Mold Claims in Tennessee Real Estate: Tenants, Buyers, and Owners

Mold grows where water is. Most mold disputes in Tennessee real estate fall into three groups: a tenant against a landlord, a buyer against a seller or agent, and an owner against a builder or contractor. Each runs on a different body of law, with different notice rules, proof, and deadlines.

No mold-specific statute

I did not find a Tennessee statute written specifically for mold: no mold disclosure law and no statute setting landlord duties about mold by name. There is no standalone mold licensing statute either, although the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors recognizes mold remediation as a specialty classification under the general contractor licensing law (Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-6-112). There is no federal limit either. The EPA says that no EPA or other federal limits have been set for mold or mold spores, and that in most cases, if visible mold growth is present, sampling is unnecessary. Tennessee's workplace safety agency, TOSHA, says it does not have a specific standard for indoor air quality and that no enforceable limits for mold have been established.

The EPA's core guidance is practical: the key to mold control is moisture control, and if the water problem is not fixed, the mold will most likely come back. That is also why most mold claims turn on the water source: who was responsible for it, who knew about it, and what they did.

Tenants and landlords

Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-28-101 et seq.) applies only in counties with a population of more than 75,000 under the 2010 federal census (§ 66-28-102). In those counties, the landlord must comply with applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety, make repairs and do whatever is necessary to keep the premises fit and habitable, and keep common areas clean and safe (§ 66-28-304). Section 66-28-304 does not mention mold by name, so whether a particular mold condition violates these duties depends on the facts and on the codes that apply to the property.

The Act's remedies are notice-based:

• Noncompliance generally: after 14 days' written notice, the tenant may recover damages, obtain injunctive relief, and recover reasonable attorney's fees for the landlord's noncompliance with the lease or the Act (§ 66-28-501).
• Essential services: if the landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply essential services, the tenant must give written notice and may then procure the services and deduct the reasonable cost from rent, recover damages for the reduced rental value while staying, or obtain substitute housing and be excused from rent during the noncompliance (§ 66-28-502). The statute defines essential services to include utilities and any other obligations imposed on the landlord which materially affect the tenant's health and safety. The tenant must show the condition was not caused by the tenant, the tenant's family, or guests, the tenant may also recover reasonable attorney's fees and, if the tenant moves to substitute housing, its actual and reasonable value; and a tenant who uses this section cannot also proceed under § 66-28-501 or § 66-28-503 for the same breach. I did not find a Tennessee appellate decision deciding whether a mold condition qualifies as an essential-services failure, so that question is unsettled.
• Fire or casualty: if a fire or other casualty substantially impairs use of the unit, the tenant may vacate immediately and must give written notice within 14 days of intent to terminate (§ 66-28-503). Whether ordinary mold growth counts as a casualty has not been decided.

The Act also places duties on tenants, including keeping the part of the premises they use as clean and safe as when they moved in and not negligently damaging the premises (§ 66-28-401). Where the tenant caused the moisture problem, the landlord will say so. A lease cannot make the tenant give up the Act's rights or limit the landlord's liability under the law; those provisions are unenforceable (§ 66-28-203). A landlord also may not retaliate by raising rent, cutting services, or bringing or threatening an eviction because the tenant used the Act's remedies, although a landlord may still bring an eviction if the tenant is behind on rent, if the code violation was caused primarily by the tenant's household's lack of reasonable care, or if compliance requires work that would effectively keep the tenant out of the unit (§ 66-28-514).

The Act does not give tenants a general right to stop paying rent over repair problems, and withholding rent can lead to a nonpayment eviction. The notice rules, the eviction process, and the retaliation defense are covered in more detail in my guide to eviction defense for tenants.

