Mold in Bellingham rental houses and apartments disproportionately impacts tenants and is made worse by poor legislation and substandard mitigation practices, tenant advocates say.
In fact, mold was listed as the No. 1 problem facing renters in the rainy Pacific Northwest among readers participating in a Bellingham Herald poll.
“Most people that I talk to have mold issues,” said Rebecca Quirke of the local advocacy group Tenants Revolt. “Mold is incredibly dangerous.”
Quirke has spoken with hundreds of tenants since the group began in July 2022, with the goal of bringing a series of mass-action and class-action lawsuits against landlords for habitability violations, theft and property negligence.
Mold is the most-common indoor air quality problem, according to the Northwest Clean Air Agency. Mold growth often causes health issues and damages homes.
Mold problems inside buildings are a result of excess water and moisture that accumulate due to things like inadequate ventilation, leaks and flooding.
Results of the recent Bellingham Herald poll show that, of those who responded, mold contamination is the issue experienced most by tenants in Bellingham rentals.
Tenants Revolt has documented numerous older homes occupied by Bellingham renters that are actively in this sort of disrepair. Quirke says she has taken countless reports and personally visited homes that have unmitigated mold infestations. She is even seeing this issue in her own rental unit where...
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