Should You Call San Diego Code Enforcement Before Hiring a Mold Lawyer?

In San Diego and throughout California, you are entitled to “habitable” rental property. The California Department of Justice explains that many conditions must be met in order for your home to be habitable, including “repairs to prevent and fix health hazards, such as fire hazards, visible mold, or dampness.”

If you notify your landlord of mold and dampness and they do not take steps to remediate the issue, you have rights under California law. One of your options is to contact code enforcement, but you can also contact a mold lawyer to help you enforce your rights and pursue a claim for damages.

When you are faced with a mold issue, you may be wondering whether you should call code enforcement first before hiring a mold lawyer in San Diego. The answer can depend on your circumstances. Reach out to our experienced injury attorneys in San Diego for a free case evaluation today.

Code enforcement will enforce building codes but may lack expertise

The Building & Land Use Enforcement Division in San Diego is tasked with enforcing building codes, including codes requiring your home to be free from moisture and mold that risk your health.

San Diego should respond when you make a complaint, and may conduct an investigation in order to determine if your landlord is in violation. When an apartment or other rental unit is not up to code, the landlord may be given notice and provided with an opportunity to comply with the law and fix the situation.

Your landlord could also face civil penalties, such as fines, for failure to follow California’s rules on maintaining habitable buildings. This can include daily fines. The official who investigates the code violation may also prepare a report regarding the issues at the property, which can be invaluable in helping you to build a claim against your landlord if you want to take legal action.

Unfortunately, those who enforce local building codes are not always experts in identifying the presence of mold, and their authority is limited in the level of testing and investigation they can do to determine the scope of a mold issue.

Code enforcement also cannot help you recover compensation for things like property damage that you sustained, nor medical bills and lost income if the mold in your home made you sick.

A San Diego toxic mold lawyer can offer services that code enforcement can’t

While contacting code enforcement is sometimes enough to get the landlord to act, especially if officials order the landlord to address the mold or water issues, there may be times when you need legal guidance and support that a code enforcement official cannot offer.

San Diego code enforcement officials are not always mold experts, and they generally won’t be able to help you build a compelling case demonstrating that mold made you sick. They also will not help you recover compensation from your landlord if mold in your rental property made you sick, or help you take legal action if you experienced financial losses because of mold that your landlord didn’t fix.

Your attorney will advocate for you and guide you through the legal system in a way code enforcement can’t. So, if you want to work with an attorney who can help you to deal with code enforcement, as well as to pursue other legal remedies, then calling a lawyer first makes sense.

If you want to try to get the government to force the landlord to clean up the space first and if you want to use information from code enforcement officials to help build your case, then call code enforcement first.

Ultimately, it depends on your goals, the severity of the situation, and how badly you have been harmed.