In 2012, a citizen had complained to his Borough about mold problems in his dwelling. He finally left the dwelling due to this problem.
The Borough had conducted two (2) inspections in this dwelling: one in December 2012 and the other in January 2013. During these two (2) visits, the municipal inspector had not noticed the presence of mold.
Subsequently, the Direction de santé publique (DSP) de Montréal got involved. The DSP inspected the premises and confirmed the presence of mold in the basement: it declared the dwelling unfit for habitation. The DSP also recommended that the dwelling remains vacant until it was decontaminated and proof of its salubriousness was made.
The tenant then contacted our office. In light of the DSP report, he could not understand how the Borough had detected nothing wrong in the course of its two (2) inspections.
The Borough recognized there was a problem and acknowledged that its inspectors had neither the training nor the necessary equipment to detect the presence of excessive humidity or fungal contamination. Measures had already been taken by the Borough to improve the quality of its interventions in this type of file: improved guidelines and operational framework, training of inspectors in collaboration with the DSP, purchase of appropriate equipment. The Borough added that these measures were part of a continued process aimed at improving its interventions and that the new measures implemented were already producing results.
Our office agrees that in the future, this Borough’s inspectors should be able to better detect the presence of mold and quickly take appropriate actions in similar situations.
