Mold Remediation in Temple Terrace, FL

A city with its own rules

Temple Terrace sits about 9 miles from downtown Tampa but runs its own government, incorporated in 1925. It began as a Mediterranean Revival golf course community and is home to Florida College and the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club. Because it's a city, permits and code questions go to City Hall on North 56th Street, not to Hillsborough County. The county's own storm-recovery guide tells Temple Terrace residents to contact their city for post-storm repair instructions.

What feeds mold here

The river adds moisture to the air in neighborhoods near its banks, and Tampa Bay's long, humid summers do the rest. In most houses the trouble shows up in predictable places:

• Air handler closets, where a clogged condensate line or overflowing drain pan wets the floor and the wall behind it.
• Ceilings below roof leaks, especially after summer storms or hurricane-season wind.
• Bathrooms without a working exhaust fan, and cabinets under sinks with slow leaks.
• Closets on exterior walls that stay cool and damp when the AC runs hard.

If your house is one of the older ones in town, ask the company that visits to check under windows, around original plumbing and in any wall that has had past water stains. EPA's guidance is the same for any age of home: find the moisture, keep indoor humidity under 60 percent, and don't paint over growth.

Permits, code and health contacts

The City of Temple Terrace Building Division, part of Community Development, handles permits, inspections and zoning reviews inside city limits. Mold removal isn't itself a permitted job, but replacing drywall, reframing or other repairs afterward may be, so check with the Building Division before rebuilding.

Renters dealing with a leak the landlord won't repair can contact the city's Code Compliance staff. The city has a Minimum Housing Code that sets standards for occupied buildings, and issues can be reported through Report a City Issue or the Temple Terrace In Touch app. For health questions, the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County and the state DOH mold page are good starting points.

How a call usually goes

You'll be put in touch with an independent local remediation company. Expect questions about where you see growth, how large the area is and whether the water source has been fixed. EPA says patches under about 10 square feet are usually manageable for a homeowner; bigger areas or hidden growth inside walls are worth a professional.

One Florida rule surprises people: under s. 468.8419, the company that assesses your home can't also remediate it within 12 months, and the reverse is true too. So the mold assessor and the remediator are normally separate businesses. Ask the remediator whether they hold a Florida mold remediator license and verify it on DBPR's licensee search.