The tenant’s email lands on a Friday afternoon: photos of black spots creeping across a bedroom ceiling, and a demand to know who’s paying to fix it. As the property manager, you’re now standing between an anxious tenant, an owner who doesn’t want to spend money, and a problem that can turn into a legal liability if it’s handled the wrong way.
Mould complaints are one of the most common, and most mismanaged, maintenance issues a property manager deals with. Get the response wrong, and a $30 tin of paint problem can escalate into a VCAT dispute, a vacated tenancy, or a costly structural remediation job. Get it right, and it’s a routine, well-documented repair.
Why Mould Complaints Land on a Property Manager’s Desk
Mould rarely appears out of nowhere. It’s usually the visible symptom of a moisture problem that’s been building for weeks: a bathroom exhaust fan that isn’t vented outside, a subfloor with poor drainage, or windows that fog every morning through winter. By the time a tenant emails you, the mould is often just the part they can see.
This is where many property managers get the first response wrong, treating it as a cosmetic issue to be wiped down rather than a structural one to be investigated. Mould on porous materials like plasterboard or timber sends microscopic root-like threads called hyphae deep into the material. Surface cleaning removes what’s visible while leaving the colony intact underneath — the same reason professional mould remediation never stops at a wipe-down — which is why a tenant who “already tried bleach” is still emailing you two weeks later.
What You’re Legally Required to Do
Under Victoria’s rental laws, a rental property must be free from mould and damp, and fixing mould related to the building structure counts as an urgent repair, meaning it needs to be addressed as soon as possible, not scheduled in with routine maintenance. The Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines are explicit that landlords are responsible for treating mould or damp caused by, or related to, the building itself, not mould the tenant has caused through their own behaviour, such as never opening a window.
That distinction is exactly where most disputes happen. As a property manager, your job sits in the middle: you need to establish which side of that line the complaint falls on, fast, and with evidence that holds up if it’s disputed later.
The Difference Between a “Clean-Up” and a Genuine Inspection
A common instinct is to send a cleaner to wipe down the affected area and close the ticket. This can quietly make your legal position worse, not better. If the underlying moisture source isn’t identified and fixed, the mould returns. Now there’s a record showing the issue was “actioned” without being resolved, which looks worse at VCAT than if nothing had been done at all.
A genuine inspection identifies the moisture source, not just the mould. That might mean checking subfloor ventilation, testing for a slow plumbing leak behind a wall, or measuring indoor humidity against safe thresholds. Better Health Channel notes that persistent indoor humidity is one of the main drivers of ongoing mould growth, which is why source correction, not surface cleaning, is the standard that actually holds up.
Documenting a Complaint Properly
Good documentation protects the owner, the tenant, and you. At minimum, a defensible file includes:
- The date and content of the tenant’s original complaint
- Photos with visible timestamps
- A written response acknowledging the complaint and outlining next steps
- Any inspection report, including moisture readings if taken
- A record of when repair work started and finished
This isn’t paperwork for its own sake. If a dispute reaches VCAT, the tribunal weighs exactly this kind of evidence when deciding whether a landlord met their repair obligations within a reasonable timeframe.
When to Escalate to a Professional Inspection
Not every mould complaint needs a full forensic assessment. A small, isolated patch on a bathroom tile is a different situation to a smell that’s spread through a whole unit. Escalate to a professional inspection when the affected area is larger than roughly a square metre, when it’s on a porous surface like plasterboard or carpet, when the tenant reports a persistent musty odour without an obvious visible cause, or when the same patch has already returned after cleaning.
A professional inspection gives you what a visual check can’t: a documented moisture source, and independent evidence of the property’s condition at a point in time. That record is often what actually resolves a dispute between an owner and a tenant, because neither side has to take the other’s word for it.
Conclusion
Handling a mould complaint well comes down to two things: identifying the real cause rather than the visible symptom, and keeping a paper trail that shows you did. When a complaint is ambiguous, or the owner needs independent evidence before approving repair costs, booking a professional inspection is often the fastest way to settle the question for everyone involved.
Related reading: rental mould dispute process.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How quickly do I need to respond to a mould complaint as a property manager?
Mould related to the building structure is classed as an urgent repair under Victorian rental law, which means it should be actioned as soon as possible rather than scheduled with routine maintenance. Acknowledge the complaint in writing immediately, even if the physical inspection or repair happens over the following days.
Who pays for mould removal, the landlord or the tenant?
It depends on the cause. Landlords are generally responsible for mould linked to the building’s structure or systems, such as poor ventilation or a plumbing leak, while a tenant may be responsible for mould they’ve caused through their own actions, like consistently drying clothes indoors without ventilation. A professional inspection is often the clearest way to establish which applies.
Can a tenant refuse access for a mould inspection?
Tenants generally can’t unreasonably refuse access when proper notice has been given for an inspection related to a repair they’ve requested. If access becomes an issue, it’s worth documenting each attempt in writing, since this record matters if the matter is escalated.
What happens if the owner won’t approve the cost of a proper inspection?
This is a common friction point. Framing the inspection as risk management rather than an optional expense usually helps. An independent report protects the owner from a larger dispute later, and provides the evidence needed if the tenant escalates the complaint themselves.