Mold behind wardrobe causing coughs; urgent landlord notification?« Back to Previous Page

Yes, this requires urgent professional assessment and immediate notification to your landlord. The combination of a past leak, visible growth, and ongoing respiratory symptoms in children strongly indicates an active mold issue that needs to be addressed.

In Dubai's climate, AC condensation leaks are a primary cause of hidden mold growth. The high humidity provides the perfect environment for mold to thrive behind furniture and inside walls long after the initial leak is "fixed." The black spots are just the visible part; the underlying moisture problem is likely still present.

Notify your landlord in writing immediately, detailing the discovery and your children's health symptoms. Under typical Dubai rental agreements, the landlord is responsible for resolving the source of the moisture (the AC leak) and the resulting damage (the mold remediation). They must rectify issues that affect the property's habitability and tenant health.

Do not attempt to clean this yourself. Disturbing the mold can release a large number of spores into the air, potentially worsening the coughs and spreading the contamination. A proper remediation involves containing the area, safely removing the affected materials, and using HEPA filtration to clean the air.

A professional inspection will use moisture meters and thermal imaging to find the full extent of the water damage and mold growth hidden within the wall. They can then provide a scope of work for your landlord. For health-related cases like this, a post-remediation verification test from an independent lab is highly recommended to confirm the air quality is safe before the containment is removed.