assumed he would have said something more along the lines of “yes” or “not sure but maybe bring one just in case”.

Anyways, he also implied he didn’t really want me bringing in much furniture. So I decided to throw out the dehumidifier I had (stupid stupid stupid ) to not clutter up that place and also with some confidence that it wouldn’t be necessary.

Long story short. Mold. Very quickly during a weekend I was out of town. Wound up destroying his curtain that apparently can not be washed out due to the material.

I learned it was a bit expensive. Near 8k is my understanding.

I wound up having to buy another dehumidifier, pain in the ass. And he removed the curtain , and im going to buy a new and cheaper temporary one. (He wants me to continue to use the old one, but the cleaners said they really can’t get rid of the mold that’s imbedded in it and I’m not really comfortable with that). Anyways, his curtain is now unsightly and pretty much ruined for any future tenant.

Question is, am I liable for this? I feel like I would be , although he hasn’t said anything other than he will take the curtain away if I like . Should I offer to pay for it? (Also worried if I do that , it will be more expensive than what the curtain lady told me).

He’s a nice guy but I feel like I screwed the guy over. Despite me having to rebuy a dehumidifier and not exactly getting the best communication from him. (He says he’s never seen mold there before , so Idk)

2

It’s nothing a vinegar bath won’t solve. Just buy a jug of clear vinegar

3 Likes
3

Yehhh I thought of that, but there’s a pattern on the curtain and the cleaners said due to the material and severity of the issue, the stains won’t get off

4

It’s worth a shot. Listening to someone who should have known better but didn’t is what got you into this mess!

1 Like
5

And one of the rules of renting in Taiwan: do not live with the landlord. No matter how cheap, even free we’ve heard - in exchange for language lessons. It’s a snowball of an issue. Yes, no matter how nice. Bad enough with shaky tenant rights to add blurred lines.

2 Likes
6

Thanks for your concern.

7

I’m so curious to know what kind of curtain this was that it’s moldy after a weekend of you not being around and can’t get clean from professional cleaners. I’ve thrown every curtain I’ve ever ended up with in the washing machine with a cup of vinegar and it was fine. Sometimes you need more than one wash but it’s never ruined the curtain (vinegar also sets dyes, so a few cycles = no running dyes too)

(Make sure you take the metal pins out if it’s that kind of curtain though)

1 Like
8

I had this exact problem when living in a gongliu (4 story townhouse without elevator) in Linkou.
The window that not facing sun, did not have an awning, causing rainwater goes wet the wall and seeping through the brick wall to inside of the room.
When I moved in, landlord make a big deal saying the curtain is really expensive so and so.

Mold actually cause health issue for me. At one point, I cannot breathe inside my room.
Leave the place in the next possible opportunity (the end of the month).

Tried to Clean the mold before I left using cheaper local version of Clorox that surprisingly worked well. It leave really white color on the wall and curtain.

No payment to landlord. As nothing written in contract.

9

Mold causes heath issues for everyone