Housing

Mold is a naturally occurring fungus that is present in all environments and can be detected both indoors and outdoors. Mold is often found in areas with elevated humidity, which may be caused by water leaks or shower spills, or condensation or wet fabrics, like bath towels. Surfaces such as drywall, wood, particleboard, carpet, cardboard, or leather can serve as a nutrient source for mold to grow.

Mold does not affect everyone but can cause irritation and allergic reactions for individuals sensitive to mold. Most symptoms are temporary and eliminated by controlling mold growth. Mold is not regulated by the State of California. However, Housing makes every possible attempt to reduce the presence of naturally occurring mold in residential communities. And we encourage residents to take action to minimize the presence of mold in their living environments.

• Keep your unit clean and dry
  • Hang up wet clothes and towels, don’t leave on the floor!
  • Take out trash regularly (daily if possible), and clean up all spills.
  • Wipe up any accumulated condensation on and around windows.
  • In apartments, clean you bathroom(s) regularly, removing any mildew.
• Use windows and fans to ventilate rooms which produce moisture such as the bathrooms and kitchen (in the apartments).
• In any units with attached bathrooms (on or off-campus), exhaust fans and windows (if possible) should be used to ventilate during and after showering.
• Do not run the AC/heater at the same time that windows are open.
• If using a humidifier, take extra precautions to keep the room ventilated.
• Submit a work-order to report any leaks immediately.

Submit a work order or let your front desk know!

If suspected mold is reported, Housing follows a regimented mold response protocol in accordance with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S). Please see the detailed response protocol outlined in the question below. 

First, we encourage you to discuss this with your roommates to ensure you are all on the same page on how best to proceed. Once a mold concern is documented, Housing is required to follow its procedures through completion regardless if all roommates have the same concerns.

When you share your concern with the front desk or generate a work order that includes the words “mold”, “growth”, and “mildew”, or if you select the “mold” drop-down menu, a work order will be generated and sent to your local maintenance department.  

Maintenance has three locations: On-Campus, University Apartments North, and University Apartments South. The manager assigned to your location will visit your unit to complete a visual inspection within two business days. You are not required to be there, but please note that personal items may be moved for access during the inspection.

The manager will check the humidity and temperature in your unit. They will look for possible water sources which will usually involve checking your walls/drywall in several areas, including the bathroom(s) and/or kitchen if applicable. They will check the mattresses of your bed(s), the windows in your unit, and the closets. The manager will document all findings during the inspection in a report.  

The next steps depend on what is found during the inspection.

If mold is found:
Housing will evaluate the location, potential causes, amount of time, and level of remediation necessary to clear the mold. Options will be discussed with the residents on a case-by-case basis. All residents are not the same and each situation is unique. We will have several options to work with residents to return their room to its former state. This could include cleaning, remediation, and repair work.

If water is found:
Housing will evaluate the location and stop the source of the water. Once the water intrusion is resolved, we may have to follow up with our procedures for mold since mold is frequently present when water has been allowed to linger in a location. This could include some repair work.

If neither mold nor water is found:
We are currently finding that 90% of requests fall in this category. When the manager completes the inspection and has no source of possible mold or water, Housing will follow the below steps to ensure your unit is safe.
•    The custodial team will perform an anti-microbial wipe-down of your unit.
•    The HVAC team will perform a duct cleaning and filter change for your HVAC system.
•    Housing will order an air clearance test from our third-party testing agency.
•    Our third-party agency will schedule an air sample test.  Samples are taken from within your unit and are compared to two (2) samples from outside.  Due to the high variability of individual responses to microbial spore exposures, no health-based exposure limits have been established to date.  Evaluation of indoor air sample results by comparison with outdoor results is the current industry standard.
o    Pass results:
An email from your local Housing Operations team will be sent to you stating your unit passed its clearance test and you can continue to live in your unit knowing it is not actively producing mold spores.
o    Fail results:
An email from your local Maintenance manager will be sent to you with the next steps. In this situation, we want to go back and look more thoroughly. Our third-party remediation team will be scheduled to complete a full workup of your room to see if they can identify the source. Depending on the level of failure, you may be asked to relocate to an emergency space (see below) while the unit is returned to its normal condition.

Relocation:
Several circumstances could require a resident to move or be moved to another space. Mold is not automatically one of them. There is mold in the air and because of this, no unit is ever free of mold spores.  

Some residents wish to stay while remediation and repairs are ongoing in their unit, while others feel their exposure to mold, or ongoing maintenance work being performed in their unit would have a profound impact on them and prefer to relocate.  Please be prepared to decide what option works best for you. Depending on the circumstances, not all roommates will need to make the same decision.

Review more information on the relocation process here.

Timeframes: 
Remediation and repairs can vary widely depending on the severity and variability of what repairs are needed. UCLA Housing acknowledges that it is frustrating not to have an exact time frame, however, it is in the best interest of all parties to follow the procedures through completion and ensure a healthy and clean environment.

The following timelines are a general reference and are not meant to fit all situations:
•    Mold Inspection – Completed within 48 hours.  The inspection typically takes approximately 15-30 minutes depending on the size of the unit.
•    Duct Cleaning – will take between 1 ½ hours to 4 depending on the type of HVAC, size and location of your unit.
•    Custodial wipe down will take between 1 to 2 hours depending on the circumstances and the condition of the unit. 
•    Air Sample Test – It is typically scheduled one or two days after your unit inspection. The third-party testers will be escorted to your room to conduct an air sampling. This will take about 30 minutes. 
•    If mold is discovered – Remediation can take as little as 24 hours if it just needs to be cleaned.  Larger issues can take 2 weeks to fully remediate. 
•    If water is discovered – The repairs can take a few hours or several days, depending on the source. Typically, the longer the repair takes, the more remediation time is needed. 
•    Unit Repairs – Areas that were impacted by remediation and/or repairs due to water or mold will take time to repair. This can be a slow process depending on the level of remediation.  We may need to replace drywall, patch and paint, or flooring to return it to normal. These repairs can take 3 days or up to a month for the repairs to be completed.
•    Managers involved with your unit will give you more specific time frames. They will communicate with you and provide updates as received.    

Housing has a specialized team that assists with the remediation of your unit and coordinates the timetables for repairs with your local maintenance team who are trained to answer most of your questions in regards to mold.  If you have specific questions regarding mold or your test results, you can reach out via this email: isitmold@ha.ucla.edu.

The University is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy environment and acknowledges certain indicators of negligence that could impact this goal. These may include, but are not limited to, situations such as leaving a visible water source that could potentially damage University property, failing to report maintenance issues that may escalate, leaving food sources in open areas that can foster mold growth, and not addressing the cleanliness of damp areas like windows, toilets, sinks, and showers consistently.  In accordance with the terms outlined in the contract between tenants and UCLA Housing, damages may be assessed in cases where negligence is observed.

Thank you for helping keep our environment as healthy and harmonious as possible!

You can review equipment that may be utilized in your room here.