Under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1958 and the rules of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, one party may not both assess and remediate mold on the same project. The only exception is a school district project. The rule keeps the person who decides what is present apart from the person paid to remove it.
Key takeaways
- On a project, one party may not both assess and remediate mold, under the Texas rules set by TDLR.
- The separation protects the homeowner by putting the assessment and the removal in the hands of different licensed parties.
- A school district project is the one case where one party may do both the assessment and the remediation.
- The exception does not remove the license requirements, the written assessment or the insurance rules.
- A homeowner should check that the assessor and the remediator are different companies, and that each holds the license for its part.
- The water crew that finds growth should stop work in that area and refer the mold question to licensed parties.
What does the Texas rule actually say?
On a single project, one party may not both assess and remediate mold, under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1958 and the rules of TDLR. The rule is about the project, so a firm should not both write the assessment and carry out the removal on the same job.
The rule is short, but its effect is large. It means that the document saying what is present, and the work that removes it, come from two licensed parties who each answer for their own part. A homeowner can then ask one party to check the other.
The rule applies to the project, not only to the company. A firm that holds a remediation license should not also write the assessment for the same job, and an assessor should not carry out the removal it has assessed.
Why does the separation matter to a homeowner?
It removes a conflict of interest. A firm that both finds the mold and removes it could find more than is there, or propose more removal than the situation needs, with no independent check on its decision.
Two parties also means two sets of records. The assessment says what was found and where, and the remediation records say what was removed and how. Read together, they show whether the work matched what was needed.
The separation also gives a homeowner a clear point of contact for each question. A question about what was found goes to the assessor, and a question about the removal goes to the remediation contractor.
How does the rule work on a real project?
The usual order is a written assessment first, a written scope second, and removal by a separate licensed contractor to that scope. Each step is documented, and the records are kept together with the building file.
Water damage is often found first by a drying crew, which stops work where growth is seen and reports it. The assessor is then engaged to look at the area and write the assessment, and the remediation contractor is engaged only after the scope is set.
If the remediation contractor finds more than the assessment described, the new finding should go back to the assessor before the scope is changed. That step keeps the independent check in place while the work is under way.
| Situation | How the rule treats it |
|---|---|
| Same firm assesses and removes mold on a house or shop | Not permitted on one project |
| Separate licensed assessor and remediation contractor | The expected arrangement |
| School district project with one party doing both parts | Permitted under the school district exception |
| Drying crew finds growth and stops work in that area | Not an assessment; refer to licensed parties |
| Growth found after removal that the scope did not cover | Back to the assessor for review before the scope changes |
What is the school district exception?
A school district project is the one case where one party may do both the mold assessment and the remediation. The exception is narrow and applies to school district projects only.
A school, a private academy or an office building is not a school district project for this purpose. A firm that says the exception applies to a non-school building is describing the rule wrongly, and the district should confirm in writing that its project qualifies before relying on it.
The exception does not remove the licensing requirements, the written assessment or the insurance. The party doing the work must still hold the right license for each part, and the company must still carry the insurance TDLR requires.
What should a homeowner ask before hiring?
Ask for the license numbers and names of both the assessor and the remediator, confirm they are different companies, and ask for the written assessment before any removal is priced.
Ask each party to show the license for its part, and check each one with TDLR. Ask the removal company for its company license and its insurance certificate. Keep everything in one file.
If a single firm offers to do everything, say that the Texas rule does not permit it on a non-school project, and ask it to explain which separate licensed party it expects to use for the other part.
Where does the water crew fit?
The water crew stops the water, removes it, dries the structure and reports any growth it sees. It does not carry out the mold assessment or the removal, and it stops work in the affected area until a licensed party has looked at it.
A crew that dries a house will often see growth, or a smell that suggests it, before anyone has assessed it. Its job is to record what it saw, to say so plainly, and to leave the decision about the mold to the licensed parties.
The water crew's readings and photographs are useful to the assessor, because they show how long the materials were wet and where the water went. Keep a copy of them with the assessment.
What does this mean for a property manager or landlord?
A property manager faces the same rule on each project. The assessment and removal must be held by separate licensed parties, and the records should be kept with the property file so the owner can see who did each part.
A manager with several properties will often have to repeat the check for each one. Setting up a standard list of questions for licensed parties, and keeping the license numbers on file, makes that repetition quicker and safer.
Records matter for the owner as well as the tenant. A file showing separate licensed parties, a written scope and a documented removal is the record a future buyer or insurer will want to see.
How does the rule apply to a commercial building?
For a commercial building the rule works the same way as for a house. The assessment and the removal must be held by separate licensed parties on the same project, unless the building is a school district project.
An office, a shop or a storeroom with mold needs a licensed assessor and a separate licensed remediator, just as a house does. The size of the building changes the length of the work and the amount of containment, but not the separation of the two roles.
A commercial owner should ask for the assessment in writing before any removal is priced, and should keep the assessment with the lease or property file. The record helps with tenants, with insurers and with any future sale of the building.
What should a homeowner keep on file?
Keep the names and license numbers of each party, the dates you checked them, the written assessment, the written scope, the remediation records and any post-removal check. Those documents show that the two roles were held apart.
The file should show who did each part and under which license. If the same name appears on both the assessment and the removal, that is the point at which the rule has not been followed, and you should stop and ask before anything else is agreed.
Store the file with your other property records and keep a copy somewhere separate from the house. A complete file is the simplest way to show, later, that the mold work was done under the rules.
A simple test of the separation is to ask each party who it answers to on the project. The assessor answers to the record it has written, and the remediator answers to that record too. If either party answers to the other on the same job, the separation has been lost, and the question should go back to TDLR before the work is agreed.
Frequently asked questions
Is the separation rule the same across Texas?
Yes. The rule is set by the state through TDLR under Occupations Code Chapter 1958, and it applies in the same way in Lubbock and in the rest of Texas.
Does the rule apply to a house I own?
The rule applies to the mold project, whoever owns the building. A homeowner should keep the assessment and the removal with separate licensed parties.
Can the same company do the assessment and the removal in two separate visits?
The rule concerns the project. Doing the assessment and the removal in separate visits does not change the requirement that one party may not do both on the same project, except for a school district project.
What if the assessor is also the remediator's owner?
Ask the question directly before hiring. Two companies under common ownership can still raise the same concern about independence, and the state's rules on who may do which part should be checked with TDLR before the work is agreed.
Who checks the work after removal?
If the written assessment calls for a post-removal check, the assessor carries it out, because the assessor is the separate party. Ask for that check to be written into the scope before the work begins.
What if a firm names the school district exception for a non-school job?
Ask the firm to point to the basis for the exception in writing. If the project is not a school district project, the exception does not apply and the separation rule governs. A firm that cannot show the basis should not be hired for both parts, and you should check the rule with TDLR before you agree anything more.
Is a visual check the same as a licensed assessment?
No. A visual look by a drying crew or a general contractor can show that growth may be present, but a licensed assessment is the written record that sets the scope for removal. The assessment is what the Texas rule relies on, and it should be written by a Mold Assessment Consultant.
Sources
This guide is general information for Lubbock County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.