Who handles mold after water damage
Usually, yes. When mold grows after a flood, a burst pipe, or a roof leak, the landlord is generally responsible for both drying the unit out properly and addressing the mold — because responding to water damage and keeping the structure sound are the landlord's duties.
Mold can begin to grow within a day or two after water gets in, so a slow or incomplete cleanup often leads straight to it. If a landlord dried the visible surface but left moisture trapped in the walls, floors, or ductwork, mold can return even after it looks handled.
Responsibility can shift if the flooding was clearly the tenant's fault and went unreported. But water from the building itself — plumbing, roof, foundation, or the weather — is typically the landlord's problem, and so is the mold that follows it. If mold appeared after a flood or leak your landlord never fully fixed, a free, confidential review can explain where you stand.
This is general information about California tenant rights, not legal advice. Every situation is different.