A renter moving into a house in Evans asked her new landlord a single question before signing: “Has this place ever had a mold problem?” The landlord said no. Two months after move-in, a musty smell led her to request testing, which found active mold growth in a bathroom wall with a documented repair history from a previous tenant’s complaint three years earlier. The landlord hadn’t lied, exactly. He’d forgotten, or hadn’t considered a resolved issue from a prior tenancy worth mentioning.
Homebuyers get a home inspection and, in most cases, seller disclosure forms before closing. Renters typically get neither. That gap means the burden of asking the right questions before signing a lease falls almost entirely on the tenant.
What Landlords Are Actually Required to Disclose
Lead paint is the clearest requirement. Federal law requires landlords of housing built before 1978 to disclose known lead-based paint hazards and provide the EPA’s lead hazard information pamphlet before a lease is signed. This is a well-established, enforceable requirement, covered by the EPA’s disclosure rule.
Mold and radon disclosure requirements are much thinner. Neither Georgia nor South Carolina has a statutory requirement that landlords disclose past mold problems or radon test results to prospective tenants, the way many states require for home sales. A landlord’s habitability obligations under the implied warranty of habitability generally require them to maintain a rental in livable condition once you’re in it, but that’s a different obligation from disclosing history before you sign.
Radon disclosure gaps are similar. Unlike some states that mandate radon disclosure in residential leases, GA and SC don’t currently require it for rental properties, which means a landlord could have a known elevated radon reading and have no legal disclosure obligation about it to an incoming tenant.
This isn’t a suggestion that landlords are typically hiding things. It’s that the legal framework doesn’t obligate them to volunteer most of this information, which means the practical solution is asking directly, in writing, before you sign.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Sign
“Has this unit or building had any mold issues, and were they professionally remediated?” A “no” answer is useful. A “yes, it was fixed” answer is also useful, but ask for documentation. Professional remediation with clearance testing (a follow-up test confirming the remediation worked) is meaningfully different from a landlord painting over a stain and calling it resolved.
“Has this property been tested for radon?” If yes, ask for the actual results and the date of the test, since radon levels can shift over time and a test from five years ago before a renovation may not reflect current conditions. If no, you have the option to test it yourself after moving in, which is legal in both Georgia and South Carolina regardless of what your lease says about alterations, since testing typically doesn’t involve any physical change to the unit.
“Was this building constructed before 1978, and if so, where’s the lead disclosure paperwork?” You’re legally entitled to this if the building qualifies. If a landlord hasn’t provided it and the building’s age suggests they should have, that’s worth raising before you sign, not after.
“Has there been any water damage, flooding, or plumbing failures in this unit in the past two years?” Water history is one of the strongest predictors of mold risk, and it’s the kind of thing that often doesn’t come up unless you ask specifically.
“Is there a shared HVAC system, and has it been serviced or inspected recently?” In multi-unit buildings, a shared system can carry mold spores, moisture, or in rare cases legionella risk between units. Knowing whether it’s on a maintenance schedule is a reasonable pre-lease question.
What You Can Do If Answers Are Vague or You Want Verification
Renters have less legal leverage than buyers going through a home inspection process, but that doesn’t mean no leverage. A few practical options:
- Ask for anything in writing. Verbal assurances are hard to act on later. An email response to your written questions creates at least some record.
- Test after move-in if pre-lease answers seem uncertain. Radon and mold testing don’t require landlord permission the way structural alterations might, and testing early in a tenancy establishes a baseline you can point to if problems come up later.
- Read the lease’s maintenance and habitability language closely. Some leases spell out response timelines for reported issues; others are vague. Knowing which one you’re signing shapes how you’d need to handle a problem if one comes up.
What to Do
-
Ask your specific questions in writing before signing, not as a casual conversation during a walkthrough. Written questions get more careful, and more useful, answers.
-
Request documentation for anything the landlord says was already addressed, particularly mold remediation and lead paint disclosure paperwork for older buildings.
-
Consider a baseline test shortly after moving in if you have any doubt about the property’s history, especially for radon, since it’s inexpensive relative to the value of knowing early.
If you’re moving into a new rental and want a baseline environmental test or help interpreting information a landlord has given you, EnviroPro 360 can help. Reach out here and we’ll walk you through your options.
