Mold remediation in NYC: after the leak, the rules and the work

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Start with the water

EPA puts it in one line: the key to mold control is moisture control. It also says water-damaged areas and items should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. If the leak is still running, or the wall is still wet, any cleaning only buys time. Get the source found and fixed first. The page on leak detection in NYC explains how a hidden leak is traced, and the page about water damage restoration in NYC explains drying.

Small patches: what you can do yourself

EPA says that if the moldy area is less than about 10 square feet, roughly a patch 3 feet by 3 feet, in most cases you can handle it yourself. New York City’s Health Department gives these steps for areas of 10 square feet or less:

• Keep children and pets away from the area.
• Use water and soap, or dish detergent, on hard surfaces.
• Wear waterproof gloves.
• Dry the area completely.
• Wash or throw away the sponges and rags you used.

EPA adds that bleach and other biocides are not recommended as a routine practice during mold cleanup. And if mold comes back quickly, the Health Department says there may be an underlying problem such as a water leak: tenants should report it to the landlord, and if it is not fixed in a timely way, complain online or call 311.

Larger areas: what New York law requires

Above 10 square feet, the rules change, and they depend on the size of the building. These are the lines as the city and state publish them:

Situation	What the rule says	Source
Buildings with 3 or more apartments	Owners must keep tenants’ homes free of mold, including safely repairing underlying problems like water leaks	NYC Health Department; Local Law 55 of 2018
Buildings with 10 or more apartments, mold over 10 square feet	Owners or managers must use New York State Department of Labor licensed mold assessment and remediation workers	NYC Health Department; NYC HPD
Buildings with 25,000 or more square feet of non-residential space, mold over 10 square feet	The same licensed workers are required	NYC Health Department
Covered mold work in New York State	The same licensed worker may not do both the assessment and the remediation on a property	New York State law, as the Health Department and Department of Labor state it

HPD says that for residential buildings of 10 or more units with more than 10 square feet of mold, the assessor and the remediator must be completely independent of each other, and that the work falls under the city’s Administrative Code section 24-154, New York State Labor Law Article 32, and Local Law 61 of 2018 filings with DEP. The licensed workers file the paperwork online with DEP’s Mold Abatement website.

Why two separate contractors

The Health Department gives the reason plainly: to protect against fraud, New York State law prohibits the same licensed worker from carrying out both the assessment and the remediation on a property. The assessor defines the job; the remediator does it; neither can inflate the other’s work. If one company offers to test, write the plan and do the removal on a covered job, that is a reason to ask questions.

How a mold remediation job runs

The New York State Department of Labor’s Mold Program sets minimum work standards for covered jobs. They include an independent assessment to define the scope, no assessment and remediation on the same property by the same individual, posted notice of the project and of the licenses, and completion of a post-remediation assessment. In plain order:

1. Fix the water. The leak, the condensation or the drainage problem that fed the mold.
2. Assessment. A licensed assessor inspects, defines the scope and writes the remediation plan.
3. Remediation. A separate licensed remediator contains the area, removes the moldy materials the plan names, cleans and dries.
4. Post-remediation assessment. The assessor checks the finished work against the plan.
5. Rebuild. New drywall, paint or flooring once the area is cleared and dry.

The IICRC, which writes the restoration trade’s standards, points restorers to its separate mold standard, the ANSI/IICRC S520, wherever mold growth is found or suspected during water damage work. Ask a provider which standard they follow.

Mold testing in NYC

Many searches for mold removal start with a test. On a covered job in a larger building, the assessment is a required step, done by a licensed assessor independent of the remediator. In a house or a small building, testing is a choice: it can help define where the mold is and confirm the work afterwards, but it does not replace finding the water. The page on mold inspection in NYC explains what an assessment includes.

If you rent: the owner’s duties and yours

Local Law 55 of 2018 requires owners of buildings with three or more apartments to keep tenants’ apartments free of mold and pests, including safely fixing the conditions that cause them. HPD says owners must inspect units every year and respond to tenant or HPD complaints. Tenants, for their part, are told: if you observe a leak, signs of mold growth or pests, notify your landlord, and if the landlord does not fix the hazard, or the work is not being done safely, file a complaint online or call 311. The article on mold in NYC apartments and Local Law 55 goes further.

If you own: a co-op, a condo or a house

In a co-op or condo, whether the building or the unit owner handles mold inside an apartment depends on where the water came from and on the building’s own documents. Ask the managing agent. In a house you own and live in, the state’s Mold Program allows limited exceptions, such as owners working on their own property, but the same practical rules apply: fix the water, contain the area, remove what cannot be cleaned, dry everything, and confirm the result.

Questions to ask before mold work starts

• What caused the moisture, and has it been fixed?
• How large is the affected area, in square feet?
• Does my building’s size put this job under the city and state licensing rules?
• Who is doing the assessment, and who is doing the remediation? Are they independent of each other?
• Will there be containment, and what will be removed?
• Who does the post-remediation assessment, and what does it check?
• Can I have the plan and the quote in writing?

Questions people ask