Florida Community Association Construction Law Blog

On July 1, 2011, a new law took effect in regards to persons who provide mold related services.

The law provides a distinction between persons who provide mold assessment services and mold remediation services.

With the intent to protect the safety and welfare of the public the legislature has determined that persons who provide these services must be regulated by the state.

It is now law, with limited exceptions, that a person may not perform a mold assessment or mold remediation unless the person has among other things received substantial training in water, mold and respiratory protection, possess good moral character and pay a fee.

Because of the potential for a conflict of interest between these two types of services the law now provides several restrictions on providing these types of services. As an example the law states that persons who provide mold assessment services may not within a period of 12 months perform or offer to perform mold remediation on the same structure. The law further states that mold assessors may not accept or offer compensation to or from a mold remediator for the referral of business.

These restrictions are also provided in the reverse such that a mold remediator may not offer or perform assessment services on a property which they have provided remediation services within the last 12 months.  Further, a mold remediator may not offer or accept compensation or reward from a mold assessor for the referral of business.

As far as advertising, a person providing these services may not use the title "certified, registered, licensed or professional assessor or remediator" without complying with the new restrictions on qualification.

Persons who violate provisions of this law potentially face criminal charges for each violation up to and including a third degree felony.