Q: We are purchasing our first home from a vendor and on the morning of closing, our real estate agent is informed by the seller that when they removed items packed into the back of a bedroom closet, there was some mould on the back wall, which was not apparent when we did our home inspection. I am nine months pregnant and worried about the health issues of mould.  What would you suggest we do?

A: This could potentially be a very serious problem for you as an expectant mother as well as for the property as a whole. 

The house and any problems that may develop are at the risk of the vendor up until the new deed is registered and you pay them the monies for the property. 

The vendor has now exposed a potential problem and it needs to be addressed immediately.

Hopefully, you still have a visit left so you can obtain access to the property prior to the closing to see how far spread this problem is. 

Unfortunately, you will not be able to determine if the mould has spread throughout the structure without the house being inspected by a professional mould inspector.

Your lawyer needs to draft a covenant for signature by the vendor clearly addressing this issue and having the vendor take responsibility for investigating the problem and any costs involved in remedying the mould issue.  You may want to consider requesting a holdback from the proceeds because mould problems can be quite costly.

Fingers crossed that the problem isn’t widespread.  In the meantime, I would avoid any contact by yourself in the exposed area because mould and babies are not a good combination.

Jeffrey Cowan is the principal of Cowan Law and can be reached at jeff@cowanlaw.ca.