Renters are not entitled to free rent if there is mold in their rental property. Most landlords can prevent interruptions in their rental income stream by:

• Tenant complaints about mold should be addressed promptly

• Hire a qualified professional to assess and, if needed, remedy the mold.

• Follow up with tenants affected and inform them about the situation.

These measures are unlikely to be taken by landlords and tenants will claim that they cannot pay rent due to mold issues.

Tenants who are dissatisfied with the landlord's handling of a mold problem may decide to withhold part or all of their rent.

Self-help measures for tenants are sometimes legal and justifiable. However, each state has its own tenant remedies laws. Tenants can take matters into their own hands if a landlord refuses to provide safe and habitable housing, or fails to respond to repairs requests. 

These are the two most common tenant strategies states allow:

• Repair and Deduct:

  Tenants take steps to remove mold from their homes and then deduct those costs from their rent.

• Rent without withholding:

  This is when tenants stop paying rent and claim that their apartment no longer meets the requirements of habitation.

Tenants must comply with the state laws in order to take advantage of these self-help remedies. Tenants must notify their landlord in writing if they have a mold problem. They should also give their landlord enough time to remedy it. Many states also limit how much money tenants can spend on repairs and deductions. Tenants might be allowed to deduct $100 for a leaky faucet repair from their rent but not $1500 for a water heater repair bill. Instead, they would need to sue their landlord to repair the damage or reimburse them. These self-help remedies are typically reserved for cases where an apartment is unsafe or uninhabitable. Tenants will not be able to stop paying rent if there is a minor mold problem. Tenants are not allowed to use either self-help strategy if they (or their guests!) created the mold conditions.