In counties where the Act does not apply, its habitability duties and remedies do not apply by their terms, so the tenant's rights come mainly from the lease and the common law. Separately, a tenant's personal injury claim against a landlord runs into a common-law rule that Tennessee courts have applied in counties covered by the Act as well: the Court of Appeals has said that a landlord generally is not liable to a tenant for harm caused by a dangerous condition on the leased premises. One exception applies when the condition existed when the lease was signed, the landlord knew or should have known of it, and the tenant did not know of it and could not have learned of it with reasonable care (Fisher v. Villages at Henley Station, LLC, Tenn. Ct. App. 2020, quoting Lethcoe v. Holden, Tenn. Ct. App. 2000). Those decisions involved physical injuries, not mold, and how the rule applies to a mold claim will depend on the facts.

Health claims need expert proof

The EPA says molds have the potential to cause health problems and can cause asthma attacks in people with asthma who are allergic to mold. But proving in court that mold in a particular building caused a particular person's illness is a separate question, and it generally requires an expert.

In Mullis v. SAI Chattanooga N, LLC (Tenn. Ct. App. 2025), the owner of an SUV whose roof leak the dealership repeatedly failed to fix claimed that mold that grew in the vehicle caused her health problems. She produced a report showing mold in the vehicle and allergy clinic records showing a mold allergy, but no expert opinion connecting the mold to her conditions. The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment against her personal injury claim, applying the general rule that causation of a medical condition must be established by testimony from a medical expert. Her own affidavit could not establish causation.

Expert testimony must also meet Tennessee's reliability standards. Under Tennessee Rules of Evidence 702 and 703, the trial court acts as a gatekeeper and admits expert opinions only if they will substantially assist the jury and rest on trustworthy facts and data. In McDaniel v. CSX Transportation, Inc. (Tenn. 1997), the Tennessee Supreme Court listed nonexclusive factors courts may consider, including whether the method has been tested, whether it has been peer reviewed or published, whether a rate of error is known, whether it is generally accepted, and whether the expert's research was conducted independent of litigation. The Court later explained that the factors need not be applied rigidly and that the weight of legitimate but competing expert opinions is for the jury to decide (Payne v. CSX Transportation, Inc., Tenn. 2015).

This article does not address whether any particular exposure causes any particular illness. That is a medical question for a qualified physician.

Buyers and sellers

For sales of residential property covered by the Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-5-201 et seq.), the seller must give the buyer either a disclosure statement covering the property's condition, including material defects known to the owner, or, if the buyer waives the disclosure, a disclaimer selling the property "as is" (§ 66-5-202). The owner is not required to investigate or inspect to make the disclosure, and is generally not liable for an error or omission outside the owner's actual knowledge, as long as the owner was not grossly negligent in obtaining and passing on information from a third party (§§ 66-5-202, -204). Some sales are exempt, including the first sale of a new home when the builder offers a written warranty, and a sale by an owner who has not lived in the property at any time in the three years before the transfer (§ 66-5-209). The seller must also disclose any material change in the property's condition at or before closing (§ 66-5-205).

The statute prescribes a disclosure form and requires any form used to include all of its items (§ 66-5-210). The current form has no question naming mold. It asks about flooding, drainage, or grading problems and environmental hazards, and whether a home with exterior insulation and finish systems has been inspected for moisture-related damage; its 2024 amendment added only a question about special assessment districts (2024 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 860). Check the form actually used in your sale.

A buyer's damages claim under the Act must be brought within one year after the buyer received the disclosure statement or after closing, whichever is earlier, and the Act preserves other remedies for an owner's intentional or willful misrepresentation (§ 66-5-208). Claims for fraud and fraudulent concealment, and the role of an "as is" clause, are covered in my guide to real estate fraud and misrepresentation. In short, the Court of Appeals has held that an "as is" clause is one consideration in deciding whether the buyer's reliance was reasonable, not a complete bar to fraud, concealment, or disclosure-act claims (Gottesman v. Hecker, Tenn. Ct. App. 2026).

