What to Do About Mold in a Charleston Home
Heat, humidity, king tides and flooded streets make water damage a fact of life here, especially in older houses downtown and in rentals near the College of Charleston. When a leak goes unrepaired, mold can follow. Put your family's health ahead of everything else.
Your allergist, pulmonologist or family doctor should hear about the mold at every visit. Don't tear into moldy drywall or crawl under the house to gather proof; if the damage is extensive, ask a qualified professional about inspection and cleanup.
Photograph and video what you can see safely: stains on the ceiling, soft walls, the leak, ruined furniture. Take new pictures every few weeks to show change. A one-page timeline helps: the day water first came in, each call or portal request, and every answer you got. Save texts, emails, portal screenshots and letters about repairs, plus any inspection reports, test results, invoices, warranties and closing papers. Before you sign anything, get your questions answered.
Landlords and Mold
South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires landlords to make repairs and keep rental homes fit and habitable.2 When a landlord doesn't correct qualifying problems, such as a known leak feeding mold, the tenant may have remedies.3
Spotting mold in a rental doesn't by itself prove the landlord caused anyone's illness.1 What the landlord knew, how fast repairs came and what your doctors find are what count. Specific notice requirements may apply before ending a lease.3 Breaking a lease on Rutledge Avenue in the middle of a semester without the right paperwork can create a second problem.
The Time to File
Most South Carolina injury claims must be filed within three years.4 Talking to a homeowner's or renter's insurer doesn't hold that date.5 That period generally begins when a person knew or, through reasonable diligence, should have known of a potentially actionable injury.6
When mold traces back to bad construction, faulty waterproofing or a poorly installed system, another limit may apply. South Carolina generally imposes an eight-year outer deadline on lawsuits arising from defective or unsafe improvements to real property, measured from substantial completion, with some exceptions. That limit is separate from the ordinary deadline and may bar some claims even when the problem was discovered later.78
Claims against a state or local government agency have their own deadline, which can be shorter, and damages may be capped.9
Our South Carolina mold claims page has more.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Talk With Us About What Happened
Bring the story from the first brown ring on the ceiling to today, along with whatever your doctors have told you. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. If carbon monoxide or a chemical is the problem, see toxic exposure in Charleston.
Call us and tell us about the leak, the repairs and how your family has been affected.
South Carolina Law on This
- A toxic exposure or mold claim generally requires more than showing that a substance was present. Depending on the legal theory, evidence may be needed on how exposure occurred, whether the substance can cause the type of injury involved, and whether it caused the particular person's illness. Exposure does not automatically establish that someone is legally responsible for a medical condition.1
- South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires landlords to make repairs and keep rental homes fit and habitable. The Act generally does not cover short-term stays, such as vacation rentals, that are subject to the state's accommodations tax.2
- Under South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, tenants may have remedies when a landlord does not correct qualifying noncompliance, which depending on the circumstances may include actual damages, injunctive relief or ending the rental agreement. Specific notice requirements may apply before ending a lease.3
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.4
- South Carolina's statute of limitations generally sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit in court. Simply opening a claim with an insurance company or negotiating with an insurance adjuster does not stop the statute of limitations from running.5
- South Carolina's three-year limitations period for personal injury claims generally begins when a person knew or, through reasonable diligence, should have known that they had a potentially actionable injury. A person does not necessarily need to know the precise substance responsible, every defendant or the legal theory before the clock begins running.6
- South Carolina generally imposes an eight-year outer deadline on lawsuits arising from defective or unsafe improvements to real property, measured from substantial completion of the improvement. Exceptions may apply. This deadline is separate from the ordinary statute of limitations and may prevent some claims even when the problem was discovered later.7
- Claims against builders, contractors and designers over work on real property can be cut off by a fixed outer time limit that applies no matter when the problem is discovered.8
- Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency have their own filing deadline, which can be shorter, and there could be caps on damages under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, depending on the facts of the case.9
Frequently Asked Questions
The mold has been there for a long time. Is it too late?
The landlord just painted over it. What now?
Photograph the spots, including any that bleed back through the paint. Keep every repair request and reply, and document ongoing leaks. Landlords must keep rental homes fit and habitable.2 Tenants may have remedies when serious problems aren't fixed, and notice rules may apply before ending a lease.3 Talk to a lawyer before you stop paying or pack up.
If there's mold in my house, did it make me sick?
Not necessarily. A mold claim generally requires more than showing mold was present, including evidence on whether it caused the particular person's illness.1 Your doctors and your history both matter here.
Do I need a doctor's opinion first?
No. You can call while you're still seeing doctors. Tell them about the mold and the water damage.
Sources
- General South Carolina toxic tort causation principles (Sean Hall, Nov 5 review)
- S.C. Code §§ 27-40-440 and 27-40-120(4)
- S.C. Code § 27-40-610
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code § 15-3-535
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-640 and 15-3-670
- S.C. Code § 15-3-640
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
