New York Celebrates “Mold Busters” Program, But Mold Toxicity Is Still Pervasive in Aging Buildings

New York City is celebrating the success of its “Mold Busters” program that brought down inspection times, increased the speed of remediation plans, and reduced asthma-related visits to the emergency room, but the prevalence of mold-related issues in apartments across the city is still wreaking havoc on the health of tenants who are paying thousands of dollars a month in a high-demand rental market.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource Bank compiled data from several US studies from the 1980s and 1990s and concluded that approximately 47% of all residential buildings in the country have visible signs of mold, detectable mold odor, or moisture/dampness problems. No comprehensive study has been done since this evaluation, so these are still the most widely cited statistics related to mold exposure.

New York City has more mold complaints than the national average. There are tens of thousands of formal 311 complaints every year, which far exceeds expectations based on proportional population numbers. In 2024, there were 36,178 mold complaints, and the Bronx is considered the “moldiest” borough for six consecutive years, with over 300 reports per 10,000 renter-occupied units. There are a large number of older buildings built before 1947 with dense urban construction, poor ventilation, and frequent leaks.

Tenants have reported delayed responses and superficial cleanups, such as painting over the moldy areas or fixing the water-damaged surfaces without resolving the source of the leak. Two addresses had over 100 complaints in a single year in 2024, which suggests that true remediation is not occurring. When one apartment complaint goes unresolved, those mold spores are more likely to spread to other units in the building without proper containment. Property management companies like Blackstone’s Beam Living that don’t immediately conduct containment efforts when there is an active mold threat will risk further spreading the toxic mold spores throughout the building.

The city has the “Mold Busters” program that promises quick inspections and remediation plans, but they only conduct visual inspections for mold. When tenants contact the property management company with mold concerns, the manager can paint over or cover up any signs of mold. As a result, the city can only issue a citation for the landlord to repair water leaks with daily penalties, with limited accountability.

The high number of housing complaints in New York City has created a significant backlog of cases. An audit of 2014-2015 judgments in the city found 97.5% of judgments and collections against landlords go uncollected. This is a pervasive issue that extends beyond water and mold damage, but also includes other amenities, such as heat, that can go unresolved for over a decade without any accountability to the property management company.

In a place like New York City, where housing is in high demand and expensive, landlords may justify the expense of any fines, judgments, and/or collections as a cost of doing business. It is oftentimes cheaper than the cost of remediating the problem, especially when an unresolved mold issue only grows larger and can continue spreading throughout the building via the HVAC system.

More than 70% of the roughly 450,000 active Class C violations (immediately hazardous) in New York City have been outstanding for over a year. Class C violations are the most serious category under the Housing Maintenance Code and frequently include severe water leaks, significant mold growth, and other conditions that pose an immediate threat to tenant health and safety. These violations are supposed to be resolved within 24 hours (or up to 21 days for some violations), yet the majority go uncorrected for more than a year.

The problem exists across the country because mold often grows behind walls without clear visual cues. Insurance companies don’t cover mold damage unless it is caused by a separate event that is covered by the insurance policy. That does not include flood damage unless a property owner has a separate flood insurance policy.

A 2025 survey of 2,000 Americans suggests people are underestimating the impact and prevalence of mold. 26% believe their home is not safe as a result of mold, and respondents estimated that 37% of homes across the country have mold. The most comprehensive data estimates that 47% of homes have mold.

The CDC concluded in a 2006 report following the impact of Hurricane Katrina that “excessive exposure to mold-contaminated materials can cause adverse health effects in susceptible persons regardless of the type of mold or the extent of contamination.” That means even a small amount of mold contamination can cause adverse health effects, including any type of mold.

Since mold can lurk undetected behind walls, people may have symptoms of mold exposure that are misattributed to something else. Kate Ames was a pregnant mother in 2018 experiencing chronic fatigue and depression. Doctors told her the symptoms were normal for a pregnant woman. Years later, she developed digestive issues, skin rashes, joint pain, and ear pain. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and given medication.

In 2024, after joking with her doctor about the possibility of all the symptoms coming from an unknown mold source, her doctor encouraged her to have her home tested. There was mold hidden in a crawlspace below the bathroom. Ames had experienced mold toxicity symptoms for years while her other family members showed no symptoms of toxicity. Months after living in a mold-free environment, her symptoms dissipated, and now she only has some mild lingering symptoms that remain from the years of toxic mold exposure.

The mold toxicity problem can also happen in dry climates, as it did for a former Olympic athlete who developed Parkinson’s disease after years of exposure to toxic mold in his Colorado Springs apartment.

Laura Bush experienced mold toxicity while she was the First Lady of Texas, according to a 2001 New York Times article. Candace Owens sued a Stamford, Connecticut property management company for toxic mold exposure she experienced that allegedly caused wheezing, scars, eczema, yeast infections, and an inability to think clearly. Jenny McCarthy had an infected root canal, growths in her eye, and persistent infections, eventually leading to a weakened immune system and antibiotic resistance after she was exposed to toxic mold.

There may only be one person in a family who is experiencing symptoms from mold toxicity, which causes many people to dismiss the possibility of a persistent mold exposure as the source of the adverse health effects. Nearly half of all residences, including apartments and houses, have mold or dampness. Anyone experiencing unexplained chronic health symptoms such as fatigue and depression may consider testing their bodies and homes for toxic mold.