Real estate agents have a narrower duty. An agent can be liable for failing to disclose adverse facts the agent actually knows of or has notice of, and the Act defines adverse facts to include conditions generally recognized by competent licensees that present a significant health risk to occupants of the property (§ 66-5-206); the real estate license law's definition also includes conditions that have a negative impact on the property's value (§§ 62-13-102(2), -403). Agents are not obligated to discover latent defects (Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-13-405), so a claim against an agent usually turns on proof of what the agent actually knew. Knowledge is usually the dispositive question in Tennessee mold cases. In Stanfill v. Mountain (Tenn. 2009), mold claims against the sellers and their agent failed because the buyers offered no evidence that anyone knew of the mold before the sale, and in Haynes v. Lunsford (Tenn. Ct. App. 2017), claims against an agent over undisclosed mold failed because nothing showed the agent knew of a roof leak or mold.

Owners against builders and contractors

When mold results from defective construction, such as a leaking roof, poor flashing, or bad drainage, the claim is usually a construction defect claim. A builder-vendor of a new home gives an implied warranty of good workmanship and materials when the written contract is silent, but the contract can disclaim it or replace it (Dixon v. Mountain City Construction Co., Tenn. 1982). Tennessee's statute of repose generally bars construction-deficiency claims, including personal injury claims, more than four years after substantial completion, whether or not the defect has been discovered. If the injury occurs in the fourth year, suit must be brought within one year after the injury and no later than five years after substantial completion. The statute does not protect someone who committed fraud or wrongfully concealed the claim, or an owner or tenant in possession or control of the improvement when the deficiency caused the injury (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 28-3-202, -203, -205). Contract claims, notice and cure requirements, contractor licensing, and repair-cost damages are covered in my guide to construction defect claims.

Deadlines

• Personal injury: generally one year after the cause of action accrued (Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(1)).
• Damage to real or personal property: three years (§ 28-3-105).
• Disclosure-act damages claims: one year from receipt of the disclosure statement or closing, whichever is earlier (§ 66-5-208).
• Construction claims: four years after substantial completion under the statute of repose, with limited exceptions (§§ 28-3-202, -203, -205).
• Contract claims, such as breach of a lease or construction contract: generally six years (§ 28-3-109), but courts apply the period that matches the gravamen of each claim, so a personal injury claim pleaded as a breach of lease still faces the one-year limit (Benz-Elliott v. Barrett Enterprises, LP, Tenn. 2015).
• Claims against a government entity, such as a public housing authority, generally must be brought within 12 months (§ 29-20-305(b)).

Under the discovery rule, a claim generally accrues when the person has actual knowledge of the claim or of facts sufficient to put a reasonable person on notice of an injury caused by wrongful conduct. The clock does not wait until the full extent of the damage is known (Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Memphis, Tenn. 2012). The discovery rule does not extend the disclosure act's one-year period, which runs from receipt of the disclosure statement or closing, or the statute of repose.

Insurance

I did not find a Tennessee statute requiring homeowners or renters insurance to cover mold. The consumer guide to home insurance that the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance links to, published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, says most homeowners policies offer limited or no coverage for mold, and that you might be able to buy an endorsement covering it. Most policies also require you to protect the property from further damage after a loss. Coverage depends on the policy's exact language, including its water damage exclusions, mold limits, and notice requirements, so read the policy and report a loss promptly.

Evidence that matters

• Dated photos and video of the mold, the water source, and damaged property.
• Written notices to the landlord, seller, builder, or insurer, and the responses.
• Inspection reports, moisture readings, and any testing, along with repair estimates and invoices.
• The lease, purchase contract, disclosure statement, warranty, and insurance policy.
• For a health claim, medical records and an expert who can address causation.

Which law applies depends on the property, the relationship between the parties, and the dates. If you are a tenant, landlord, buyer, seller, or owner dealing with mold in Middle Tennessee, my office can review the facts and the documents with you.

Educational disclaimer: This article provides general Tennessee educational information only and is not legal or medical advice for any specific property, claim, or health concern.